34 mm Forks - Is this salvageable?

[ryamatt]

I took apart the left fork from the 76 I am working on.

There was about a teaspoon of oil left in it and the damper is worn around the top edge (just before the big holes at the top). I am assuming it became worn/damaged due to lack of oil and I am assuming that the right side will be similar once I get to it.

Is the damper still useable? All the other internal parts appear ok.

However, the lower leg has some damage around the edge of the upper opening, above where the seal fits. I don't know what the PO did to cause this, but there is a big piece taken out of it. The lip looks relatively intact though - I think it should probably still seal once refurbished, but it looks kind of nasty (it'll be covered by the dust seal though).

Given these issues, would these forks still be serviceable once they are cleaned and reassembled? In general, do guys opt to switch over to 35mm forks from 34mm? 35's just seem more plentiful on ebay for replacements and parts. If I found a set of 35's, would my original trees still work (what's 1mm between friends?!)?

Sorry for the blurry pix - camera sucks - but I think you can see what the problems are.

Thanks.
R

 

[XSLeo]

Your right on the blurry pics. Hard to see what's wrong. On the 35 mm forks the best way is to use 35 mm trees. I guess you might be ables to get your 34 mm's reamed out by a machine shop to fit the 35 mm tubes.
If you replace the trees your dash may not bolt up to the new tree, but it's not hard to make an adapter that bolts to the trees, then the dash bolts to the adapter.
Leo

 

[5twins]

Well, all you can do is try them but I think they'll be OK. Sealing inside the tubes between the damper rod and tube wall isn't 100% anyway, even with pristine damper rods. And if you did something like the Minton Mods to the rods, you enlarge the oil transfer holes anyway. Your rods sort of "Minton Modded" themselves, lol.

There's more to a 35mm fork swap than just getting the forks. Yes, you need the 35mm trees as well. Also, your current old style disc and caliper won't work with them. You'll need the later style one piece disc and the later style caliper. And it would probably be best to mate them with the later style MC.

 

[650Skull]

Use the macro settings for close ups