MORE FOOLING AROUND WITH FORKS
Today I broke down my other fork, that one looks much better. Then I tackled removing the old fork seals from both lower legs. I think credit goes to Gary for this method of removing fork seals, correct me if I’m wrong. But you clamp a tire iron in a vice and then use it to pry out your old seals. Works like a charm and leaves no marks on your fork legs.
Then I drug out my greasy old triple tree and pulled it apart and cleaned it and removed the bearing race from the bottom. Degreased the whole thing and started getting it ready to paint. I’ve got painted parts hanging from the ceiling all over inside my garage!
You know what I hate? Those ultra fine, razor thin threads on the fork caps and inside the top of the fork tubes. They always get messed up, they are just too delicate! You know what else I hate? Wiping oil out of the top of the fork tube with a paper towel and driving one of those razor thin threads deep into my index finger and having it break off there! That had me doing the oochie oochie dance out in the garage today.
I called a local welder today and asked about welding up my broken fender mount hole on my fork leg, he said he could do it, but pretty expensive. Then I would still have to shape it, drill and tap it.
I’m trying to contact an eBay seller right now about a set of beat up forks. Haven’t heard back yet.
You know another thing I don’t understand on this bike, it only had 5,000 miles on it. How much working on this bike could the original owner have done? And yet there have been several things I have taken apart that seems to be missing parts or assembled wrong. For instance on these forks, there is a thing that looks like a flat washer with a little collar on it that fits on top of the spring #19, my right fork didn’t have one and consequently the spring had pushed up inside the spacer tube above it.
Also on the left fork leg, the Allen head bolt at the bottom of the fork leg that has to be removed to disassemble the fork, is supposed to have this fiber sealing washer on it, but it was missing. In several places on this bike there were missing or mismatched or non factory bolts , washers and locknuts. Could that be the way it came from the factory.
One last thing today, while I had the fork internals out, I took the opportunity to make a internal damper holding tool from a 12mm socket.
That’ll make it easier to reassemble when I get around to it!
So that’s it for today. It’ll be 107 degrees here tomorrow with a heat advisory in effect.
Later, Bob