Hi
My fork is well worn. I need some advice on the best way to go about a repair. The links arent too bad, i can make the 4 new bushes needed but the most damage is in the actual fork. The holes are not round anymore.Why didnt they fit bushes into the fork when they made them?

Any advice welcome.

Hi Brandon..The fork legs are bushed as standard where the link pins fit into them. Excessive wear on the sides of the legs is not uncommon and is caused by the link bolts being overtightened.
People frequently tighten the links up to control fork movement instead of using the fork side damper.
You may find on closer examination, or after blasting that you do have bushes,or the remains of them.
When badly worn they are always oval as the link pins only act through a limited arc of movement.
As far as the faces of the legs are concerned they can be welded up and refaced to the correct dimensions. Alternatively they can be 'spot faced' to produce a flat bottomed recess and 'top hat' bushes made to restore the original dimensions.
First though I would take a really good look to determine if bushes are in fact fitted...it would be most unusual if they are missing as removing them would then have required the manufacture of oversize link pins...not a straight forward job...Ian

Thanks Ian. So there are bushes fitted in the actual fork leg....will have to have a closer look. I think all the wear has made it seem like there are none. Just to confirm, so there are 8 bushes in total? 4 in the fork itself and another 4 in the other two parts?

That's it Brandon..4 in the legs and 2 in both the top and bottom yokes.Wear on the ends of the yokes is less obvious than the wear on the legs...but these should also be looked at carefully...after refurbishment the top yoke should measure to the same width as the top of the legs where they are bushed and likewise with the bottom yoke and the bottom of the legs where they are bushed. Center line distances from the center to the each end of the yokes should also be equal....Ian

Thanks Ian. Whats the best way to get the old bushes out of the fork legs as well as the yokes?

I think the most common method is to screw a tap into the bush and then drift it out from the other side with a hammer and parallel punch...Ian

Ian, thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

I use an m16 tap for doing that and it works very well. I actually saw this being done in a war time drawing in Motor Cycling. I'll see that I find that magazine again and scan that page.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

didnt someone on this forum make some bronze washers to take up the wear on the side of the forks/yokes

Yes I think it was Boudewijn from Holland. I've just done the same. 1/32" bronze washers. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I don't think Boudewijn made the washers to take up wear. He repaired his forks and then added the bronze washers. This allowed him to adjust the side link bolts until the washers were just 'pinched' and then back them off slightly to give correct adjustment.
So they were realy an adjustment aid.
Similar washers (but steel) were fitted to Triumph and Ariel forks (and probably others) as standard...Ian