Good morning.
How could I possibly repair the T stem of a Matchless 1945.
The pinch bolts don't seem to do anything or in other words they don't constrict the yokes. Is there any remedy for this? The fork tubes just pass in and out after I torque it real hard. What is being missed here?.....John

email (option): johnmatthew50@hotmail.com

It's a very long time since I last stripped any G3L forks. But you are talking about the lower yoke where the lower headlamp brackets are bolted.

Some observations off the top of my head:-

I presume the diameters of the fork tubes and the bores in the yoke match?

Are the pinch bolts bottoming out before pulling up the pinch gap? Maybe the threads need tapping through or the bolts need shortening.

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Ron, your advice is invaluable. The WD I'm restoring has studs here and are longer than what I see in the picture.
Lastly are both the ends threaded? (The are where the bolt enters the yoke)... John

email (option): johnmatthew50@hotmail.com

Just the back part, to the rear of the pinch gap need be threaded, this should draw the front part as a pinch when the bolts are tightened.

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Brilliant Ron. That's sums it up. My guess is that the diameter of the fork tubes and the yokes don't match and the fork tube dia is a tad less. So pinch is not enough to hold the tube.
Let's see what we can can do about this.....it is a 5/16" x 26 tpi x 1 5/8" bolt with washers......John

email (option): johnmatthew50@hotmail.com

The WW2 Matchless fork stansions were 1” 1/8th but after the war they increased them to 1” 1/4. I think you probably have the later lower yoke and WW2 size stansions. JT

Thanks JT, I think that this may not be the case here. (1 1/8 Inches = 28.575 mm) and (1 1/4 Inches = 31.75 mm). This is almost 3 mm. The difference in my forks are less than a mm and I presume that this is due to wear or something I am analyzing on. Will check and see what might be wrong here.

@ Ron, From the posted image I see that the bolts are now completely IN though they still serve the purpose. Is this ok to leave it like that? and are the washers spring type?.......John

Yes I have flat washers and spring washers under the bolt heads. Although that won't make a difference to the pinch factor. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com