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Retro-fitting girder forks

I seem to recall reading here that early teles and girder forks are not interchangeable. I have a '49 M21 I'm building and the person I'm building it for wants girder forks. Will I need to replace the front frame in order to fit them?

email (option): cas.vanderwoude@gmail.com

Re: Retro-fitting girder forks

The quick answer is that you can fit girder forks to the telescopic fork frame but not telescopic forks to the girder fork frame...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Re: Retro-fitting girder forks

To add to Ian's response. I think it's to do with the different angle of the front down tubes, which would mean that teles on a girder frame, the mudguard is liable to hit the frame under load. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Re: Retro-fitting girder forks

Fit a set of Indian-made eBay girders - cheaper than Dignitas !

Re: Retro-fitting girder forks

Rik
Fit a set of Indian-made eBay girders - cheaper than Dignitas !
And deadlier than a bouncing bomb.!
If any one is thinking of fitting forks purchased from a vendor in Indai or even a local vendor suspected to be supplying parts made in India then get then X-Rayed before fitting, unless you are skilled enough to ride mono or you are tougher than the road surface.
Know of 2 that have failed.
One was a rider and the other was a show bike so rarely ever ridden further than from the car park to the exhibition space.

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

Re: Retro-fitting girder forks

Truer words were never spoken Trevor. I'll take a chance on Indian tinware etc knowing it will need massaging to fit, but I have a distinct preference for keeping my already battered body away from the bitumen. At our age, we don't bounce as well as we used to! I don't know what a catastrophic fork failure looks like in real life. I imagine the rider goes face down into the remains of the forks and keeps going until he/she reaches the ground with the rest of the bike somersaulting over the rider a few times. That would be a rather unpleasant experience!

email (option): cas.vanderwoude@gmail.com

Re: Retro-fitting girder forks

['At our age, we don't bounce as well as we used to!..']

We don't do anything as well...:laughing: ...I'm going to find out shortly whether I can still bend into the required shape to ride the Gold Star café racer I've been building for the last 18 months..I remember I didn't have any trouble in my teens and 20's...What could possibly go wrong!....The picture below was my Rocket Gold Star in the 70's, one of the many café racers I owned in that decade ...Ian:grin:

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Re: Retro-fitting girder forks

Make sure you go riding with a friend whose bike has slightly high rise bars .
Could not count the number of times we set off on a run with a BAB on their nice newly purchased Goldie kitted up with all the good gear .
By the first "comfort " stop they start to ask other people to ride it and give them their opinion on how it handles.
A sneaky way of getting some one else to ride the bike that is killing you.
They never come on a second ride.

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

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