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Post by fletche36 on Feb 13, 2024 17:24:03 GMT 1
This afternoon i set about refurbing an old set of forks i bought ages ago. i have some good tubes to use and some new seals , anyway after stripping down it looks like the inner bushes below the seals are worn ( one certainly is) are these non replaceable which means these legs are scrap? really i only bought them as they had less marks than the ones on the bike so were prime for polishing and making a really good set out of and im feeling a bit miffed now as i have had a couple of hours in the garage that may be for nothing.Thoughts please.
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Feb 13, 2024 17:26:19 GMT 1
I thought all LC and ypvs fork bushes were changeable
Certainly ypvs are, never done an LC but assumed they were
Strve
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Post by fletche36 on Feb 13, 2024 17:33:05 GMT 1
i couldnt see any in norbos shop and that was the red flag!
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Post by Robbieben on Feb 13, 2024 17:43:35 GMT 1
Lots of early forks don't have any bushes fitted, the repair method I use when the aluminium on the inner tube is scored/damaged is to machine the leg out to take a bush from a more modern leg, these have to be rolled to suit the leg and tube and trimmed to suit and then pressed in. A local machine shop should be able to do it for you.
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Post by fletche36 on Feb 13, 2024 18:27:00 GMT 1
There are definitely bushes in there, copper with a coating on and its the coating that looks worn. I may have been worrying unnecessarily as i have dry fitted a tube and i cant feel any movement at all. When i do seals in my off road bikes i do bushes as a matter of course and thats why i wanted to replace whilst they are apart but it doesnt look like you can get replacements. I think ill stick to the plan and crack on with polishing , replacing seals ( which appear to be a bitch to remove on my initial try) and turn them into a mint set of forks. Anyone got any tips for stubborn 40 yr old fork seal removal. maybe a bit of heat on the leg?
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Post by LC_BOTT on Feb 13, 2024 18:54:11 GMT 1
I don't think the LC bushes are available, so you would probably need to adapt something else to fit (I'm sure there was an old thread on here explaining it) If the fork seals are really old they possibly have a metal outer that has corroded into the fork leg. Might need carefully cutting with a Dremmel or similar.
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Post by fletche36 on Feb 13, 2024 19:31:49 GMT 1
I don't think the LC bushes are available, so you would probably need to adapt something else to fit (I'm sure there was an old thread on here explaining it) If the fork seals are really old they possibly have a metal outer that has corroded into the fork leg. Might need carefully cutting with a Dremmel or similar. Thanks. ill try heat first and have the dremmel on standby. |
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Post by fletche36 on Feb 13, 2024 19:34:16 GMT 1
Just found that thread, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
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Post by beardy on Feb 13, 2024 23:52:23 GMT 1
Just found that thread, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Do you have a link please? |
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Post by JonW on Feb 14, 2024 0:57:45 GMT 1
yep, you can cut some standard sized and very available bushes down to fit the LC. It defo has them fitted.
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Post by elsiefan on Feb 14, 2024 2:01:28 GMT 1
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Post by beardy on Feb 14, 2024 13:05:25 GMT 1
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Post by fletche36 on Feb 14, 2024 15:58:18 GMT 1
And the winner today was the dremmel !!!! i got one with heat but had to dremmel the second one. i always feel like i have failed when i have to resort to grinding but it had to be done. next stage is wet and dry and blistered hands:) does nobody semi polish and laquer forks or is it mirror finish that people do. my current ones on the bike are mirror finish but there are still visible historic battle scars visible.
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Post by dougw on Feb 14, 2024 17:54:33 GMT 1
Vapour blasted matt finish and lacquered on my road LC, bare scotchbrite satin finish on the "Work in progress" 4L1/YPVS.
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Post by stusco on Feb 14, 2024 18:37:24 GMT 1
Vapour and scotchbrite for me,acf50 for protection
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Post by reedpete on Feb 14, 2024 19:03:23 GMT 1
Lacquer on fork legs is like Satan’s nail varnish in my book… great for 5 seconds then biggest nightmare..
A maintainable finish with Belgom or as above ACF50 is my choice.
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Post by tony2stroke on Feb 14, 2024 19:40:48 GMT 1
Scotchbright and acf50 for me too
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Post by fletche36 on Feb 14, 2024 20:14:28 GMT 1
scotchbrite it is then. Probably saves a lot of time over mirror finishing. I did buy ( a while ago) one of those cheap hand held blasters that you use baking powder as a blasting media. ill give it a test on the initial cleaning process.
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Post by JonW on Feb 14, 2024 23:32:33 GMT 1
scotchbrite it is then. Probably saves a lot of time over mirror finishing. I did buy ( a while ago) one of those cheap hand held blasters that you use baking powder as a blasting media. ill give it a test on the initial cleaning process. Dont do that inside... The ADV rider forum has a classic post where a guy didnt think of that lol |
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Post by steve63 on Feb 15, 2024 14:07:04 GMT 1
I didn't think the LC forks had bushes in the fork bottoms. It's been a while since I stripped mine though and relying on my memory is not something I should do really  . Always had success with putting the legs in boiling water and using a big screwdriver, something to protect the metal and a bit of muscle power to remove seals. I bead blasted 2 sets of LC and a set of F2 fork legs then used a grey Scotchbright type wheel in a drill while holding the legs in a vice to put as close as I could to the original finish back on to them. Presently they are in a wardrobe in the spare bedroom awaiting the next stage. I enquired at the paint shop I use about clear coat for the legs and she told me there is nothing available to go directly onto aluminium, it all needs primer. Primer would be a bit pointless. Like a few other things, engine cases for instance, Yamaha used a method in the 70's that we seem unable to match in the 21st century. I'm happy to think that the original dull polish and lacquer that was on original forks would stand up pretty well to the use my LC would get in 2024. The fact it didn't last long in 1983 was mainly due to the bike being used 7 days a weeks and 12 months of the year (nearly) no matter what the weather and will very little in the way of cleaning. 6 times a year and only in sunny dry weather I'm sure it would be fine for years. When I get to that stage I'm going to ignore her advice and do it anyway, see how it goes  . |
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Post by Robbieben on Feb 15, 2024 14:09:02 GMT 1
My GT750 fork legs were a mess, picture below is after using 1000, 1200, 1600, 2000 wet and dry and then scotchbrite to give as near to factory look as I could get. They are protected with a wipe on ceramic coating.  20220508_150300 by Rob Bennett, on Flickr |
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Post by Robbieben on Feb 15, 2024 14:22:47 GMT 1
I didn't think the LC forks had bushes in the fork bottoms. It's been a while since I stripped mine though and relying on my memory is not something I should do really . Always had success with putting the legs in boiling water and using a big screwdriver, something to protect the metal and a bit of muscle power to remove seals. I bead blasted 2 sets of LC and a set of F2 fork legs then used a grey Scotchbright type wheel in a drill while holding the legs in a vice to put as close as I could to the original finish back on to them. Presently they are in a wardrobe in the spare bedroom awaiting the next stage. I enquired at the paint shop I use about clear coat for the legs and she told me there is nothing available to go directly onto aluminium, it all needs primer. Primer would be a bit pointless. Like a few other things, engine cases for instance, Yamaha used a method in the 70's that we seem unable to match in the 21st century. I'm happy to think that the original dull polish and lacquer that was on original forks would stand up pretty well to the use my LC would get in 2024. The fact it didn't last long in 1983 was mainly due to the bike being used 7 days a weeks and 12 months of the year (nearly) no matter what the weather and will very little in the way of cleaning. 6 times a year and only in sunny dry weather I'm sure it would be fine for years. When I get to that stage I'm going to ignore her advice and do it anyway, see how it goes . If it's any help both MIPA and Final Systems have a 2K self etching laquer for Alloys etc.  |
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Post by fletche36 on Feb 15, 2024 14:47:35 GMT 1
scotchbrite it is then. Probably saves a lot of time over mirror finishing. I did buy ( a while ago) one of those cheap hand held blasters that you use baking powder as a blasting media. ill give it a test on the initial cleaning process. Dont do that inside... The ADV rider forum has a classic post where a guy didnt think of that lol i did it in the garage doorway facing out. It looks like Pablo Escobar has been around now...... Anyway its scotchbrite time now. |
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Post by lcmarky on Feb 15, 2024 15:32:36 GMT 1
scotchbrite it is then. Probably saves a lot of time over mirror finishing. I did buy ( a while ago) one of those cheap hand held blasters that you use baking powder as a blasting media. ill give it a test on the initial cleaning process. Scotchbrite Red.. Green is a bit too aggressive.. |
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Post by steve63 on Feb 15, 2024 23:17:55 GMT 1
I just had a look again at the inside of the fork legs and can confirm two things. They all have what looks like teflon (or another kind of low friction) coated bushes in and that my memory is indeed rubbish.
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. Always had success with putting the legs in boiling water and using a big screwdriver, something to protect the metal and a bit of muscle power to remove seals.
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