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Front end reassembly

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 1:27 pm
by DavidHW
Having now rebuilt the forks on my model 16, with rechromed stanchions, I'm now stuck on the reassembly. This is my first british bike after 50 or so rice burners and I love riding it, but think I've lots to learn on how they bolt together. Where I'm stuck is the folks go through the bottom yolks ok, but no matter what I do, stop about 4 inches from the top. I even tried putting on the front wheel and trying to bounce them up the yolks with no success. I'd really appreciate any tips (I think I must be missing something very obvious). Many thanks for any help you can give.

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 2:05 pm
by dave16mct
You need to buy, make or borrow a puller. The club may sell them but they are easy to make from an old top fork nut ground or turned down, welded or threaded to a length of studding. Screw into the stanchion, then with a washer and nut pull it into the top yoke.
Dave

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 3:45 pm
by 1608
If you haven't access to a second hand nut and welding gear etc. then place a spindle or similar through or under both fork bottoms together. then place a ratchet strap ( everyones got one of those?) under the spindle and over the yokes. Use this to compress the springs and pull the sliders up far enough to let you lift the stanchion up and in to place by threading a pointed piece of dowel ( Like a sharpened broom handle) into the top of the stanchion.

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:07 pm
by zwarts
Make or buy a proper fork puller. Don't mess about with broom handles or ratchet straps, it's such an easy job with the correct tool!

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 7:39 pm
by SPRIDDLER
zwarts wrote:Make or buy a proper fork puller. Don't mess about with broom handles or ratchet straps, it's such an easy job with the correct tool!
:roll: Where's the fun in that? :roll:


(There'll probably be a broom or two passing over your shed sometime this evening ;) ).

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 8:45 pm
by DavidHW
Thanks all, I've ordered a puller to add to my increasing collection of specialist tools. I love the engineering on these old British bikes, but it is becoming clear why the Japanese bike industry did so well in the 70s and 80s - they made a few small tweaks to make them easy and cheap to assembly on the production lines. Owning a British bike though has been a lot more fun than reading about them in books and filled in some of the history too.

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 7:25 pm
by raffles
With a Cambridge location you should get to know the Fenrunners section of the Club you would have been able to loan the tool
and get instruction on how to do the job
Tony

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 7:35 pm
by DavidHW
On my list of things to do Tony and a great idea. I was going to turn up at a meet on my bike, but then it developed problems that have kept it off the road for a few months (and I didn't want to turn up on an old Honda).

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 10:02 pm
by DavidHulse
Just want to say a big thank you to "1608", who posted a suggestion back in 2017 to use a ratchet strap to compress the forks for reassembly. I didn't have a spindle to put across the legs, so I did them one at a time withe strap round the bottom of the leg, between the spindle studs to make sure ir wouldn't slip off, and round the bottom yoke. It worked perfectly.

Re: Front end reassembly

Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2020 1:39 pm
by 1608
Thanks for the complment Dave. These old bikes sometimes call for some mend and make do methods, as they often did in the day. I enjoy the challenge of making and adapting cheap methods :beer: