1972 CL 350 Cafe Project

[teazer]

Well, my copy of the bearing catalog confirms that 17mm shaft comes in 35, 40 or 47mm OD, so that's a problem. Whcih wheel uses a 42mm?

If the forks are bored for a 17mm axle and your wheel is 15mm, all you need apart from spacers are two thin wall sleeves with 17mm OD, 15mm bore and say .5mm less width than the fork bottom. Changing teh wheel to take a larger axle reauires different bearings and teh sleeve between them has to be bored out.

Those forks are designed for a drum brake and are not really suitable for a disk, but the good news is they are good forks and look way cool.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Well, my copy of the bearing catalog confirms that 17mm shaft comes in 35, 40 or 47mm OD, so that's a problem. Whcih wheel uses a 42mm?

If the forks are bored for a 17mm axle and your wheel is 15mm, all you need apart from spacers are two thin wall sleeves with 17mm OD, 15mm bore and say .5mm less width than the fork bottom. Changing teh wheel to take a larger axle reauires different bearings and teh sleeve between them has to be bored out.

Those forks are designed for a drum brake and are not really suitable for a disk, but the good news is they are good forks and look way cool.

The stock wheel uses 15x42x13mm bearings, and I like the look of the drum better than disk so that's what I'll keep.
I've thrown out the idea of changing out the the inner components of the wheel.
I'm still looking into using a different front wheel, one that will accomodate the 17mm axle.
I like the idea of using thin wall sleeves, it's what I'd like to persue next.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

I'm thinking about purchasing one of the seats on Ebay that are made in Vietnam. Anyone ever purchased one? Know some one that has? The ones I've seen are just the cushion and cover that go over the original seat pan.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

I was going to replace the front left CL fork on the 1st bike, so I ordered a used set off ebay and got a big surprise when the new forks arrived. There seems to be a difference between th '71 and '72 forks. The '71 uses a piston type fork and the '72 uses a rod type fork. They are not interchangeable, requiring the replacement of the triple trees, steering stem, etc... Gotta love surprises! Anyone got an old left front fork for sale or swap?

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

So, I know its been a while since my last post, but I moved into a larger place with a bigger garage and it took some time to get settled in. Now I have a minute to actually work on my project. I'm currently rebuilding the original forks.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Can anyone help? The fork seal doesn't want to come out! I took the spring out of the fork tube, filled it with water and set it in a vice. I then used my floor jack to compress the fork. When compressed, the water leakes through the seal, but the seal doesn't move! Anyone know of an alternative method? Maybe I just need to take it to a shop, but I'm stubborn and could use the $$ elsewhere!

 

[redwillissuperman]

I use claspics.com that gives you a http to post inline using the insert pic link command (picture of Mona Lisa). When you register that gives you control to rotate and resize pics, as well as create albums.

 

[boomshakalaka]

Can anyone help? The fork seal doesn't want to come out! I took the spring out of the fork tube, filled it with water and set it in a vice. I then used my floor jack to compress the fork. When compressed, the water leakes through the seal, but the seal doesn't move! Anyone know of an alternative method? Maybe I just need to take it to a shop, but I'm stubborn and could use the $$ elsewhere!

apply some heat. I had a hell of a time getting my ancient fork seals out when I rebuilt my forks, but the heat gun helped a ton.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Heat is a great idea but I had to try something else I read first. Put the lower leg in a vice and, using a small pry bar, I inserted the curved end under the lip and it came out real easy. Didn't leave any marks! Now, I'll finish cleaning up the lower and put it back together. The second leg should go much smoother.

I've also been cleaning up the upper triple tree and some other bits

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Second one came out much easier!

 

[boomshakalaka]

awesome! I put mine in a vise, applied a bit of heat and it popped right out. I don't know why I left the vise part out of my tip, but great minds think alike, eh?

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Hell yeah! Great minds think alike! I had to buy the vice from Harbour Freight because Home Depot and Lowes didn't carry one! I'm going to clean up the lowers then put them back together. I won't be ready to fit them back to the bike yet though. I want to take the time to clean up and paint the lower section of the triple trees. I'm thinking of a gloss black.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Started looking at the case covers and discovered a striped screw head, lower right.

A quick trip to Ace and...

FREEDOM!

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

I'm thinking of changing the title of this build to: "Never enough time!" Progress is crawling along. Its either too hot in the garage or I've been too busy with school and work. I will get this bike done!

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Still working on this bike. I've cleaned the paint from the upper tripple trees, as well as both left and right controls. Got a set of bars and drilled out the holes for the wires to fish through and got a new set of grips. This weekend I plan on buffing out the lower forks and will begin to put them back together. More pics to follow...

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

I do believe I've found success in my search for bearings! Suzuki part number 09262-17034 is a 17x42x13mm wheel bearing that fits a early '90s GSX1100F Katana front wheel. I'm shopping around for the best price right now, because they're around $30 each! Plus, I'd like to call and talk to someone to make sure that they are sealed on both sides, though I'm not sure it really matters.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Here's some pics of today's progress. Many thanks go out to PJ!!!














I'm shopping for the bearings. When they come in I'll install the wheels.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

Finally received the elusive 17x42x13mm bearings! These are only sealed on one side, but that's good enough.

 

[Rgrpfdr1]

This is what I've been working on. Cleaning, polishing, and filing down the castings on the front hub, making NIPPLE WASHERS ;D, and new rims (2.15x18)!