chesterburnet
Been Around the Block
I'm finally in to building the forks. There are a lot of companies selling suspension for vintage motorcycles but most are junk. Then there is the problem of 1 size fits all. It takes a little more digging to find companies that offer the correct stuff. Fortunately Racetech is an excellent source for vintage suspension. I can do Ohlins type cartridges without having to think about it at this point but although the old stuff is simpler, I had to speak to tech support to get some answers on the cartridge emulators today. They were excellent and totally helpful.
I also watched 3 different websites showing how to assemble the forks that come on the CB 550 & 750. Specifically, I was looking for a trick to tighten the screw on the bottom that goes into the damping rod and holds the entire fork together. I'm sure a lot of people have seen videos of people doing wheelies and the lower tube and wheel falls off. 2 of the 3 how toos were young guys and they were tightening the screw into the rod with an impact gun without securing the damping rod. If you don't secure it, then it just spins the rod and you don't get it tightened enough to be sure the bolt won't come out. I also guessed that you should use some type of thread locker. The 3rd video I watched was from Common Motor Collective. The guy that does their videos addressed the issues that I was looking for. My forks will not fall apart because I listened to idiots. You have to be very careful who you listen to online. There are people out there that seem to be competent and professional that are giving advice and making how to videos that in reality have no clue.
Yesterday I spoke to Jeff from Godffrey's Garage. Glad I did. He gave me a lot of great info. I sent my 2 front brake calipers to him so he can modify them and installs banjo fittings so I can use braided stainless lines. Cool detail. Cool guy.
Today I dropped the top and bottom triple trees, the caliper brackets and a few other parts at the powder coat guy. I'll get them back next week and then I can assemble the entire front end, wrap it in plastic and stick it in the back of the garage while I move on to other parts of this build.
I also watched 3 different websites showing how to assemble the forks that come on the CB 550 & 750. Specifically, I was looking for a trick to tighten the screw on the bottom that goes into the damping rod and holds the entire fork together. I'm sure a lot of people have seen videos of people doing wheelies and the lower tube and wheel falls off. 2 of the 3 how toos were young guys and they were tightening the screw into the rod with an impact gun without securing the damping rod. If you don't secure it, then it just spins the rod and you don't get it tightened enough to be sure the bolt won't come out. I also guessed that you should use some type of thread locker. The 3rd video I watched was from Common Motor Collective. The guy that does their videos addressed the issues that I was looking for. My forks will not fall apart because I listened to idiots. You have to be very careful who you listen to online. There are people out there that seem to be competent and professional that are giving advice and making how to videos that in reality have no clue.
Yesterday I spoke to Jeff from Godffrey's Garage. Glad I did. He gave me a lot of great info. I sent my 2 front brake calipers to him so he can modify them and installs banjo fittings so I can use braided stainless lines. Cool detail. Cool guy.
Today I dropped the top and bottom triple trees, the caliper brackets and a few other parts at the powder coat guy. I'll get them back next week and then I can assemble the entire front end, wrap it in plastic and stick it in the back of the garage while I move on to other parts of this build.