hi guys

i rebuilt my forks a couple of weeks back and now if i hit a bump under braking my forks seem to knock/bottom out? they are not hitting to bottom yoke tho. i can make them do it whislt sitting on the bike also and rolling it hard and snatching the front brake, deffinately forks!

one is also leaking already ,the side with the antidive and i also think this is the side that is making the noise??

it had an ally cone in the bottom of the fork that we had no idea which way round it went so put the smaller end of the taper down to the base of the fork is this right??

also has anyone used the 'leakproof' seals wondering about giving them a try or would i be better to by genuine honda items?

cheers dave

NO idea on the cone but I always found o/e seals to be far better. genric ones have lasted half as long as o/e on my forks.

did you put any air pressure in the forks? I seem to recall the NC21/24 gurus on here advise against it.

Hi mate sorry to tell you but its wider end to the bottom, with regards to seals only Honda will do David Silver or one of the suppliers Graham France, Rick Oliver etc on here should be able to assist you !

CMSMJ1 wrote:NO idea on the cone but I always found o/e seals to be far better. genric ones have lasted half as long as o/e on my forks.

did you put any air pressure in the forks? I seem to recall the NC21/24 gurus on here advise against it.

yeah idid put a bit in but only min 8psi, thought they needed something??

mrdidlydingo wrote:Hi mate sorry to tell you but its wider end to the bottom, with regards to seals only Honda will do David Silver or one of the suppliers Graham France, Rick Oliver etc on here should be able to assist you !

thats my fears confirmed then, ill have to get new seals honda ones and sort it out.

do either of you think that my forks beined slightly pitted will be a problem??

cheers for replys dave

As said above, for the extra couple of £'s use genuine Honda seals, if Dave Silvers don't have them instock im sure lings will.

I'd advise against air, especially with non oe fork seals.

Try 15wt fork oil instead.

Maybe its just me but most 80's Honda's i've ridden seem to have 'soft' forks. You'll get used to it, and if it bothers you that much you can always get some stiffer springs.

Oh and finally, your spacer is upside down.

don't forget the elrikos cheap slide hammer effect for fitting the bushes and seals. A piece of 42mm waste pipe, about 8" long with a slit cut up it. Clip it onto the stanchion and use the whole stanchion as a slide hammer to hammer in the new seals and reinstall the bushes.
If the seals have been fitted with a hammer and a punch look carefully up he stanchions for dents. Prior to getting the bike the seals had been changed using the hammer and punch method and one ofthe stanchions was a complete write off, covered in dents from where the punch had slipped onto the stanchion.
hope you get it sorted.
Cheers
Rich

Neosophist wrote:As said above, for the extra couple of £'s use genuine Honda seals, if Dave Silvers don't have them instock im sure lings will.

I'd advise against air, especially with non oe fork seals.

Try 15wt fork oil instead.

Maybe its just me but most 80's Honda's i've ridden seem to have 'soft' forks. You'll get used to it, and if it bothers you that much you can always get some stiffer springs.

Oh and finally, your spacer is upside down.

i have the 15wt oil in at the mo and im happy with the feel just not the oil coming out of the right one lol!

elrikos wrote:don't forget the elrikos cheap slide hammer effect for fitting the bushes and seals. A piece of 42mm waste pipe, about 8" long with a slit cut up it. Clip it onto the stanchion and use the whole stanchion as a slide hammer to hammer in the new seals and reinstall the bushes.
If the seals have been fitted with a hammer and a punch look carefully up he stanchions for dents. Prior to getting the bike the seals had been changed using the hammer and punch method and one ofthe stanchions was a complete write off, covered in dents from where the punch had slipped onto the stanchion.
hope you get it sorted.
Cheers
Rich

this soulds like a very good idea, my stanchions are slightly pitted but i dont think they are dented,ill have to look. would they be ok with new seals till i can afford to get the spare set of forks ive got re chromed??

As has been said already;do not feel tempted to pump air in unless you want to blow the seals.
When I had my nc24 I used heavier duty fork springs from Macxton which was a major improvement[You could get Maxton to rebuild the forks with modern cartridge internals but that would cost more than the bike is worth].
Clunking under braking or over bumps can be caused by worn bushes on the left hand front caliper mounts.The anti-dive basically consists of a little plunger on the left side fork lower.When it is pushed in it restricts the flow of damping oil in the fork thus stiffening the suspension.The caliper is mounted on pivots so that when the brake is applied it swings towards the fork by about half an inch and pushes in the said plunger.If the bushes in the pivots are worn then you may get clunking/rattling

duncan wrote:As has been said already;do not feel tempted to pump air in unless you want to blow the seals.
When I had my nc24 I used heavier duty fork springs from Macxton which was a major improvement[You could get Maxton to rebuild the forks with modern cartridge internals but that would cost more than the bike is worth].
Clunking under braking or over bumps can be caused by worn bushes on the left hand front caliper mounts.The anti-dive basically consists of a little plunger on the left side fork lower.When it is pushed in it restricts the flow of damping oil in the fork thus stiffening the suspension.The caliper is mounted on pivots so that when the brake is applied it swings towards the fork by about half an inch and pushes in the said plunger.If the bushes in the pivots are worn then you may get clunking/rattling

cheers for the reply. do i need to put more oil in if im not putting air pressure in or do i leave the oil level the same? i think im going to go and let the air out of them in a minute, hopefuly stem the oil flow from the left fork til i have time to fix it this week. use the bike to commute so evenings and weekends only im afraid .

i sure all the bushed was ok on that side, we regreased it all when had it off and nothing looked in oor shape, hopefully fitting the cone in the bottome the correct way up will stop it.

cheers dave

stripped the leaky fork leg, stauchen has destroyed the oil seal as it is too badly pitted so cant do nomore until new seals arrive, luckly i have a spare set of forks, without seals i can rob for bits! tried to fit the cup the other way up but i thing the retaining bolt that goes down inside the fork is the wrong one because it wont do up if you put the cone in the other way up? comes flush with end of bolt and stops it going into the bottom of the recess in the fork body.

are these bolts different lengths (23mm hex head) we did one fork at a time so bits went back as the came out???

cheers dave