Commando 850 fork dust caps failed.

Hi all, as part of some suspension work the dust caps on the front forks have been replaced on my mk2a Commando, one has since torn after only 100km max of riding, can anyone advise me where I can source better quality ones or if a fork gaiter would work better ? I’m in Australia so a local source would be easier but happy to buy online for good quality items,thanks, Rhys.

Our main man @madass140 made some that I thought looked pretty good!



I bookmarked his thread ready for a future project.
https://www.accessnorton.com/NortonCommando/new-style-fork-boots.23362/#post-345164

Could be a good place to start!

The short gaiters are fashion over function, dirt gets embedded in the top edge and wear the stanchion, one of the first jobs when I bought my 850 was to fit full length gaiters back in 82, I took them off 2 years ago as they had lost their new sheen but they are still in one piece with no splits. Andover Norton do long lasting gaiters to the same spec as my ones from 82 and these are the ones I used 2 years ago, I got them from RGM as they are AN distributors, so just make sure whoever you buy from sends AN gaiters and not a cheaper copy. The same gaiters fit OIF Triumphs and are recommended to ensure no splits.

Thanks, there’s an Andover Norton reseller relatively near by so I’ll talk to them.

Per the above re the stock caps - I installed new fork tubes, seals and full length gaiters on my Commando when I converted it from Roadster to Fastback in '08. The old tubes were pretty badly worn from dirt/grit. The same gaiters are still there with no cracks/splits and still look new when cleaned up; no fork seal leaks and no fork maintenance necessary since then other than an occasional oil change. I bought the gaiters from Old Britts since back then that was pretty much the only folks I purchased parts from.

Boots protect good oil seal wipers from the blast grit getting in.
Maybe I'm just unlucky or higher ozone levels but had two AN bellows sets cracked in valleys after a couple-3 years, mostly set up from other break downs, one being hidden crack in couple yr old carb rubbers inhaling THE Grit so rings began to smoke way too soon. I'm keeping eye out for shock absorber covers next time decayed. Will get black for Trixie and bright yellow or orange for Mz Peel. The boots on my long pu truck shockes have lasted 25 yr and look like can last another few decades. I really don't want to use non Norton stuff on Trixie but don't want ground stansion oil leaks more.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sho...rptq7ZAhVI7qwKHX6UBYYQsAQIJg&biw=1088&bih=475