Front fork question

YING

YING

Pittsboro,NC
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My friend is taking apart his forks.The complete damper assembly is out.What is stopping the lower slider from coming off the fork tube.
Thanks,
Mike
 
YING said:
My friend is taking apart his forks.The complete damper assembly is out.What is stopping the lower slider from coming off the fork tube.
Thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...
The bushings. Unscrew the nut hidden by the dust seal. Use the lower leg like a slide hammer, the bronze will come free (along with the seal)

This is with the stanchion tubes still clamped in the yokes.

Fast & easy.
 
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The lowest bush which is steel is holding it all in with the bronze bush and seal at the top. Make sure you have removed the steel collar 06.1137 or nothing moves.
Check the damper rod and rod cap as these are where there is a lot of wear and should be replaced. I have seen Pitted rods and wallowed out rod caps.
J.S. Motorsports has a good section on his website for front end fork repair.
jsmotorsport.com

Complete damper upgrade kit for Norton Roadholder forks. Also see aluminum sleeves and slippery bushings.

Upgrade your Norton Suspension to a higher level. Norton motorcycle fork suspension upgrade. Improved handling without bottoming or top out. Drop in kit for easy install.
jsmotorsport.com
 
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YING said:
My friend is taking apart his forks.The complete damper assembly is out.What is stopping the lower slider from coming off the fork tube.
Thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...
Just to be clear, You can remove the dampers by unscrewing the base bolt that fastens the damper tube to the slider and then removing the top fork nut. The damper lifts out,.... but that doesn't free the slider from the fork tube. It only frees the damper from the forks.

Then,... To remove the fork slider from the fork you undo the slider top nuts with a strap wrench, then clamp the fork tube in a soft jaw vise (or leave it on the bike while on the center stand) then use the slider like a dent puller to unseat the upper slider bushing, fork seal, and paper gasket..... Once that upper bush is out of it's recess the slider passes right over the lower bushing.
 
Thanks for the info on this operation.Much appreciated
Mike
 
Thanks CanukNortonNut for the JS link. I think that full kit is what I need for my MK III. My forks seem soft and bottom out easily. I had a Norton "old timer" ride it and he said it's just normal Norton forks...

I don't want to get too carried away, just hopefully a little firmer and eliminate the easy bottoming out for regular street riding.
 
I have recently had a go at the forks on my bike. It does take a bit of a pull to get the top bush out of the top of the fork slider when dismantling them. You will then need a long hollow drift to get the top bush back in place when re-assembling the things. I bought a length of 43mm plastic drain pipe from the local builders merchants. A 500mm length will go over the stanchion and sit on the top bush 'nicely'
 
Edfury828 said:
Did the NYC kit eliminate the dampening clunk or bottom out?

Is just that kit (and some new oil) enough to upgrade my forks for pleasant moderate street riding?
Click to expand...
It cut stiction WAAAAY down, so the Lansdowne dampers can do their job
 
How about this, will the NYC kit do the same as the JS kit? It could be possible for me to afford Landsdown / Madass dampners later, or I could just get JS and call it good for my casual street riding.
 
I have a set of landsdownes that I bought from Don Pender a few years ago. I used them for a few months and decided to make my own dampers. I would sell you my landsdownes for $150 less than Don Sells them for. I'm just east if Issaquah if you want to ride out this way, I'll even install them for you....

....And yes the stock norton dampers are not for handling, they are butter soft and made for comfort. They work good if you like a nice soft ride. If you want crisp handling, you have to feel the road surface more, and that's on the other end of the spectrum from a soft riding suspension.
 
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Thank you for your kind offer o0norton0o, it is tempting! I would probably like the suspension that Landsdowns would offer, and I won't find a better deal... It seems to me that I would still need some anti-sticktion seals or bushings and the NYC kit says something about being ideal with custom damping... I am thinking I would need that kit and your dampners...

Your offer of free labor has quite a value too, since I am ignorant of Roadholder rebuilding. I will do the work, but you would be helping me a lot with you guidance!

Ok... I just broke the news to the wife, who doesn't understand, but has agreed!

I will go ahead and order the NYC kit tonight, which will take at least a week or so for shipping. I suppose I should PM or DM or IM you about the details?
 
I've done a lot of testing and have some strong opinions that I would rather not express here because I don't want to be involved in a shitstorm. Just so you know, higher performance suspension makes you feel the bumps more,..... Low performance suspension feels like you are floating on a cloud going down the road. There isn't a suspension that does both,..... (yet)

I sent you a private message with my contact info
 
Ed,
I don’t think you could go wrong with anything you get from NYC Norton. I went ahead and got the complete Cosentino kit that comes with the bushing and seal mentioned by Concourse mainly for the adjustability of the forks.Probably overkill but love the results.
Mike
 
YING said:
Ed,
I don’t think you could go wrong with anything you get from NYC Norton. I went ahead and got the complete Cosentino kit that comes with the bushing and seal mentioned by Concourse mainly for the adjustability of the forks.Probably overkill but love the results.
Mike
Click to expand...
The bushings are teflon impregnated, (an industry standard for decades) that is light years smoother. The same mayerial is used in the CVT on my snowmobiles. AMAZING stuff. Slides smoothly under extreme pressure. 🏁
 
concours said:
The bushings are teflon impregnated, (an industry standard for decades) that is light years smoother. The same mayerial is used in the CVT on my snowmobiles. AMAZING stuff. Slides smoothly under extreme pressure. 🏁
Click to expand...
And they use standard metric fork seals. Also allows you to disassemble the lower forks without using the infamous “slide hammer” technique. I have gotten 150cc of fork fluid in before screwing the bush/seal unit in. I later added another 20cc from the top, was in a rush when I installed them.
 
That link was very interesting CanuckNortonNut. Original 1952 roadholders, wow! I've been slowly learning what I can while waiting for parts. Hoping for rust free tubes!
 


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