Er, after killing my VFR750FK (engine seizure), then getting a replacement VFR fettled after a 12 year lay up, I am now back to the joy of my life... my 1965 A65 Lightning (Clubman replica...ish), and therefore hoping to pick your brains.... again. (hope you don't mind...)
The front end is apparently based on a pogo stick and further investigation reveals that there are no damper rods in the forks... Oops!
The damper tube is in place on each leg so am I correct in thinking that I need to purchase a 'fork damper rod kit' (including a yoke top nut, threaded to accept the damper rod)?
My present yoke top nuts have no internal thread for a rod, hence my asking...
Also is there anything in particular that I need to be aware of please?
Regards and thanks,
Dave.
Ive spoken to the helpful guy at SRM and he says they didn't have any damping rods (or any real damping) on my forks....
It seems that the early A65's did base their front suspension on the 'Pogo stick'......
Happy to be corrected of course.
Hi,
You can get aftermarket damper rods for the earlier forks. I think originally made by Eddie Dow.
Dave.
Thanks Dave.
As mentioned I was talking to the guy at SRM about just such a set up...SRM-Damper-Rod-kit2 (£105.88 total).....
It was the apparent lack of any damping that was bugging me, but I can now see that moving the stanchion down through the, oil containing, slider, with the damper tube in place would force oil through the holes in the stanchion... damping the movement at a rate dependant on the oil viscosity, the diameter of the holes and the speed of stanchion movement.... (probably...)
'Fraid my brain is fading faster than I can cope with... (It was the absence of a damper rod that was throwing me...)
Think I'll experiment with the oil viscosity first.
Thanks,
Dave.
They did have damping originally; thats what the oil and oil holes on the stantions are for.
You can fit the damper rods kit of you like and I have in one of mine, but to be honest I don't ride hard an dfast enough to notice a rearl difference.
Get your standard forks sorted with adrain down and new SAE20 fork oil and see what it feels like before 'forking out' for the kit.
Thanks for that Dean... and thicker oil is the way I'll go. (I've now tried 20/50 oil- but it's still pogo-ing... I can see myself going for EP90 at this rate...)
I have just glued the tachometer needle/ pointer back on (I came in to the garage a few months ago and found that the needle had self distructed- and I couldn't locate a replacement...) (Yeah, this bike's a doozy all right...)
Then I've got to finish making the twin carb choke cable.....
Once that's done I can ride it and, hopefully, sort out the damping...
Thanks again,
Dave