'54 B33 Fork Circlip Refitting

Started by AdrianW, 25 Mar, 2020, 16:57

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AdrianW

25 Mar, 2020, 16:57
Dear All,
Courtesy of a local quarry depositing rocks on the road my front rim got well buckled.. I was lucky to stay on, says a lot for the BSA S/A frame design..  While sorting the front wheel I rashly decided to check the forks over - the seals had been weeping gently for years..

Everything came apart fine, new seals fitted , bushes checked etc.. Then we come to reassembly..  One of the circlips fitted after only about half an hour of swearing. The second one....  The manual says "refit" , it might as well say "go and climb Everest".. My fingers hurt, my brain hurts and the bl**dy circlip still isn't in..  You can persuade one end into place and whatever you try next the b*gg*r pops out again..
Advice is to make sure one end is half an inch from the little recess - blow that, I just want to get the damn thing in.. It moves around anyway, just before it flies out..

Any tried and tested methods of doing this please??

Thanks,

Adrian
Bristol UK

JulianS

#1
25 Mar, 2020, 17:01
They are difficult at the best of times, however I would check that the lip on the top bushes are not to thick and slightly masking the circlip groove.

Also if using new circlips there was a batch made a while back from wire just a bit too thick.......................

chaz

#2
25 Mar, 2020, 17:08
presumably the round wire circlips not the flat ones with circlip plier holes.
get one end in the groove then instead of trying to get the other end in work around from the first one. I use a thin pin punch or a mid sized screwdriver with blunt end then tap around , keeping away from the stanchion. I start with the first end near the internal cut out.

Mike Farmer

#3
25 Mar, 2020, 17:41
 :) :) :)

I don't know if I can explain this well enuf: - Here goes

Get a 4mm drill and fix it lengthwise on the fork leg Seriously tight with a jubilee clip so that its impossible for it to move. (If a 4mm drill is too thick then use a slightly smaller one)

Feed the back of the circlip as far down into the recess as possible (Think of it as a horseshoe)

Now push the forkleg hard down so that the drill holds the circlip in place

Then easy peesy with a thin screwdriver work around in both directions from back to front and just push the circlip down into place. The drill will stop it from rising back up.

I'm sorry that I cant show a pic but Never ever thought of taking one. Best of luck.

Mike 8) 8) 8)

AdrianW

#4
26 Mar, 2020, 17:39
Many thanks for the replies, appreciated..
The clips are of the wire type, both forks had the same type..  I have a spare floating about that was from an Ariel, it looks a similar thickness but I'll measure & check.  These have been on the bike some years now, although it is possible they are the thicker ones. They came out, so I'm hoping the second one will go back in..

I'll try the punch first .. The 4mm drill idea sounds novel, I would have never thought of that !!

Once my finger shave recovered I'll have another go & keep you posted.

Thanks again,

Adrian
Bristol UK

idie

#5
26 Mar, 2020, 17:51
If the top bush is not seating properly or the flange is slightly to thick this will cause problems.

JulianS

#6
26 Mar, 2020, 17:57 Last Edit: 26 Mar, 2020, 18:00 by JulianS
An old circlip in the bits box has wire diamter approx 0.092 inch (13 SWG?)

The photo shows 2 bushes, the one on the left the  lip is approx 0.076 inch the one on the right approx 0.094 inch.

Mike Farmer

#7
27 Mar, 2020, 08:59
 :) :) :)

Assuming that you are putting it all back together with the same parts, you should not have a "fit" problem.

The advantage of the drill method is that once the circlip is down in one place it is physically impossible for it to pop out providing you keep the pressure on. There simply isn't enuf space for it to go up past the drill.

Mike 8) 8) 8)

Mike Farmer

#8
03 Apr, 2020, 13:54
 :) :) :)

Hi Adrian

Purely out of curiosity did you get your circlips fitted OK..??

Mike 8) 8) 8)

AdrianW

#9
04 Apr, 2020, 18:08
Mike,
NO !!  I have just returned from another frustrating hour attempting this, once again with a bad temper and sore fingers..  I tried the drill method but the clip still sprung out.. I tried a punch, this resulted in a gouge in the stantion that I have had to file flat (punch slipped as clip sprung out!).

I do have a circlip from a mid fifties Ariel which is a similar size. Measuring both the diameter is the same, about 2.34mm. I might try the ARiel one, maybe the tensile rating is lower so the bl**dy thing might go in !!
Mind you once I've done that the forks have to go back in & I don't yet have a puller so no immediate rush I guess.. Thanks for asking though..

Cheers,
Adrian
Bristol UK

chaz

#10
04 Apr, 2020, 18:18
Adrian, you shouldnt need to hammer the ring in, but the flat face of the punch can be used to press the ring in...
the flat face should push down where a screwdriver can slip off, this pushes down to the top of the groove then a narrow but thick screwdriver can pop it in.
a pity the current situation as Im in Melksham im only down the road to you

JulianS

#11
04 Apr, 2020, 20:04
Something wrong here, it should not take too much pressure to get the circlips in place, if you had to hammer them in with a punch how would you get them out in any subsequent dismantling?

As an aside I just had my A10 rebored and used IMD pistons, the circlips which came with them would not go in they just did not have any give and the only way forward was to use a new spare set which I had from years ago.

I ditched the circlips on A10 forks and use the spacers which goes between the oil seal and top bush on the 1966 - 1968 A65 damper rod forks. They fit pre unit forks and save a lot of trouble.

JulianS

#12
05 Apr, 2020, 10:01 Last Edit: 05 Apr, 2020, 10:03 by JulianS
Photo shows A10 forks with the A65 type spacer between top bush and oil seal.

The Ariel circlip is the same as the BSA, there are a number of common parts between the forks.

Mike Farmer

#13
05 Apr, 2020, 10:38
 :) :) :)

When you tried the drill method, did the circlip come up past the drill or did it push the drill up. Pity about this Virus situ or I would have popped over to give you a hand.

Mike 8) 8) 8)

AdrianW

#14
05 Apr, 2020, 13:35
Mike,
In the main it pushed the drill up ! Sometimes I managed to get both ends in using the drill but as soon as I tried to apply pressure the whole lot sprung out !  Am going to try the Ariel clip this afternoon. The annoying thing is that the other one went in easily. They are what was there before, both came out easily enough !!

Thanks for the offers, this virus is a pian in many ways..

Cheers,

Adrian
Bristol UK
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