Fork woes

[Guest ratchethack]

I am considering polishing the outside of the spring with some 600 then 1500 grit paper. Any thoughts?

Yep. I'm in the process of painting my Stucchi fairing today. I've got probably 7 or 8 coats on it now, including probably 3 coats of primer. Having been down this road many times, it's sort of routine. I started color sanding with 400 grit wet-dry paper and I've incrementally worked my way up to 800 grit at this point. At this rate I'll probably wind up with 2-3 more coats and hit the last coat with 1200 grit before final baking in the oven, then hit it with polishing compound and wax. Nope, not doing a clear coat, and I'm not preparing it for Best of Show. I'm simply preparing it for bug splat, rocks and road debris -- otherwise I'd probably continue up to 2000 grit and clear coat it.

 

The finest wet-dry truing of aluminum cylinder heads I've done on a sheet of glass (of which I've done many) is on my big single. I reckon I went no higher than 400 grit last pass.

 

The point being this. I can't see using anything beyond about 200 grit on steel springs (maybe 280 grit max!?), or you'll be at it for hours! No need for a mirror shine here, my friend! If 200 or 280 doesn't stop it from squawkin', I reckon nothin' will. . .

 

You asked.

 

BAA, TJM, & YMMV.

[docc]

Glad I did.

And so: The air gap was surprisingly low in both forks: 120mm compression / 125 mm rebound. Correcting this meticulously to 100mm certainly improved the firmness of ride even more!

The 22mm setting on the blue retaining nut is exactly what allows the cap to shoulder fully. Less would certainly defeat the adjusting rods. More is not possible.

I polished the springs with 400 grit and deburred the flats and corners. Perhaps the surface change is visible in the photo: left to right: polished TD, unpolished TD, original Marzocchi.


The squeak yet remains seemingly on the rebound side. I must now suspect I may have bent the damping rod to the cartridge during the set screw debacle.

Sure does ride great though!

[Guest ratchethack]

And so: The air gap was surprisingly low in both forks: 120mm compression / 125 mm rebound. Correcting this meticulously to 100mm certainly improved the firmness of ride even more!

Outstanding, Docc. This oughtta put you in pretty good stead WRT bringing fork dive under control.

The 22mm setting on the blue retaining nut is exactly what allows the cap to shoulder fully. Less would certainly defeat the adjusting rods. More is not possible.

A remembery is a terrible thing to lose. . .or have I said that already??

 

Thanks for the correction.

I polished the springs with 400 grit and deburred the flats and corners. Perhaps the surface change is visible in the photo: left to right: polished TD, unpolished TD, original Marzocchi.

Looks mighty slick, Docc -- just my HO, but I don't see anything that would've likely contributed to squeak in the first place?

The squeak yet remains seemingly on the rebound side. I must now suspect I may have bent the damping rod to the cartridge during the set screw debacle.

YIKES! Well, 2 thoughts: It'd be easy enough to check by rolling the cartridge rod assembly on a flat surface. Part II, any decent machine shop should be able to straighten it out if it's bent.

Sure does ride great though!

And doesn't the "short frame" Guzzi Sport enter a Brand New Dimension of Exceeding Joy and Wonder, once the suspension is properly set up?! Suddenly, it seems like those same old tires have capabilites far far beyond previous expectations!

 

Now you've got an idea wot the Luigi's had in mind in the first place. Not too shabby after all, eh?

 

Congrat's, Docc!

[docc]

 

 

And doesn't the "short frame" Guzzi Sport enter a Brand New Dimension of Exceeding Joy and Wonder, once the suspension is properly set up?! Suddenly, it seems like those same old tires have capabilites far far beyond previous expectations!

Now you've got an idea wot the Luigi's had in mind in the first place. Not too shabby after all, eh?

Congrat's, Docc!

And, really, the 'squeak' is much better than in the beginning. I may try to polish the 'rebound' spring a bit more and see if I can 'tune' the noise away.

After 49,000 miles working to ride this bike well, it is remarkable the change in its manners. Of course, it is notable that I've spent $1100 on a $5500 bike. And it's still just worth $5500.

Even as in 2003 when I crashed the Sport and THE FORUM rescued me, I feel a great debt of gratitude to the patience and indulgence of posters and the efforts of Jaap and Paul Minneart making this all possible.

I must say, Ratchethack and Dlaing make a most curious balance of input. Perhaps you two don't want to hear it, but I've been on this forum a while and the effort put forth by your intense postings is most appreciated. "Users" have come and gone. Some (like me and Joe Camarda) have gone and come back again. I'm no big-time internetter, but this is the most forgiving forum I've ever clicked on. Even Ben, bless his heart, has had an education in Danish vs. Dutch without being flamed or hooted off the board. Again, I wish to express my gratitude to those who have helped me along the 49.000 miles of my Guzzi way. I know I would have had to give it up without your help, all of you.

In the words of the Dane, Mikael, of guzzitech.dk , "I owe more than one guy out there a beer."