fork inner tube / stanchion re chroming

[rich1988]

hiya as title my front upside down forks have been leaking for a while now and its got to the point where I dont want to leave it any longer to sort as it could be dangerous to ignore.

I am thinking I will get the inner tubes re chromed but my question is does anyone know of anyone fairly local that provides a fork repair/rechroming service? I have contacted a couple of people and will be getting a more accurate quote from one tommorrow but would rather go on peoples reccomendations!

Thanks :)

[Scotty]

Do the forks actually need re-chroming? Modern USD forks aren't prone to getting damaged or pitted in the way that older RWU forks were and often a leak will be due purely to the seals failing rather than slider damage - suggest using a paddock stand that lifts the steering head to get the forks on full extension, drop the wheel out and remove the mudguard and turn the fork bottoms right round so you can visually inspect the sliders for pitting - if there isn't any, no worries [smiley=thumbsup.gif] Whilst it's there, drop the forks out and get the seals changed.
Any decent shop should be able to do it, but personally I'd use a suspension specialist - try Colin Leeder at 100% Suspension - you can just package the fork up and post them to him... 8-)

http://100pcsuspension.co.uk/home.html

[rich1988]

the inner tubes are pitted sadly both have quite a few pits on them and one or two bad ones, the bike was sat up for a while which is why it happened, the seals were done for the mot about a month back and they started leaking around a week later again :(

I currently have the forks in my van waiting to go to whoever will repair them and the bike in pieces looking very sorry for itself!

[Scotty]

In that case, best of luck with it. Did whomever replaced the seals for the MoT advise you that the pitted sliders would wreck the seals in no time?
For the cost it might be worth checking the breakers and ebay for another set of forks (obviously no guarantee that they'd be any better), or try someone like Cradley Kawasaki and find out what a new set of inners would set you back... :-?

[rich1988]

yea they did advise the previous owner (only had it a month) that the inner tubes would quickly ruin the seals, which they have :( i have been quoted £100 each for new tubes and fitting or around £150 for re chroming

[Scotty]

For the sake of an extra £50 I'd be inclined to go for the new tubes personally...

[rich1988]

Yea, for me it really depends on who can do them quickest, today my work van blew up so the bike is my only form of transport so its in my interest to get it sorted asap, bugging my family to go out of there way to take me to work and back is a bit embarrassing :D

[Vard66]

Rich, do remember I get discount at Cradley. Give me a shout tomorrow if (when?) you're bored at work.

[rich1988]

apparently you have to buy the tube and the bottom knuckle piece as one, which comes out at an eye watering 500 english pounds from cradley :o

[Vard66]

Ouch. F**k that then, get them rechromed.

:-P

[pilninggas]

a temporary repair (which can be permanent) as an alternative to chroming is to fill any pitting with araldite. Use fine (1200 grit) silicon-carbide paper to rub it down.

really does work.

[jonnydangerous]

have used "cold zinc galv spray" before to temporarily fill pits......then do same as Pilninggas and rub down, will get you back on the road temporarily.
ive used 2 companies before for overhaul

Falcon shocks (fareham)= FANTASTIC !!!!!!!!!
UK Suspensions = RUBBISH! broke bits, had porous rechroming, denied all knowledge, took ages, charged about 3million quid....RUBBISH!

[rich1988]

Update: taken them down to 2brothers bike shop in andover, they are going to look into re chroming/stanchion replacement quotes for me and said it will be done by the end of next week, if not I have been offered a set of forks that just need new seals so I suppose it depends really on cost!

Wish I had seen the falcon shocks reccomendation though!

[jonnydangerous]

Falcon did me an overhaul on a 1978 Yamaha IT250 rear shock, the bikes are DAM rare... wish i had it now!
they stripped, re oiled/sealed/gassed, and even made a new damper rod for £150 inc postage!!!!....

dont know if theyre going still as this was a few years back, but they were REALLY good......

[rich1988]

Im going to poke the guys I left it with tommorrow and see whats going on