Fork pitting

The first class pair of tubes I got from Frank's (Chicago, USA) last year were $220. I happen to like the look of the full gaiters and got a pair of those too, so the tubes should outlast me.

Hello nortonspeed

EMGO half the price of Andover Norton stanchions well I guess you get what you pay for: https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/piratepartdetails

Not really in Andovers interest to promote there competititors product , i would love to see some of these £6.00 Chinese fork tubes which have been in accidents

Emgo Tubes made from copper pipe ? ( cold drawn seamless tube JIS STKM11A spec sourced in Japan industrial hard chromed and centreless ground to size ) as per the Emgo fork tube listing

fork tubes are safety critical components and suppliers are liable for product they import / manufacture especially if it fails in an accident

Take the Andover Norton post with a pinch of salt

Any one done business with James of Mail Order Repairs?

An old post but RGM have just announced a pair of stachions for £70 plus vat, uk made, hard chromed, part no 063423.

I've noticed over the years that the tubes in new hydraulic cylinders do not have a polished finish on the hard chrome, but more a "brushed" finish that laps the bushing and seal in use. After a time, the wear area becomes polished, but not without marks and lines. is this something that just won't work on a frequently-moved cylinder like a fork stanchion/leg or were fork tubes given a polished finish just for looks?

I'm amazed that you would consider any remedy other than tube replacement. By the time you pull the tubes, get them coated with something, realize that they are now too big in diameter to fit properly in the bushings, then look to some other goofy remedy to fix that...Just replace the tubes, your time must be worth something, never mind the aggravation of a poor (unsafe?) fit.

I'm all for innovative repairs and maintenance, but only when they save substantial amounts of time and/or money and don't impinge on safety. Another way to look at this, which should appeal to the penny pinchers, is consider what the coating folly will cost you and look at that amount as a discount on the new tubes...

From what I've seen, Commandos seem to eventually get a 1" round worn spot with pitting and vertical scratching from those stock plastic boots on the front of each leg just above the seals. Make sure your bushings are good and get the accordions. I have not had the problem since installing gaiters years ago. The dirt and oil film produce the usual abrasive paste. I think my second set of tubes was from Forking By Frank in Illinois but they always seem to be just barely in business. Not very responsive but may be just ultra busy with long fork tubes for the chopper guys. The threads were not quite deep enough at the top so I had to use some thin washers to tighten them up.

I have sucessfully repaired fork tube nicks with steel-epoxy, but it needs to be sanded and polished perfectly flush with the plating, If there's any edge of plating sticking up past the original o.d., it will cut the seal like a knife.

batrider said:

From what I've seen, Commandos seem to eventually get a 1" round worn spot with pitting and vertical scratching from those stock plastic boots on the front of each leg just above the seals. Make sure your bushings are good and get the accordions. I have not had the problem since installing gaiters years ago. The dirt and oil film produce the usual abrasive paste. I think my second set of tubes was from Forking By Frank in Illinois but they always seem to be just barely in business. Not very responsive but may be just ultra busy with long fork tubes for the chopper guys. The threads were not quite deep enough at the top so I had to use some thin washers to tighten them up.

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I think Frank's main business is hydraulic cylinders and fork tubes are something they got into way back when when the chopper craze and extended forks were the rage. Probably not a lot of profit in it, an volume is low, so that would explain the delays and waiting.

I use the gaiters, and use a small hole punch to put a small breather hole in the underside of one of the bellows prior to installation.