Ruined forks on GS850G

[Guest]

Hi all,

Just a little thing: I've noticed* that my forks are ruined, got a massive great groove running down a few inches of the fork which means they're leaking terribly. Just wondering, is this a well-known thing? My bike mechanic mate said he's never seen a fork so badly damaged, I'm hoping it's just bad luck rather than a design flaw. 'Cos it's about £160 a time to get a pair re-chromed, don't fancy doing it too often...

Cheers,
Alex

*my mate pointed out and swore a lot

[hampshirehog]

Ham fisted seal changing is the usual reason for that type of damage - as long as you avoid that it doesn't happen often.

I use HCP for my fork rechroming. Far better than original.

http://www.hardchromeplating.co.uk

[08rangerdan]

Find a new set of legs. Might be much more affordable

[tkent02]

It's not common, I've never seen it. You think maybe a rock got lodged in the oil seal or something?

Post a picture if you can.

A used fork leg would likely be a lot cheaper.

[alexlawriewood]

Hm, wondering if the not-terrific garage who did my last MOT and changed my fork seals might have done it badly. But good to hear it's not a common thing.

Tempted to skimp and get used legs, but buying on eBay, I don't really know what condition they'd turn up in. Plus the cost of shipping. And it'd be nice to be really improving the condition of the bike rather than adding another cut corner to the thing, I plan to keep it for a long time to come!

[alexlawriewood]

Sorry, still not got decent photos, quite tricky to get in focus with a phone camera. Anyway, I've been looking, can't help but notice there's a wide range of GS forks on eBay. How much of a performance is it to change between GS front-ends, say a 550 or 1100 or something? Are there any completely interchangeable ones? Not managed to figure it out by looking on CMSNL part numbers!

[hampshirehog]

Without making other changes (brakes or yokes) you're limited to 850 or 1000 forks. The 850 forks are usually cheaper secondhand.

[tkent02]

You should have 37mm fork tube diameter, the 750s had 35mm, the 1100s had 38mm I think… Not sure about the last bit.

[alexlawriewood]

Hmm, okay, thanks, I'll check the Haynes manual when I'm home. hampshirehog, don't suppose I'm missing some great sources of UK-based bits by basically just looking on eBay? There seem to be a lot more listed in the States, but I imagine shipping/tax being prohibitive.

[hampshirehog]

If you only need the one then new ones are about £100. Try http://www.allbikeengineering.co.uk/forks.php