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So in my quest to acquire all the parts needed to rebuild the (stock) front forks on my 1981 GS1100E, I've run into another stumbling block. The forks on the '81 1100E have 4-position damping adjustment built in to the forks. [NOTE: in 80-81, the 1100E had different forks than the later years (no anti-dive mechanism, leading axles, and large damping adjustment knob located at very bottom of fork tube).] On my forks, those damping adjustment knobs are very "soft"; they are very easy to turn by hand, and the detents at the four indicated positions are pretty 'vague' (not a nice firm 'click' feeling with no wobble once in the detent, but a bit more slop/looseness). Also it seems the knobs may be clocked incorrectly (maybe got re-installed at some point with wrong position/indicator relatiopnship).
I havent had a set of these forks apart yet, so it's possible when I do I may find that the the "sloppiness" in the damping adjustment mechanism is due to some loosened fasteners or improper assembly (previous owner did not seem very mechanically savvy, lots of oddball issues on the bike). But the parts fiche shows a specific part that is just a detent assembly. it looks like a simple cassette with 4-position ball detents and a thru D-socket (that presumably engages with the end of the shaft coming out the bottom of the damping rod). Would make sense that if this part/mechanism is worn, it would cause the symptoms I'm experiencing. Unfortunately, the part is out of production, and I cannot find any for sale in any condition on Ebay or elsewhere.
When I get things apart, I'm going to see if there is something else causing my sloppy/vague detents, and if not, see if there is any way to refurb/service the detent mechanism in there. But if it IS that part causing the problem, and it CAN'T be serviced (images make it look like it may not be easily dis/re-assembled), does ANYONE have some spares, or old ones in mostly useable condition laying around? Know a good source for replacement parts? Any advice is appreciated. Some images of the parts fiche, and the part in question are pasted below for reference:
I havent had a set of these forks apart yet, so it's possible when I do I may find that the the "sloppiness" in the damping adjustment mechanism is due to some loosened fasteners or improper assembly (previous owner did not seem very mechanically savvy, lots of oddball issues on the bike). But the parts fiche shows a specific part that is just a detent assembly. it looks like a simple cassette with 4-position ball detents and a thru D-socket (that presumably engages with the end of the shaft coming out the bottom of the damping rod). Would make sense that if this part/mechanism is worn, it would cause the symptoms I'm experiencing. Unfortunately, the part is out of production, and I cannot find any for sale in any condition on Ebay or elsewhere.
When I get things apart, I'm going to see if there is something else causing my sloppy/vague detents, and if not, see if there is any way to refurb/service the detent mechanism in there. But if it IS that part causing the problem, and it CAN'T be serviced (images make it look like it may not be easily dis/re-assembled), does ANYONE have some spares, or old ones in mostly useable condition laying around? Know a good source for replacement parts? Any advice is appreciated. Some images of the parts fiche, and the part in question are pasted below for reference:
DETENT; 51284-49200 (Part #11 in schematic below)
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