Oh Great!! 200x Fork Massacre!!!

[CRAZY70MAN]

Well, thought I would rebuild at least front forks before Lightning so my teeth would all stay in andhttp://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo321/andyatc70/th_Picture482.jpg (http://s388.photobucket.com/albums/oo321/andyatc70/?action=view&current=Picture482.jpg) found this severe blow! Man, not now.......... what do ya' think..... slap er' back together and run it?? No new parts in forks yet, just had sludge so I just did a total disassemble and cleaned, new oil tommorow...... what to do??? What is the best choice for fork oil??? If I don't get this fixed, I may be riding this at Lightning...... http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo321/andyatc70/th_Picture483.jpg (http://s388.photobucket.com/albums/oo321/andyatc70/?action=view&current=Picture483.jpg) Oh ya..... stock spring length's were 15.4 for the long and 5.7 for the short. Mine measure 17 1/2" and 3 3/8" ??? Wrong ones?? Or is the short spring just that compressed???

[fabiodriven]

Those can be straightened you know.

[CRAZY70MAN]

What method to straighten?? Vise???? Vise and heat???? Gimmie some pointers.... thanks man, was not sure if they could be fixed??

[fabiodriven]

No vice, no heat. It's been a while since I've seen it done, but I think it requires a lathe and a press. You spin the tube in the lathe to find the high spot, mark it, then put it in the press and give 'er a push.

[shortline10]

I use a 20 ton press to straighten bent axles and forks . My press has paid for itself over and over by not having to throw away good fixable parts .

[Lukeatc185]

not trying to thread jack, but can an axle be straightened with a press?

[CRAZY70MAN]

Thanks for the help..... buddy has 20 ton press.... I will take it down and give it a shot...... any suggestions Shortline or tricks in the press or with the setup?? Thanks again....

[shortline10]

not trying to thread jack, but can an axle be straightened with a press?

As long as its not bent into a UUUUUU . Slight bends are easy to fix with the correct tools .

[Lukeatc185]

its bent bad enough where the ride is terrible at high speeds. not much noticeable otherwise.

[shortline10]

Thanks for the help..... buddy has 20 ton press.... I will take it down and give it a shot...... any suggestions Shortline or tricks in the press or with the setup?? Thanks again....

I use pieces of wood and a few cotton rags so not to scratch the forks wile using the press . Just spin the forks and find the high spot just dont over do it . take your time .

[shortline10]

its bent bad enough where the ride is terrible at high speeds. not much noticeable otherwise.

sounds very fixable to me .

[CRAZY70MAN]

thanks man........ try it out asap....

[Lukeatc185]

awesome. what tools do i need?

[shortline10]

awesome. what tools do i need?

You need a press to fix a bent axle .

[oscarmayer]

would this pres work?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=4711

[fabiodriven]

Looks a bit small to me oscar. It might get the job done though.

[oscarmayer]

Looks a bit small to me oscar. It might get the job done though.

what about a 12 toner?

[beets442]

It should work, I straightened a 350x axle with a peice of 3"X3"X3'angle cut slots in it for the jack to fit. welded tabs(tapped 1/2 in. holes for set screws to hold the axle still). Welded a frame around so the Hydro bottle jack wouldn't roll. When I put pressure on it, I added a little heat(not red hot) from a Map torch. Take it out roll it and repeat as neccesary. I've since cut it to peices or I'd show you a pic. Axle still barely wiggles but it does wobble. Good luck Beets

[Bunnyhop]

Even a small press will straighten that fork tube right out if you find it's high spot, which shudnt be hard in this case. Like the other guys said, use moderation and some blocks of wood, A lil dab will do ya.
Oh yeah, don't use heat. Slow steady pressure is the key.

[Dirtcrasher]

You could do it with a 2 ton press for christs sake.... :lol:

You need 3 V blocks. I make them out of wood just for this repair.

Understand that the fork normal bend right below the lower tripple clamp so call that the "center" of the bend.

Space each V block about 8"s away from this center, roll the tube (of course you need to disassemble them) and mark the high spot with a black sharpie. Shift the blocks an inch to the left, recheck high spot. Shift them to the right, check the high spot.

Once you have the high spot, press away and be sure to put a wood block between and pend PAST the straight point. Fork steel has memory and bounces right back to it's bent state, you have to go beyond pretty far.

Here is a picture:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh220/Dirtcrasher/2UnbendingFork.jpg

And the pieces:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh220/Dirtcrasher/2ForksInPieces.jpg

I press the snot out of them, no slow and steady work for me here :D

[rdlsz24]

Sweet I'm going to be getting a floor press here very soon. We just moved to a new house last week and I finally have my 3 car garage!

Rob

[WIkid500]

Hey Dirtcrasher good thing you posted about the V blocks. I was reading this and no one mentioned using V blocks. If you don't use them you will put flat pots in the axle tube from pushing.

Good post with the pic's