ATC King
09-23-2020, 10:27 PM
I bought some budget priced (Chinese) fork boots for my 185. These are the same for the 185S (later model), 200S, and 200M.
They fit really nice, but there are no vent hole. When the forks compress, the boots lose internal volume. They must have vents. These don't have them, much like any fork boots in the sub $20 price range.
I have a set of gasket/leather hole punches. This is by no means the first time I've used them on fork boots, but I typically use them to make holes in gaskets. I have a whole set, which is typically how they come. I used one of the smaller ones for the fork boot vents. I backed the punch up with a solid piece of steel (18 wheeler tire iron) in the vise. I prefer to use wood to lessen the damage to the punch, but a bar of steel is all I had that'd fit inside the boot.
I put the vents on the bottom of the last bellow, which is very common on other fork boots. The OEM boots have vents in the bottom section over the sliders. Some other ATV/Motorcycle boots have vents top to bottom or little tubes at the top. All boots must have some type of vent.
264398264399264400264401264402264403264404264405
I've used these cheap boots before, and don't expect them too last like OEM, but OEM isn't available anymore. Got to have something to keep the fork tubes from being damaged and with a little work, these boots work fine.
They fit really nice, but there are no vent hole. When the forks compress, the boots lose internal volume. They must have vents. These don't have them, much like any fork boots in the sub $20 price range.
I have a set of gasket/leather hole punches. This is by no means the first time I've used them on fork boots, but I typically use them to make holes in gaskets. I have a whole set, which is typically how they come. I used one of the smaller ones for the fork boot vents. I backed the punch up with a solid piece of steel (18 wheeler tire iron) in the vise. I prefer to use wood to lessen the damage to the punch, but a bar of steel is all I had that'd fit inside the boot.
I put the vents on the bottom of the last bellow, which is very common on other fork boots. The OEM boots have vents in the bottom section over the sliders. Some other ATV/Motorcycle boots have vents top to bottom or little tubes at the top. All boots must have some type of vent.
264398264399264400264401264402264403264404264405
I've used these cheap boots before, and don't expect them too last like OEM, but OEM isn't available anymore. Got to have something to keep the fork tubes from being damaged and with a little work, these boots work fine.