20's HD Front Forks

[Smarty]

Is there a good reference book or article that deals with the restoration and re-assembly of 20's HD Springer Front Forks ? or is there a simple method to put them back together again ??

Any help greatly appreciated

Kind Regards,

Martin

[Tommo]

To answer your question I really need to know exactly what type of 1920's fork you are talking about. Basically all the 1922 and earlier forks didn't have cushion springs. All the 1923 and later ones did. There's also a heap of other year to year variations that affect how you put them together. I don't want to appear awkward but the reason a lot of these questions go unanswered is because of the lack of enough detailed information.
Give me some details and I'll see if I can help you.

Regards Tommo

[Smarty]

Hello Tommo,

was looking for general information/magazine article as I'm sure there are no articles out there specifically for the 1925 Model JE forks with cushion springs that I have, HD Part No 2604-25 & 2606-25 with the cushion springs #2619-22.

I have a good idea of the sequence and how to put them back together again, just looking for those tips which prevent you scraping your knuckles and scratching the paint as you re-assemble them with the slider springs in-situ.

Look forward to your reply.

Regards,

Martin

[Tommo]

I always assemble them in the bike. So install the rigid fork, adjust the steering head bearings and fit, if you have one, an old top triple clamp. Once you're ready to install the spring fork assembly find a suitable ratchet tie down and put it around the mudguard brace on the spring fork and over the triple clamp on the rigid fork. I then cable tie a piece of split rubber hose over the neck of the frame to protect the paint and ratchet it up and you should be done. The reason I use an old triple clamp is that I keep the ratchet assembly right up on the top where it can't do any damage to new paint and if you wrap a piece of teflon sheet under the mudguard brace the strap won't harm your paint there either. If you don't have a spare top triple clamp you'll have to wrap rags etc around your painted one and proceed very carefully
I've yet to see any articles on assembling these forks and what works for me might not necessarily work for you but I've successfully assembled many 25-29 forks this way.
The reason I do my assembly in the bike is that whenever I put a set together that extra pair of hands needed to hold and/or support things never seems to be available but with the frame tied down on my bike lift I find things don't slip out or fall over and damage that nice new paint

Hope this helps, Tommo

[Smarty]

Thanks for that Tommo,

I was intending to assemble them off the bike as I've got a good buddy I can call on to help me install them in one piece. I like the idea of using a ratchet strap to compress the springs, could you insert the wheel spindle and strap between that and the mudguard boss if you haven't got a spare triple clamp ?

When I took them apart (my 1st HD Project), even with no loading on the springs, they were unexpectedly (for me) still under compression and made the disassembly a bit interesting......

Thanks again for your advice,

Regards,

Martin

[Tommo]

Smarty,
Sorry about the delay responding but I've been away down the South Island for 10 days, at a mates, sorting about 3 tons of veteran H.D. spares he has just purchased. 1916 to 1929 parts. Quite a treasure trove.
Re the forks; If you pull from the bottom make sure you use a spreader between the fork legs that is strong enough to withstand bending or collapsing when the pressure goes on. It's real easy to bend your nice restored legs if you have nothing to prevent them from coming together.
When you pull from the bottom the tendency is for the spring and rigid forks to pull against one another, so put plenty of padding in between them is needed to stop damage to the paint.
My jig for pulling them together that way uses a draw bolt that goes up through the centre stem and I put a cap with a hole drilled in it over the top of the stem so that when you wind it up you don,t damage anything like threads and paint. This is where my original question about the type of forks came in because the later forks with rebound springs take quite a bit more tension to assemble and the tie down trick is not the best option with this type of forks.
Hope this helps
Regards, Tommo

[MMasa]

Treasure

Tommo
Is your friend looking to unload any of the three tons of HD stuff? I need a number of bits for some projects. BTW: Did you ever get that list of HD Sport model parts I was looking for?
Let me know.
Thanks
Mark Masa

[REA]

re :Fork assembly

I had good luck using almost the same method as Tommo,Except I used a piece of " all thread "rod to compress my 27 JD forks.Should I need to assemble another JD springer , I would use the method again. Rolf

[LouieMCman]

Mark, I have an unrestored winners circle Sport model and have some sport model parts. I heard you were making some clutch disc out of kevlar for the Sport model? Email me your list, maybe we can trade?

LouieMCman@aol.com

[MMasa]

Sport Model Clutch

Louie
I was looking into making the small clutch plate inserts out of kevlar or some other apropriate material, but I could never get good info on what material to use. I am also planning on making transmission gears for the Sport and have already made a few motor sprockets. What Sport parts might you have spare?
Thanks
Mark