Commando forks

I fitted a goldseal emulator clone to one side for adjustable compression damping, on the other side I fitted an alloy rod to replace the worn steel rod and installed a PTFE bush in the cap screwed into the top of the damper body with a tight clearance to increase the rebound damping above normal.

This is a variation on the Mike Randell mods detailed here

http://www.members.shaw.ca/randell/cartridge_emulator_installation.htm

I also fitted a garter seal to the emulator to stop oil bypassing the sides instead of Mikes O ring, as the ID of a Norton Stanchion is 26mm they are available off the shelf.

End result is variable compression damping in one leg with the large bump compression damping adjustable by using a allen key on the emulator, and by varying the oil viscosity in the other leg adjustable rebound damping.

Externally there is no change but the handling is greatly improved, you get low compression damping for small bumps but larger bumps open the valve and increase the damping to that of the allen key setting.

Paul - you could try these from Lansdowne Engineering.

They look rather good: http://lansdowne-engineering.co.uk/index.html

Regards

Jack

The Landsdowne solution is 2 inserts, one for each leg. One insert covers compression damping and is externally adjustable, and the other insert covers the rebound damping in the same way.

Quality and aftercare are good and they are fit and forget.

But it has the limitation that it is a single rate damping, adjustable yes but you only get the one rate, the Goldseal emulator gives variable damping depending on the rate of compression. So you get light damping for normal roadundulationsand heavy damping for potholes.

the Goldseal emulator gives variable damping depending on the rate of compression. So you get light damping for normal roadundulationsand heavy damping for potholes.

Got that bit wrong, its the exact opposite, you get high compression damping over normal road undulations which gives you a magic carpet type ride and when you encounter a steep sided hole the valve opens and gives you low damping so you get fast fork movement which asborbs the quick change in road height. The adjustment on the emulator is to set the break point at which it moves from high damping to low damping.