Need photos of the correct fork legs for a 1951 International

Any help? From photo at Hogs Back  VMCC 50th anniversary, 28/4/96.

Can’t guarantee year but it’s the right period.  Long strap over the top of the mudguard terminating low down on the sliders in two vertically positioned threaded holes.  Mine fitted with set screws.

Not easy to photograph; If you need any dimensions let me know.

Jon

Hi James/all,

   The forks shown in David's photo are correct for your year. The earlier type have the centre stay studs set vertically and these were fitted from late 1946 to some-time during 1949 when they were changed to the horizontal pattern in the photo. These forks and the changes were common to all road specification models.

Hi James,

   The catalogues and parts books were printed in advance, so some details might vary. I think Manx racing machines might have retained the vertical type until the featherbed frame was introduced, but unless you were there, nothing is 100% certain.

owned by my father from 1954 had horizontal studs for the mudguard centre bridge, not vertical ones.  The vertical ones were used on roadsters for a couple of years only. 

All long-stroke Manx bikes had vertical centre mudguard lugs.  It's easy to identify these forged sliders, at least on the right side - there is no lug for the roadster brake plate, just the high mounted pin for the Manx brake plate

Some photos showing slider differences. Unfortunately  I cannot match any to models or dates. 

are mostly 1950s ones. 

From the right, that's the early post war model (1946-7), with vertical mudguard bridge mounts, and the lug for a Manx brake plate is unmachined. The upper 1 1/4" of the slider is machined down a little for the plain tubular fork shrouds as on long Roadholders.  If your bike has been out in the weather a lot, it rusts to the slider.  I wish they had made them in aluminium or stainless.  Guess how I know.....

The next one is as fitted to later bikes, up to 1956. The mudguard bridge bolts are horizontal, across the slider. It is also a long-Roadholder slider, with the upper part turned down for the shroud.  It has the roadster brake plate lug, and the Manx lug is present and (oddly) is machined for the reaction pin.  This is the slider as fitted to my 1955 Model 88, except for being machined down for the plain tubular shroud, and that Manx brake pin. Maybe someone fitted a Manx front brake to the bike it was fitted to.

After 1956, the lug for Manx brake plates was removed.  Otherwise, it's the same as the 1948-on slider. 

The third slider from the right is a 1960's one. Somewhere around 1960, the mudguard bridge bosses were lowered about half an inch. During Commando production, extra metal was added fore-and-aft to the sliders to make them stronger, known as the oval slider.

The remaning three sliders are left side ones. The one on the far left has the high mudguard bridge bosses, the other two are the low mudguard bridge type. Be careful to check that the thin metal where the axle passes through is not cracked. Just nip up the pinch bolt, and rely on the axle nut to hold it all together.

Personally, if I had been at the factory making new moulds for sliders, I would have made it longer, and eliminated the lower shroud.  It would prevent use of external springs, though.

Before I forget, the Manx slider is not common to the roadster bikes - they are forged instead of cast.  The slider with vertical mudguard bridge bosses continued up to 1956. The attached photo is of a pair of plunger Manx sliders. featherbed ones would lack the lugs for a front mudguard stay. The vertical boss for the mudguard bridge is integral with the Manx brake pin boss, and there is no lug for the roadster brake. Featherbed ones are not machined down on the top 1 1/4", and lack the front lower stay lugs.  Post 1956, they went for horizontal mudguard stay bosses as on roadsters.  The last year (1962) got a 7" 4ls double sided front brake, so the left fork slider got a brake boss to match the right hand side.

I once owned a pair of fork bottoms (sliders) which I showed to a friend of mine. His name was Joe Costin. He was a Norton man through and through and had he survived would be giving 100 a nudge. Joe looked at them and said ''Those are forged bottoms from 1946, hang onto them''! All bottoms Manx and the roadsters were, he insisted forged in 1946. Mine had an unmachined Manx boss as well as the roadster roadster boss on the R/H Bottom. The L/H had a lower than the R/H side brace attachment with vertical bolt holes. Both had the upper ends machined for the shrouds I fitted these bottoms to an Atlas sprinter/road racer I built in the early 90's and the R/H bottom broke during a race and hurled my rider down the road. I fitted two new Commando Oval bottoms after that!