My 1966 Atlas which had sat for FIFTY years untouched has NO oil in the forks, evidenced by the fact that with the oil drain screw removed nothing comes out. No surprises there really, so, first I want to fill the forks to see if its because the seals have rotted away or because the oil that was in there magically evaporated or leaked out over 5 decades of sitting.
But there's a problem: The big chrome fork cap bolts unscrew easily enough but won't come out. I haven't stripped a set of Roadholder forks before so I've studied the blow up diagram of the forks in the Haynes manual in detail. Underneath these big bolts is the rod top nut which secures the main spring locating bush. I'm assuming this locating bush sits inside the hollow recess of the underside of the big filler bolts. Could it be that the bush has corroded into that recess preventing the bolts from being removed? The bolts are completely unscrewed but when I push down on them it feels like I'm pushing down on the inner springs.
Summink's not right here. Those filler bolts should just pop off once they're unscrewed
Getting your nuts off
To access the locknuts you need the bike on the center stand and heave the front wheel up and wedge a bit of timber under the tire this will make it easier to undo the top nuts and they will rise up to give access to locknuts
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hello ,if you havent…
hello ,
if you havent already. put something under the front of the frame incase the front of the bike drops down .if its on its stand.
barry
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Yes ,thats possible on some…
Yes ,thats possible on some bikes ,but not my 99 , and not usually if you have removed the front wheel already.
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Ok, figured it out now. I…
Ok, figured it out now. I didn't understand that the top nuts are attached to the nut below. Once I realised that it was easy.
Fork oil is in now and the forks are much firmer and stiffer (obviously) and after several pumps on them I see no leaks whatsoever. A good ride will determine if that remains the case
Thanks for all the responses.
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Update:
Took the bike out for a 5 mile ride and did some heavy braking, riding over bumpy surfaces etc. It feels really good compared to what it did, which I suppose it should!
Back in the garage, the right side stanchion shows no signs of leaks. The left side has a very slight misting of oil around the top of the chrome sleeve but it's hardly noticable.
I'll let it be until I've done a bit more riding and then change the oil again to see if there's any muck or swarf in it. For now though it all looks good.
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Forks update
Well, I won't have to drain the oil as it looks like it's coming out on its own! I knew it was too good to be true. Took it for a fast run for 15 miles and both legs are leaking. Oh well, I've never reconditioned a set of Roadholders before. Should be fun.
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Forks update
Stripped the forks. Man, those stanchions were rusted into the lower yokes good and solid! Took a good half hour of cleaning it off with a circular wire wheel on a drill to get them clean enough to start moving, then another half hour of Plus Gas and twisting back and forth to finally release them.
I was pleased to see it had tapered steering bearings that were in good nick and there was still plenty of 50 year old grease on them. The oil seals were FUBAR. The top bronze bushes seemed ok but I changed them anyway. The fork springs were different lengths, by about half an inch, so I binned them and fitted new ones. The stanchions, though rusty, weren't pitted and cleaned up really well. They were straight as a die and slid back on no problem.
Forks all back together and refitted to the frame now and not a dribble of oil in sight.
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Hi,
The top caps are internally threaded and the damper rod screws into them, and is kept in place by a locknut between the spring and the top cap.
So, if you hold a spanner on the locknut and a spanner on the top cap, it should loosen off enabling you to unscrew the top cap from the rod.
If there is no movement between rod and cap, it has probably rusted in, and you might need to resort to a some mole grips or similar to grip the damper rod between spring and locknut and try undoing again.The damper rods are around £13 each if you have to damage it to get the cap off.
If there is no oil in the forks, then you really should strip them completely as the bushes and damper caps could well be needing attention. Be very careful with the seal holders if you do as they also 'rot' into the sliders and patience, heat and lots of penetrating oil may be required to unscrew them.
Good Luck,
George