Advise needed... fork sills & MOT

[Ted]

Some people on here might remember that at the end of last summer I was asking about how easy it was to replace fork sills; I then (sort of) decided it was best to get a garage to fit them, which I never got round to. My bike was in pieces over autumn and winter while I was sorting out various other bits, such as the rear shocks, and with the changing over of cars et al I never got around to getting them done (my bike is a secondary vehicle, although that might change this year). The reason I thought they needed doing was because on one 14mile trip (prob a long trip for me at that time) on twisty roads with loads of braking involved, the fork oil was dripping down the fork on one side. I started riding my bike on the odd occassion a couple of weeks ago, I don't think I have covered over 10miles in one trip tho, but the forks have not leaked.

The garage where I usually get work done is fully booked for repairs, but is free for MOTs, the guy he recommended does not usually work on Gileras, and does not do MOTs,

So... Do I try and put my bike through an MOT as the forks are not leaking too much, and sort the seals afterwards? Or do I get the seals done first if the other guy is alright working on a Gilera?

Prob is I have no current MOT and therefore cannot get tax!

[Blau Zedong]

It will fail an MOT if the fork SEALS are leaking that much. You will have to change them.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Ted]

But how much is too much?

..My problem is every time I take it on the road I am riding without tax and MOT...

[RI_HA]

[Ted]

[wristjob]

presuming your vw is legal.
why not just take the forks to be mended?
or why not replace the seals yourself?
if they leak at all expect an mot fail.

[Ted]

[wristjob]

are you heavy handed,ham fisted etc or have you got a really piss poor set of tools.
a simple job can be beyond an expert if you havn't got the right tools.
it really is a simple job to drop the forks out of your bike(you will need some tools)then phone round till you find someone who has the parts(it could happen)or will order the parts and then fit them at an agreed price.
you then drop your forks at his "workshop" and an agreed time later you pick them up,give him/her the money and go and refit to the bike.
you then book into an mot station ride there pass the mot ride to the nearest post office and tax the thing.you now have a legal bike.
easy wasnt it?

[stinkwheel]

You are allowed to drive a vehicle to an MOT OR a prearranged repair with no tax or MOT. You could still be done if you were stopped and it was deemed to be unroadworthy though. You would need to book it in with the registration number at the garage so if you were stopped by the coppers, they can phone to confirm.

If you look at the small print of your insurance policy, you will see you are covered for this circumstance.

It is also interesting to note that if you fit rubber fork gaiters over your leaky seals and attach them firmly with cable ties so they can't be pulled up, it will pass. The MOT tester is not allowed to remove them. I have done this on many occasions. I will not vouch for the safety or otherwise of doing so.

[wristjob]

wouldnt it be better just to fix the defect rather than spend time trying to hide it?

[steveh]

I did my first set of seals on a Thundercat, just followed the manual as best as i could, used a little bit of common sence, and they were fine.
If your going to do it yourself, keep the area free from grit, dont be to ham fisted with the seals, and use oil to make them slide down easy.

Ive done about 4 sets in my time, and im doing another tomrow on the Rf, there not that difficult, id imagine it would be really easy on a ped.

just get in there and get ur hands dirty, its an hours job, if that.



Steve.
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Current : 06 Zx10r, 07 Wr450f SM, 74 850 norton commando, 63 bsa b40, 1962 Triton 650, 67 Triumph Tr6r, 1955 Triton 750, 1978 TY250E.

[stinkwheel]

[Gazdaman]

Or a headlight...?

Bet it doesn't have a rear reflector either

Cool bike.

Gaz

[Johnny GSX-R]

[stinkwheel]

I reckon fork damping is overrated unless you are pushing it hard. For day to day riding I don't think it makes a hapeth of difference to the way the bike handles.

It's not so long ago that nearly all mopeds and scooters came out of the factory with no suspension damping. Look at the Honda C90 for a prime example, there is about 3" of suspension travel (if that), totally undamped and the front-end rises as you apply the brakes.

[Ted]

[Ted]

Right, tried getting the forks off a little while ago... just about managed to scrape together the tools for the job, but had no luck with getting them off...

The previous owner has over-tightened just about every nut, bolt screw and allen bolt! Most bits are damaged/rounded off as well.

Basically the allen bolts are too tight to undo, especially with the shitty keys I have. So bang goes that idea!

I have soaked them in WD40 and if I get a chance later tonight or tomorrow I will give them another shot...

[T1z3R]

WD40s not gonna do much IMO mate. youll be needing some penetrating oil
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duck my sick!

[Ted]

Erm... I've got some 3-in-1, will that do the job?

[T1z3R]

cant guarantee it but itll do more than WD
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duck my sick!

[Ted]

Cheers mate, anything is worth a try I guess!

[Ted]

I finally decided to order a few simple tools from Screwfix as I had 'nout to take my forks off with! Placed an order sunday night, came home to find a lovely great heavy parcel on my doorstep...

Forks are now off the bike!

Hopefully will take them to a guy tomorrow... it was too late after I got them off today.
I was half tempted to have a go at doing the fork seals but I didn't have a long enough 3/8 knuckle bar or a metal pipe to slip over the shorter bar I have, and I couldn't undo the (slightly rounded off) caps at the top of the forks

Hopefully all will be sorted soon!