Topic: Cartridge Emulator - I am an idiot?

[rbtconsultants]

I posted this at the end of another thread, but got no answers. Possibly my idiocy needs it's own thread to get folks to look at it.

I guess I am an idiot. I can't seem to even drill something correctly. Sigh.

So, I drilled the damping rods and I guess I didn't have this one lined up correctly and I think the drill bit moved a bit when I started the hole, and the dog ate my homework, blah blah. I really have no excuse.

Anyway, would you use this? Are the holes too close together? Is it OK?





Thanks,

Bob

[rbtconsultants]

OK, well, nobody saying "Awww, no problem" leads me to believe I shouldn't use this, so I won't.

I have another set of damping rods and I can drill one, but I hate to do it, because they were my fallback plan if I didn't like the emulators for some reason, like I can't get them set up right because I'm an idiot.

So, I'll drill one and use it, and hopefully never need to go back. Everything is apart now, old seals are out (THANKS to the c-clamp method they took about 2 minutes each).  Drill the rod, new seals go in, reassemble forks with emulators, shiny new (to me) fork ears (bought from Frank, forum alias 754, thanks Frank), new dust boots, put everything back together and give it a ride (maybe not til tomorrow, looks like rain). 

If anyone has a spare damping rod from a 77-78 F/K laying around, or just a crap fork with one in it, I'd be interested in it, just to keep the set around in my spare parts collection.

Thanks,

Bob

[hapakev]

Awwwww, No Problem. lol

I am no expert, but if I understand the principle correctly, the holes are widened to allow the fork oil to flow freely through the old dampening rod holes.  It shouldn't be a problem unless you feel that they are now weakened somehow.  I can't see them being so weak that you can't use them.  They are made from solid steel.  They don't look that bad to me, but you might want to invest in some sharp drillbits

[rbtconsultants]

Thanks, already drilled another one 

I know the holes are for letting oil flow,  I was worried about weakening it.  I though that little sliver of steel between a couple of the holes was too small. I don't know how much load this thing has to take, although if I understand how everything works it's probably not a huge amount, maybe hundreds of pounds of force, not thousands. I could be wrong though. I wasn't sure about what would happen if it failed either, although I suspect if it bent it would bind the fork on compression and it wouldn't rebound.

I wasn't sure if a failure would be catastrophic, but if it failed it would probably be at a time when I needed it most, and I didn't want to find out the hard way.

Thanks,

Bob

[hapakev]

Its probably better to err on the side of caution.  I don't blame ya

[rbtconsultants]

Just got back from the first ride with new seals and new emulators. Everything working perfectly.

Not sure about my setup yet. It's a bit firm, I definitely feel more feedback. However, brake dive is much, much better, which is why I wanted to firm it up. I may end up softening it a bit, but I'll ride it for a while and see if I adjust. My son rides with me a lot too, so it maybe just setup right for his additional weight also, I'll have to assess that.

Oh yeah, it looks much shinier with the new fork ears and a swapped out pitted fork tube for a nice clean one (probably why the seal went south).

Couldn't have done it without this forum. Hell the bike would have been junked 10 yeas ago if it wasn't for the original people like Glenn, etc. that have helped me along the way.

Thanks to all.

Bob

Here's a pic: