Gah, where to begin? This restoration m'larkey is hard graft isn't it?

Ok, fork rebuild time. I had a look at the bottom bush and the copper surface was worn quite badly, so it needed replacement.

Onto the parts fiche and the replacement part = 34L-23171-00 x 2. Small problem in that they are showing as no longer available.

I searched for the same part number but for the 55W and this showed that there were still some available, so I ordered a pair and awaited their delivery.

When they turned up this morning I went into the garage to check they fitted but to my dismay they were very different - see below:



They are an identical diameter but the 55W part is about 3/4 the depth of the 34L part. Why would they change the parts so dramatically between the two models when there appears to be very little difference in the function of the fork?

Does anybody know if there are any alternatives?

I have searched the interweb high and low and from my searching I can't find the 34L part anywhere. I have tried a 43F fiche but can't even see a similar part listed.

What part does this bush play? Is it vital? (I know that's a daft question but I am getting frustrated at being held up). Could the shallower part be used without any reprocussions?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Andy

The bush is the contact surface between the stauntion & slider (lower leg). Without it the lower leg would rattle around. The shorter bush might work for a time, but I bet you'd hear it knocking as the forks went up & down.

That wear looks very even, are you sure it's not a "none stick" coating you're looking at?

Engineering firms can somtimes make bushes, try local, if you have no luck try Arnetts in Donny tel. 0800 037 2531

Rick

The 34L & 55W forks are different, on the 34L's the axle mounts right down low & the 55W are more like the later bikes where the axle mounts 3" higher, look at pics of the two bikes on Ingo's site & you can see the difference immediately.

Mezo.

Sorry about picture quality of that previous one, it was taken on my iPhone last night when feeling cheesed off, whereas these are from my DSLR… as you can see from the first one it appears to be quite badly worn (does this look like normal wear or is it indicating something worse?). It can't be re-used in that state can it?



And here is what the brand new one 55W one looks like in comparison



It seems I may have struck lucky with a local engineer who can knock me a couple up… so thanks for that tip.

Anyone want to buy some 55W bushes?

Can you give the dimensions of the bush?
ID OD and length.
I have a cunning plan.

Do you mean the old 34L bush or the new 55W bush?

ActionManMelb wrote:I have a cunning plan.

Mezo.

andylarkin wrote:Do you mean the old 34L bush or the new 55W bush?

Never answer a question with a question!!
You could give me the dimensions of both, noting that you desire the longer one.

BTW, how did all the circular scratches happen to the old bush. There must have been a burr somewhere on the fork leg.
You dont want to damage the new ones on assembly.

Ok, bit of assistance required.

I've been to see my local engineer bloke who has raised some pertinent questions.

Does anyone know what these bushes are made of? First glance I thought that they looked bronze, but he thought they were a coated aluminium. However, they were magnetic… so that makes them steel or what?

Secondly, the new bush for the 55W appears to have a teflon coating or PFTE coating? Can anyone shed any light on this? What does this coating do? Stop the metal of the stanchion and the bush fusing I presume? Is it vital? I presume it must be otherwise Yamaha wouldn't have put it on there?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I thought I would try and glean as much info as I can in one hit.

One solution he did suggest, if no other option was open would be to double up on the 55W bushes but cut down so the combined height of 2 x 55W bushes = height of 1 x 34L bush.

What do you reckon? Can you see any pitfalls?

Oh dear… so many hassles, why do we bother?



Also, having looked at the component parts, I can't work out why my old ones are so scratched. How do these things work exactly and what could have caused the scratching?

Thanks in advance.