I Got Forked Over

[atomsplitter]

I posted up about going down to Florida to buy a 2016 Triumph Thruxton R a few weeks back. When I inspected the bike before purchase I noticed some oil on the lower fork stanchions so I knew fork seals were going to be needed. I ordered the seals shortly after getting home and they have been sitting on my kitchen table for about 5 weeks. Yesterday, (Monday) since Tom (son-in-law) was off work and wanted to use my lift to do some maintenance on his Speed Triple I thought I'd take the opportunity for free labor to get the forks out of the TTR to get the seals replaced. I was hoping it was just the seals were worn. We got the TTR front stripped and the fork legs out and I saw on the lower leg some pitting and rust. That's a really bad sign. Took the fork legs over to Monkey Moto in Argyle this morning to get their expert assessment on the condition of the stanchions and they said it was a no go, they wouldn't install new seals with those stanchions and there is no rebuilding the lower stanchion so I came home with my forks and got on the computer to see about getting the stanchions. I found a set of used and abused forks from a 2019 TTR on eBay for sale. With the damage in the photo I made the seller an offer of about 40% of his asking price, he countered with 50%, so now I have a set of forks coming from eBay. If the stanchions are bent or damaged I'll have to go the route of buying new lower legs and that's about $2,000 just for the stanchions. So fingers crossed the damaged forks I just bought on eBay are straight (there wasn't any pitting in the photos so I think we're good there). Now I know why the guy in Florida was so much cheaper than anybody around here in Texas. Fingers crossed this is the only major repair.

 

[atomsplitter]

Update: Since I had to wait on the forks from Ebay I ordered new bushings and 10 weight fork oil from Amazon. The forks arrived on Monday and I set about disassembly Monday night. The forks arrived sans springs, which I find curious but not a problem. Both stanchions look to be in good shape, but the right leg is binding on something, which I'm hoping is the upper bush against the tube. I couldn't get that leg apart as the binding was too great to pop the seal out. The left leg stanchion is out and looks good. I carted all the stuff over to Monkey Moto in Argyle and dropped it off with them. They are estimating 2 hours (I bet they spend that just getting the damaged right leg apart). I'll post up when they have it ready for me.

 

[atomsplitter]

UPDATE: Forks are back from Monkey Moto for only the 2 hour time charge. They gave me back everything I took in (including old parts they replaced). I'm putting the bike back together today so we'll see how the refreshed forks with different stanchions work. I'll be happy if they don't leak oil (set the bar low and disappointment is harder to come by).

 

[atomsplitter]

Back together and took it around the block to make sure everything is as it should be. Noticed the brakes were a little squeeky and the forks feel 100% better. No more nose dive when the front brake was applied. The bumps are smoother and overall feels like there's oil damping in the forks now (I went with 10W Motul). I may need to dial up some preload but first I'll run it this way and start adjusting after some time to ensure all the parts are working happily together. First impression is a huge improvement. Kudos to the boys over in Argyle for the fast turnaround and excellent work.

 

[atomsplitter]

UPDATE: Went out with Tom for a 40 mile ride Sunday morning with my rebuilt forks and it was better than expected. Bumps were absorbed, road irregularities traversed, and I even rolled over a small tree branch (about 1" dia) and it just took the abuse and rolled on happily. I was doing the math in my head on the way home for this repair and I came up with near $800.00. The used forks were $380 with shipping (I only needed the stanchions the rest went to the dump), the labor at Monkey Moto was $360, fork seals were $25.00 ,fork oil was $18.00, bushing kit was $40.00. Riding like I stole it, priceless. As I told Tom, "worth every nickel."

Next up: oil change and brake fluid flush.