Fork Question

[Douglas Money]

I have a question about the forks on my 11. I notice that when I am hitting dips in the road and the forks start to compress, I can feel a small thump in the handlebars. Not much and no noise, just enough that I can feel it. I don't detect any looseness in the wheel, the forks, or the stem. It just seems if I compress the forks like it is got some slack inside the fork tubes. Thanks for your help.

Doug

[Czekus21]

When was the last time that you did maint on the forks ? A small or light thump or hard spot sound like a burr on a seal or a spring issue.

[Douglas Money]

I just purchased the bike recently. PO said that he had done fork seals last year. It feels heavier like a loose bolt, but I can not find anything loose. Is it possible to have slop in the fork springs?

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Doug,

You've got a 79Standard according to your profile(hint, best to add your year/model to your signature..helps others to know what you have). The inner fork dampener is attached with a bolt in the bottom of the fork slider, it's put on with locktite IF it's done correctly! But, you say that the sound comes from compression of the forks. There is a small "rebound" spring on the bottom of the dampener rod which could allow for some slack? However, I would expect that sound to occur during expansion IF that screw and spring wasn't tight!? The large compression spring supports the front end and is under compression just sitting there, so would doubt that it's a problem.

I would think the steering head is the next possible culprit. You might need to remove the front wheel, and jack up the engine/ frame to take the weight off of the forks so you can then pull up/out on them to better check for slack in the steering head.
T.C.

[Douglas Money]

Thanks TopCat. I hadn't noticed the profile. I'll check the forks.

Thanks.