pitted forks

[old_skool]

lame, too dirt bike-ish, or ok for these older bikes. I know some of the smaller cc Honda's and other bikes of old had these, and the reason I'm asking is, the top of my forks are pretty pitted, and I don't have all the extra funds this money hungry beast wants, the bottom travel area seems ok, will know for sure after I change the seals. Would these be ok or just live with it after some steel wool action till I can afford to replace the tubes. Oh yeah, if it makes a difference, I might be blacking out the fenders/and other items like that of the midnite special as a lot of the chrome isn't all that healthy.
Something like these, not necessary this particular set

[flydog]

I put them on my 550 Seca for the same reason, I think they look great. I also think they protect the fork well, I may put them on everything. If you can find boots for off road truck shocks at places like Summit, they work great and are much cheaper than the ones made for bikes. It you put them on post a pic for us!

[old_skool]

Got pics of yours?? If I do give them a try, I'll prob ebay them, there seem to be a lot of choices, just have to measure everything first, but going to wait till the seals are done and convinced they won't re-leak, and wait for a few more comments. Thanks!

[fredintoon]

Hi skool,
fork gaiters are far more necessary on my BSA, as they hide it's external fork springs.
For an XS11 or other bike that didn't come with gaiters, so long as where the seals run is OK, (you don't want fork oil on your brake pads, you get forearms like Popeye from that) the chrome on the rest of the fork tubes is just for looks and the fork gaiters will hide the acne scars just great.

[old_skool]

yeah, the acne as you would call, is kind of annoying, going to paint the signal brks black because of it along with the fenders, all the rest is fine chrome wise.

[jetmechmarty]

Get after the rusty chrome bits with a wad of aluminum foil. Lube it with a little water, or some folks swear by Coca-Cola. You can put a little phosphoric acid in a pail of water for the same active ingredient. The rust will be removed and the aluminum does not scratch.

If after you remove rust from your forks you're left with pits, fill them with JB Weld and sand smooth.

[old_skool]

I assume your talking about if there are any pitting in the actuall travel area for the seals?

[jetmechmarty]

Yes, pitting in the travel area.

Those gaitors will only cover the travel area. Be careful where you buy them. Many have been known to fall apart. I like the Summit idea.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Pits

I have the same problem, most of mine are faceing forward so I put this on to distract from them.


I am thinking of cutting two ovel shaped pataches out of chrome tape and put them on behind the bag that would wrap most of the way around the tube and stop fare enough down not to hit the seals when compressed

lame, too dirt bike-ish, or ok for these older bikes. I know some of the smaller cc Honda's and other bikes of old had these, and the reason I'm asking is, the top of my forks are pretty pitted, and I don't have all the extra funds this money hungry beast wants, the bottom travel area seems ok, will know for sure after I change the seals. Would these be ok or just live with it after some steel wool action till I can afford to replace the tubes. Oh yeah, if it makes a difference, I might be blacking out the fenders/and other items like that of the midnite special as a lot of the chrome isn't all that healthy.
Something like these, not necessary this particular set

[flydog]

I haven't developed the fine art of posting pic to this site and I'm on my work computer right now. If you want send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you a pic of the truck/motorcycle gaiters tonight.

[EricHa]

My fork tubes were pretty badly pitted, so I just grabbed a decent set of used forks online. They go pretty cheap if you look around.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

+1

+1. I didnt believe it, but it works, I use chrome polish with alum foil. I think the softer alum leaves some alum behind to help fill pits and scratches I never use steel wool it will dull the chrome, even 00 fine

Get after the rusty chrome bits with a wad of aluminum foil. Lube it with a little water, or some folks swear by Coca-Cola. You can put a little phosphoric acid in a pail of water for the same active ingredient. The rust will be removed and the aluminum does not scratch.

If after you remove rust from your forks you're left with pits, fill them with JB Weld and sand smooth.

[Rasputin]

My 82 XJ has leather ones on it. Simple sleeves with a velcro attachment sytem. Looks better than gators and works well. If it was not so frickin cold I would go out in the canopy and take some pics. It aint happening this week anyways. But they would be simple to make, and they do not look like they belong on a dirtbike.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

82degs

82 here today Hope you do post some pic's when you can, but for now, stay inside with the life support system on

My 82 XJ has leather ones on it. Simple sleeves with a velcro attachment sytem. Looks better than gators and works well. If it was not so frickin cold I would go out in the canopy and take some pics. It aint happening this week anyways. But they would be simple to make, and they do not look like they belong on a dirtbike.

[old_skool]

My 82 XJ has leather ones on it. Simple sleeves with a velcro attachment sytem. Looks better than gators and works well. If it was not so frickin cold I would go out in the canopy and take some pics. It aint happening this week anyways. But they would be simple to make, and they do not look like they belong on a dirtbike.

Those sound good, pics when you can, no rush, I was kinda wondering if they would look to dirt bike-ish, if anyone has the ribbed style on theirs, I like to see a pic if you have one, for comparison.