Front End Rebuild

This really can’t be called a rebuild since I did not use any of the original parts for the forks. The original forks had been severely abused and were beyond repair. A set of fork lowers were purchased from a source found on Craig’s list while damper rods and seal holders were found on ebay. The bushings, seals, and tubes were purchased from a local dealer. 

Original condition & needing help. 

The "part set" ready to go. The hone with extender is on the right. 

The fork lowers I purchased were rusty and needed to be cleaned up. I sand blasted them and followed this up with a hone.  I made an extender for it to reach the bottom of the lower legs.  I had never assembled a set of forks without the drive holes for the seal holder removal tool. I used a plumber’s belt wrench to accomplish this task. The wrench slipped until I wrapped the seal holders with duct & double sided tape.

Mounting the seal holders. 

I have a slide hammer fork puller which I made many years ago. I am not too fond of this tool since it is hard on the threads. I purchased a puller set from “The Bonneville Shop” which worked very well.

Pulling the new forks into place. 

After the forks were installed I was able to finish assembly of the front end. The next step is to lower the Hornet off its hoist which it has been sitting happily upon since last summer. The forks will be cycled to align everything and then tightened down to spec.   

Here we are to date...time to learn how to install gaitor straps.