[scott.v]

Hi Guys.

I'm working my through my CB200 project and I've got a few questions on the forks. On the left tube there is pitting under the gaiter and the leg is frozen onto the tube. It moves if you hit it with a mallet on the end of the leg but it doesn't come back out. I'm sure I could rebuild it myself but is there any point with the pitting? Should I look for another tube? Also, when running without the gaiters, what do you guys do to the top of the legs to stop water sitting there?

Cheers, Scott

 

[jbranson]

If the leg is freezing up that bad then both the fork tube and the bushings in the leg are trashed.
One of my race bikes has 200 forks on it...no gaiters, I just blow the water out of there the few times it gets raced in the rain.
Usually you can find those forks on ebay now and then.
JohnnyB

 

[inline4]

Scott:
I also have a CB200T. It has less than 7K miles on it, but when I bought it, it had been "stored" outside unprotected from the elements for more than 20 years!
My forks aren't frozen up, but this bike is ratty!
I still haven't made up my mind as to restore it or completely cafe it. I'm considering installing a front end & boxed aluminum swingarm from a Kawasaki EX250 Ninja. That would be the easiest way but you would have to use the Ninja wheels unless you want to get into some serious fabrication in order to use the spoke wheels. Then of course, you would still have that damned cable operated front disk.
Good luck and keep us up to date on your progress.
Jim

 

[scott.v]

Thanks for the replies. Yeah I don't get it either, the other tube is perfect and both the boots were intact. If I can free it up and replace the bushes if they are shot, will some pitting chop the seals out? If I took it to a shop what would they do? It's a fair bit of area to have chromed and re-ground and I'm trying to stick to a budget (really low!) Can anyone confirm if the tubes are the same as the disc brake CB200s?

With the top of the leg, I was thinking of either turning the gaiter lip off or drilling a small drain hole in the side so it can be run with gaiters if the need arises.

Thanks again
Scott

 

[scott.v]

I've found 2 pairs of forks, but they are both off disc brake models. Can anyone confirm they are the same as the drum brake models? Or are the tubes even the same?

Thanks, Scott

 

[jbranson]

Scott, they should both be 31mm.
Of course I have no way to verify that.

JohnnyB

 

[HackAsaw]

when you have a fork set like that

look very carefully to make sure the lower legs too are not shot

water gets inside and freezes

when it does it expands and has a nasty way of trashing the whole works

good thing you can still find very good used fork sets cheap enough

the japanese forks do tend to outlast those found on most other bikes of the same time frame

the Italians made good forks since forever, Germans too

Brit and American forks of the day....... bleh until HD went to Japanese forks in 1973

but frozen water inside will destroy any of them

 

[scott.v]

Thanks all. I just won a pair of forks off a disc brake 200. From the photo they look the same as the drum ones so I may not have to fully dismantle both pairs. I will need at least the top seals and some fresh oil. I bought 5 litres of 15W40 engine oil and from what I've read that's pretty suitable for forks as well. The forks only cost me USD1.25.................plus $55 shipping Now I've got some spare legs I don't feel bad about turning the gaiter lip off.

Thanks again