For those who have ordered the modified steering head stems; just a note to say that the numbers for the new batch are now up to ten so that the unit price should be reasonable and delivery in January is forecast.
Following information appeared in 2014 in an Australian section newsletter:I'm with the school of thought that says that the blades are potentially dangerous. If you use them then you might not get to emulate BigSid's longevity. You cannot realistically reduce the travel of the damper without ruining that component. It is not just the mudguard stay hitting the mag cowl which is the problem but the massively reduced trail which is letting the wheel go so far to the rear that the collision can occur. I went through a hedge once with sidecar outfit and the front wheel ended up near the clutch cover. In that case the bottom spindle hole was only about one sixteenth of an inch out of line so whatever happened to your forks must have been quite serious. My guess is that you could straighten the blades cold with a modern hydraulic jack and some serious weights/holding down brackets. Of course if you have access to a good heat source then getting the blade hot should help but I would seek advice from a metalurgist before deciding what temperature was correct. For all I know the heating advice given earlier might be correct. Again, don't risk your life with the forks as they are. It is not likey to be just a matter of fiddling around with the length of the stays.
Sorry Mate, can not help you - I was quoting from a section newsletter . But my experience is that what you describe works. To anneal a ferous metal heat it then let it slowley cool, for non ferous, its the reverse, heat it then quickly cool.Martyn,
This was I love about this forum, you can learn so much here.
Now I've got a question about the above process you've outlined. When I anneal a metal that has been hardened such as steel I would heat it to the prescribed temp and allow to cool from there at ambient room temp. In the case of a copper head gasket I would heat till cherry red then quench in water, aluminum sheet that has been work hardened I would rub soap on one side and heat from the other side till the soap turns brown, then allow to cool. In the process above would I heat to between 360 and 400 degrees C then allow to cool at ambient room temp then reheat to between 505 and 515 degrees C fro 2 hours and proceed from there as outlined or?
Thanks
Steven
Sorry Mate, can not help you - I was quoting from a section newsletter . But my experience is that what you describe works. To anneal a ferous metal heat it then let it slowley cool, for non ferous, its the reverse, heat it then quickly cool.
Any metallurgists on the forum??