As I come to the end of a long rebuild of my trusty Navigator made necessary by a Landrover driver pulling out across the road resulting in a bent frame and broken wrist I have discovered the forks top yoke were also bent sufficiently to misalign the handlebars. Sadly the NOC don't have any in stock, there are none advertised on eBay etc and the usual suppliers are asking an eye watering £200 including VAT, post and packaging for the required 7 3/8" Roadholder Top Yokes! I have posted an ad in the club 'Wanted' classified section and keeping my fingers crossed that a club member has a serviceable set they want to move on. My question for those more knowledgeable than I am is are the Navigator and Electra Roadholder Top Yoke the same as the one used on the Heavyweight Nortons? The stanchions are the same diameter so I guess it is just the central shaft that might be different. Confirmation would be a great help!
Thanks in anticipation.... Nick
Im pretty sure they are the…
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Hi Dan, really sorry to hear…
Hi Dan, really sorry to hear that, it seems that having drivers pull out from junctions without looking or unable to see a motorbike with its headlight on and rider wearing a hi-viz jacket has become the norm and something the general public just can't learn from! I am sure like me you were driving defensively looking for them at every junction but sometimes they do it so close you just can't stop without stepping off with the inevitable damage to bike and body! As for the forks I suspect you are right but I will email Andy to get his expertise advice! I hope the fork rebuild isn't too expensive and the injured wrist has healed! Stay safe...... Nick
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Top yoke
Hello Nicholas. You say your yoke has 7 3/8" centres. I'm happy to be corrected, but surely the Roadholders on the Navvi should be the earlier 7" spacing? Does your existing top yoke have provision for a steering lock or not, that's a quick check.
Back to your Q, I've started sorting out the bits for my Electra forks, and the only alteration I have needed to make (so far!) from my Dommie leftovers is fitting the cup and cone ballraces as per the original F/B design. So yes, with that caveat, you should be able to use Big Boy fork yokes.
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Hi Michael, I can confirm…
Hi Michael, I can confirm that the later Navigators like mine which is May 1964 and later Electras got the 7 3/8" forks with the steering lock. Interestingly my early March1964 Electra has the 7" forks and no steering lock. Thanks for the advice about your Electra rebuild which supports my suspicion that the Navigator and Electra is the same top yoke. As for the cup and cone head races I expect you are aware they are available from the NOC shop and are different from the ones used on the Jubilee. Good luck with the rebuild! Cheers Nick
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NicholasYes I was riding…
Nicholas
Yes I was riding defensively, there was a stream of traffic joining the A35 from my left, I thought, "I bet they won't see me", so I slowed to about 35/40 mph and moved to the right of my lane keeping an eye on the front wheel of the car at the junction, as I was almost on the junction an oncoming Toyota van turned right in front of me, so late that I actually hit the front of the van. I went over the bars onto the bonnet and onto my back on the road. I'm pretty sure that my Forcefield body armour saved the day. The guy who hit me was mortified and his insurance were unexpectedly very co operative!
Glad your wrist has healed, it was my thumb joints that took the brunt and took a while to heal.
Dan
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I straightened bent yokes…
I straightened bent yokes using a very large vice (fixed to a large bench ) local garage and an old staunchion assisted by a scaffolding pudlock . All done cold . 30 years ago , Would now heat if possible .try your local forge?
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Im pretty sure they are the same as the heavyweight twins and come up at autojumbles and eBay from time to time. Andy will be able confirm...... you could always treat yourself to a set of aluminium yokes if the insurance is paying!
PS I feel your pain, I got knocked off my ES2 last summer on the way to Sammy Millers, wrecked the forks but I only sprained my wrists, I was lucky!
Dan