Roadholder fork bushes

Hi Dan,

I can't give you a straight answer but I did speak to a person at classicbritishmotorcycles.com about fork bushes, oil seal holders etc about a month ago. He seemed to know what he was talking about and basically said he could supply a full kit for the Navigator without problem. He told me he used th same source of supply as Norvil. (that may or may not be a recommendation) They are at Walsall -phone number 0121 2703998 - and have an Ebay site under the name of ClassicBautos.He is an ex-racer from my part of the world.

So the answer is PROBABLY that the Dominator bushes do fit without problem.Springs are different. There seems to be a big variation in quoted prices from one Ebay supplier to another so there may also be a difference in quality as well.

I bought a pair of new Navigator exhaust pipes from classicbritishmotorcycles and I confirm that they do fit perfectly - at least in my case- and the fellow I spoke to did know that there was a difference between Jubilee and navigator pipes.(1/2" longer).

Did you see that someone around Swindon/Chippenham, Wiltshire was selling a lot of Navigator stuff a few weeks ago - that's near your area. People on here should keep in touch on this site if bidding to avoid bidding against each other - I put in a low bid but dropped out as haulage was the problem. We do that on a certain other site for H*nd*.

Patrick

My wifeâs Navi has the same short Roadholder forks as my w/line Dommie & they take the same bushes, seals etc, itâs just he spring weights that are different.

Beware of ebay parts, thereâs some real rubbish out there. Iâve seen fork bushes that are too large O/D & wont fit in the slider, too loose or tight I/D, resulting in too much play or stanchions that wonât fit & I have a set in my workshop, bought by a customer, that have a 50 thou taper on their O/D. Thatâs more than 1mm difference in diameter from top to bottom. Iâm fairly convinced if I tried to force them into a slider that they would act like a wedge & split it. Best to buy parts from a trusted source such as Andover Norton, Mick Hemmings or RGM for example.

Regards, Tim

Hi Dan,

Sounds as if you have cornered the market for Navi crankshafts.The fellow did seem very genuine so I hope it all works out well. The carriage of £20 seems very cheap to me as they have to come from Germany. There were two ' Navigator Projects' on Ebay 2/3 weeks ago - one showed a seemingly totally complete Navigator engine with frame (matching numbers), the second showed a frame and boxes of bits including,crankcases, barrells,heads and various tin work. But the descriptions were very vague. I think it was around Chippenham in Wiltshire.

I thought your bike was a Jubilee. Are you intending to alter it to the 350? There are quite a few differences between them - different con rods, push rods and cams and you need to mill out the bore of the crankcases. The heads are different as well but probably easy to modify. At least that was what I was told and Jubilee cams in the bigger engine might just give you better low down torque for trials..

I had thought of boring out the Navi barrell to 66mm - Electra size - as this should be easy to do. The piston from a Dominator 500 then should fit but I'm not certain on this - deck heights, gudgeon pin sizes etc..

Have you spoken to Andy from Bristol - he probably already has knowledge about changing from 250 to 350.

I hope you are not affected too much by all the storms we hear about in the South West. It's too cold and wet here to get out in the garage a lot - that's my excuse.

Patrick.

Hi Dan,

Good to hear that you are still above water and that's a brilliant idea about starting a rebuild thread. Tim is right when he says there's lots of rubbish on Ebay - so passing on first hand info is seriously useful to others and might encourage more Lightweight owners to use this forum.

Someone is advertising NOS Hepolite pistons for the Navigator at £275 for a pair !!. And someone else is selling a 'Navigator' which looks very like a standard Jubilee!!. i.e no Roadholder forks and the small brake front wheel. I paid £300 for my first Jubilee in about 1990. It was a runner with MOT and a transferable reg number. And my mate (the one with the Goldstar) reckoned I was done.So maybe the Lightweights are becoming a valuable collectors bikes.

All the best

Patrick