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Who's a silly boy then!

Submitted by mark_chapman2 on Fri, 12/07/2013
Forums
Commando

Hi. i had a serious knock on my forks (72 Commando) so with help from the club concluded i needed to replace the bushes which to be honest was a cheap and reasonably simple job. However the last job to complete the task was to tighten the pinch bolt as i did a huge crack appeared, evidently this is called a pinch bolt because it should be pinched and not over tightened. This leaves me with the dilema of welding ? finding a good second hand one (very unlikely) or new which unless i replace both i may look a bit odd.

I dont suppose for a minute i am the only idiot that has done this and wonder what the safety factor is in the welding option as there some good alloy welders out there.

Thanks Mark.

Submitted by tim_gostling on Fri, 12/07/2013

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Hi Mark,

No, you're not the first to bump into this problem, there was a recent discussion re the wisdom or not of welding the clamp on this very site, see here, http://www.nortonownersclub.org/noc-chat/technical4-commando-forum/544929175. I'm sure there is more on this subject on here, try searching for "Fork slider pinch bolt" or similar in the search box at the top left of this page.

Regards, Tim

Submitted by mark_chapman2 on Fri, 12/07/2013

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Previously tim_gostling wrote:

Hi Mark,

No, you're not the first to bump into this problem, there was a recent disscussion re the wisdom or not of welding the clamp on this very site, see here, http://www.nortonownersclub.org/noc-chat/technical4-commando-forum/544929175. I'm sure there is more on this subject on here, try searching for "Fork slider pinch bolt" or similar in the search box at the top left of this page.

Regards, Tim

Thanks Tim. i cant begin to tell you how sick and stupid i felt. Ive been weeks curing loads of niggly problems and this was the last andwas hoping to ride up to the festival of a 1000 bikes this weekend but will have to walk now. Thanks for the link will have a look. Mark.

Submitted by gordon_johnston on Fri, 12/07/2013

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If a huge crack appeared, it is highly likely that there has been a small crack quietly propagating for some time. You probably did yourself a favour by completing the crack propagation when you did rather than having it happen on a fast bumpy bend.

Submitted by mark_chapman2 on Fri, 12/07/2013

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Previously Gordon Johnston wrote:

If a huge crack appeared, it is highly likely that there has been a small crack quietly propagating for some time. You probably did yourself a favour by completing the crack propagation when you did rather than having it happen on a fast bumpy bend.

Thanks Gordon that thought had crossed my mind as to be fair I didnt force it that hard. Having now read other comments on the same fault i have ordered some new parts, the offending slider will be cut up so no one can use it.

Mark.

Submitted by richard_payne on Fri, 12/07/2013

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Later manuals quote a torque of 15lbs/ft for this nut. If the leg and spindle are in good condition and you torque to this figure, you shouldn't have any trouble in the future.

If you're doing it by hand then it is a 'nip and a bit'...don't haul on it but it shouldn't be 'loose'

 


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