Starting on the forks

Still haven't gotten those darned (I'm going to start using stronger words soon) ball races out of the frame headstock yet. However, I did find a guy that knows what he's doing, and is willing to take a crack at it. So in the mean time, I've moved on to the forks. I completely dismantled them. I knew one of the forks was leaking oil pretty badly, and that side also had some other problems with the upper covers (probably all related to some previous mishap involving blunt force trauma, but who knows). Sure enough the left fork tube (or stanchion as they're sometimes referred to) was badly nicked in the area of the upper bushing and oil seal. No mystery to the oil leak, then. Both fork tubes had a fair amount of corrosion and gunk in the spring area. So I'm now into this for a new pair of tubes....

One drawback of the pre-featherbed Nortons is that they were equipped with the original design of Roadholder forks, the so-called long Roadholder forks. Apart from being longer (hence the name) than the second generation Roadholders, they had springs external to the fork tubes, and a much simpler damping rod design, which involve no valve per se. Whatever you may say about the damping (actually I've found articles on the internet that claim this earlier, simpler design was actually better than the later one) they are certainly simple to work on. The main problem with long Roadholders is the availability of parts, or lack thereof. After much searching, I did manage to find one of the major British parts suppliers who had a pair in stock (I'll post where exactly I got them after I buy them). However, in my search for replacment tubes, I did find out a source for virtually any fork tube that cannot be found. Forking By Frank will make just about any fork tube you want. Also, to make double sure you get what you want, you can send them your old ones, and they will ensure you get exact duplicates. The prices are very reasonable, and they ship worldwide. If I hadn't found some in stock, I would be ordering from Franks.

Anyway, many other parts will need to be acquired for these forks: bushings, oil seals, leather washers, a few nuts and bolts, etc. The chrome lower spring covers are in decent shape, but will need to be re-chromed. The upper spring covers are beat up a bit. They could probably be straightened out without too much work, but new mild steel ones are available. Be careful about these reproduction covers if you're restoring some old Roadholders. There were different lengths in different applications, and they were used on both long and short Roadholders. Thankfully, if you get them from Norvil, they ask you to specify the length, so measure your originals. Finally, the upper tube covers / headlight brackets. On the early Roadholders, this was a cast alloy part. In fact, according to my Parts List, they should be P/N 19339 and 19340. I happen to have ended up with a pair stamped 19337 and 19338. I'm sure they're original to the bike, and an all too common example of using up the stock of old parts at the factory before switching to the new design. That's not the problem. The problem is pictured below... One headlight bracket is about 1/4" shorter than the other. On one side, someone cut off the lip that fits into the top of the upper spring cover. Coincidentally, this is the same fork leg that was leaking oil, and has the most external wear and tear. Probably someone bonked these forks such that the lip at the bottom of the cast alloy cover would no longer fit inside the steel cover, and rather than straighten out the other part, they chose to whack the lip off the unobtanium cast part. This also explains the gobs of elecrical tape and rubber strips used underneath the cover to try and hold it in line after the lip was gone. This is a real bummer, and I have no idea how this can be fixed....

I'll have some time to think about it once the obtainable replacement fork parts are on order.