mcman56

I have seen recommendations and replacement swing arms 1" longer than stock for Cubs and C15s. The only description is that they work better. Could someone elaborate on exactly what this improves and how this may help on specific obstacles? Does it help the back wheel get over sharp objects like a vertical 12 or 18" step? Is it a significant difference or a subtle change? Thanks, dan

Are the 4 bushes that engage the rear wheel and sprocket still available somewhere? (Bikebandit shows them as obsolete.) Or...is there another option? I have heard of filling the area with weld to tap for studs but I'm no great aluminum welder. Has anyone tried press fitting solid metal bushes? Thanks!

My M85 fork tubes are rusted a little where the taper meets the top fork clamp. Can grease or something similar be applied to the taper during reassembly to slow down the corrosion process? or would this make the forks move? Thanks!!

Well...I pressed out the stem and saw that it was not a press fit for the first 1/8" below the bearing. I shaved off 1/8 from the top surface of the bottom clamp and reinstalled the stem. I then shaved about 1/16" off of the top of the top clamp and everything fits nicely.

I installed an 18 tooth sprocket and used a 40 x 52 x 5 seal. This is 2 mm thinner than the original so 2mm was removed from the case. Basically it was that little lip that stood out on the 1960 cases. Mine was in pieces so I just set it up on a mill to remove the metal.

Yes, mine has play too. But..I have my links off so thought I would share a picture of the bushings with grease fittings. Rather than experiment with the originals, I made up a pair to play with. There is nothing special about them. The only tricky part is to get the angle of the front grease fitting correct so that it can be filled from the bottom. I also did a pair of these for an 02 GG. The GG did not have space for the angled grease fittings so I used a needle type fitting facing down. To eliminate play, has anyone tried the GG links on a Sherco? I don't know about length but GG deals with the offset in the link casting where Sherco uses those top hat inner bushes. http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m137/mc...rco/linkpic.jpg

Yes, I still have the originals. Who sells the one you mention? Thanks, Dan

I have a TLR Reflex and a Sherco 2.9. Certainly, there are many differences but one particular has me wondering. Even relatively speaking, the rear end of the TLR has a much harder time on "abrupt" type rocks...like 12" to 18" squarish rocks. Is it just the weight or is a lot of it due to the short swingarm and twin shocks? Has anyone made improvements in this area?

I have fat bars on my 2002 and like the little bit of flex they provide. With Protaper adapters and the Suzuki Factory/ KTM bar bend, the bar height is almost exactly the same as the originals. The big bar pad coves the adapters and total price was about $100.

I have some 1971 Alpina forks and notice that the fork caps are vented so that they will breath in and out as the forks work. I have never seen caps like this. Would it make the fork more progressive if they were sealed..with maybe a valve to relieve pressure? Would it then blow seals?

Well....I tried to assemble the fork clamps to the frame but the stem is about .275 short. The nut under the top clamp has a tube on top that fits up into the top clamp. The top clamp has a pinch bolt that grabs this nut and then there is a simple flat nut on top. I have come up with a few ideas. Does anyone have a recommendation. Need about 0.275 big nut under top clamp is .158 top clamp is .640 with .270 cross hole so wall is .185 above and below cross hole lower clamp is .635, the bearing sits on a .210 step on the lower clamp Option 1 press stem further up in bottom clamp. Engagement will go to .36 - not much Option 2 Thread inside of steering stem and use bolt above top clamp instead of nut - maybe..is stem hard?..part of bearing will ride on threads Option 3 use top nut under top clamp and make a nut similar to C15 nut for top - not easy to make nut (Did Bultaco do this somewhere so I could buy the nut) Option 4 shave .125 off of top of lower clamp, .06 from top and bottom of top clamp - a lot of work and weakens assembly Option 5 Make new stem - a lot of work

Does an undercut log on a slope (10 to 20 degrees) require a different technique than one on the flat? I struggle with one maybe 18" diameter several inches off the ground. Timing seems difficult and there is a tendency to touch the front wheel and get the bike very vertical. This just results in the bash plate sitting on the log. The odd thing is that bigger more undercut logs on the flat are not so difficult. Other people do not seem to have this same problem. I understand a Jap Zap may be the technique to use but am not that accurate with front wheel placement and stand a good chance of just stuffing the wheel into the bottom of the log. For that reason, the wheel hits the log on it's way up.

Mr. Woody, I followed your advice and it worked out well. thanks, Dan <a href="http://s103.photobucket.com/albums/m137/mcman56/?action=view&current=IMG_0040.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m137/mcman56/IMG_0040.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m137/mcman56/IMG_0040.jpg

I have a leaky shock on my 2002 2.9. Does anyone in the US rebuild these? Thanks!

On the subject of swingarms....removing the swingarm pivot (7/8" round thing) on this bike requires a hydraulic press. It is very tight and makes nasty groaning sounds as it is pressed in and out. I thought maybe something was bent but it is tight all of the way through and the pressure marks around the pivot are fairly symmetric. I'm thinking of using a brake cylinder hone or reamer to open the hole but how loose is too loose. Are there any recommendations on this? Thanks

Thanks. It sounds like I should give the C15 arm a try. However, it does have some cross holes approximately in the middle of the arm. It looks like someone had used them to mount passenger pegs. Should the arm be strong enough to tolerate the extra holes? The Bultaco parts I have are from a '71 Alpina. I thought for sure the arm would be lighter but it is not.

I'm planning to put a Bultaco rear wheel on a C15. I also have the swingarm and am wondering if it may be a better idea to install that also. From what I read, the C15 arm has limited tire clearance and is improved if made longer by an inch. C15 type mounts could be welded to the front of the Bultaco arm to accomplish both. Has anyone done this? Are there other recommendations?

Thanks for the reply. Did you make the sleeve a slip fit or a real tight fit? What material did you use..steel...aluminium..or? Thanks for your help with this. Dan

I am about to do a fork swap like this with Bultaco Alpina forks on a C15. I have a couple of questions on both methods described in this posting. 1. With the tapered Pyramid bearing method, the spacer/ reducing sleeve will be pretty thin. (49.5 OD, 43 ID) How do you get it pressed together without damaging the sleeve? Is it more of a slip fit vs. a tight press? It seems that the sleeve would have so little mass that shrink fitting would not work because it would heat or cool too fast. 2. With the steering stem method, how does the stem come out of the fork clamps on a Bultaco? Thanks, Dan

How do I get the bearings out of the swingarm? Is it all pressed together? Thanks...Dan

How does molasses eat rust? Isn't it sort of just sugar?

They also have a little bit more flex than bars with a cross bar and can be easier on your hands/ wrists. When slamming the skid plate down on a big rock or log, less impact is fed through the bars.

You guys are pretty smart. The forks popped loose but there was some water in the fork tube. I was able to get it moving fairly easily and dump the water. It seems to slide OK now. However, is there a recommended repair/ recover method? Should I disassemble and polish all surfaces..or maybe just flush a few time with oil and move on? Thanks, Dan

I'm in the process of removing forks from an M85. I need to pull the tubes down out of the clamps but am not sure how to proceed. Is the top of the tube tapered and fit into a taper in the top clamp? Where can you provide some force to get them moving down? (There is some corrosion.) Trying to twist the tube by hand does not work. The right fork seems to function as normal. However, the left tube is stuck at a length maybe 2 " less than full extension. The lower fork tube will rotate on the upper but that side does not want to compress or extend. Any suggestions?

By eye ball, mine do not align. It looks like I need to do some alignment checks. It also takes a hydraulic press to install the swingarm pivot. It is very tight all of the way through but does not look rusty. I forgot to check if it was egg shaped. Are there any recommendations on how to proceed? Thanks, Dan