My 199a has a set of older forks on it with the tapered fork tops and no pinch bolts on the top triple clamp.Is the dampening system going to be much worse than the stock 199 forks? I,m guessing that it might be.What would be the best upgrade I could do to these forks?

Sounds like stock 199A forks to me. They should work fine.

I have a M49 (1968 model) with those tapered top forks and I can't tell any difference between the quality of the fork action of the M49 forks and M198 forks on an M198. The later type top triple clamp does make it easier to remove the tubes though. The later type (curved downwards) lower clamp is meant to provide reduced fork flex but I don't think many people would be able to tell the difference when riding.

From memory of when I had both sets of forks apart, the damper rod assemblies looked the same.

The older type fork had a tendency to twist when riding in rocky sections The handle bars would not be at right angles to the front wheel You could grip the front wheel between your knees and pull the bars back into line The later forks and yokes stopped this

The inerta of the forks which is most responsible for the action of the fork is pretty much the same beside that some parts from model 199a on where replaced with plastic.

To avoid flex the more modern clamps are -as already mentioned- an improvement.

A problem are the lower fork aluminium "stanchions" the inner tubes are also the guidance for the upper stanchions and are therefore subject to wear.

Recognizable by rubbing or sometimes unequal resistance to compress and rebound

And if you measure the inner bore and too determines the direction of travel a greater distance.

When worn out there have to be replaced. Potentially, you can make a sleeve? I have not yet heard of someone having done this ...

Thanks for the replies.My lower clamp does step down.They look like the same forks that my old model 92 had.I guess for now I will just disassemble them for cleaning and inspection.

What is a good weight fork oil and how much? I weigh about 165lbs.

Weighting 135 lbs? or better in metric 67kg "dry" and I'am are using SAE 7,5 which works pretty well for me, the amount should be between 150 (eralier models) and 180cc, (later models). Standard is SAE 10.