Hi, Just come back from a practice session and am now the not so proud owner of a scratched fork leg slider on my 2012 Gas Gas. The scratch has gone through the black coating into the metal beneath, has anyone had the misfortune to do this and if so how much is a new slider going to cost me?Thanks in advance.

Don`t be shy. Clean up the spot with sand paper. Fill with Epoxy. Sand it smooth, then cover with black finger nail polish.

Thanks for the reply, pretty annoyed because it wasn't even like I was doing anything difficult. I will give the epoxy a try and see how it goes. Cheers

Try to fix it first as a new leg is like 280 of your pounds. It does really suck!

Oh for the good old days when forks came with gaiters, not stylish or cool but cheap and effective

After I did a similar thing on my Gasgas, I buffed the scratch to remove and sharp edges that might cut a seal. Fortunatley, the scratch was not too deep and the forks tubes did not have that black coating. After that I installed some "gaitors" and never had a problem. Those were the bellows type rubber ones. I did punch a couple extra holes in the lowest convolution of the bellows to allow them to breath better and not make so much air noise during compression and rebound.

My 4RT came with some cool neoprene sleeves that I like better because they don't act like an air pump as the bellows do. You can see both types on this page.

http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/t/1059/Fork-Covers

I expect you can get some a little closer to where you live.

Edited March 31, 201412 yr by thats_a_five

That black coating on the forks is a nitride coating designed to reduce stiction of the fork seals. I would be very hesitant filling it with a standard epoxy as this may effect the seals as much as a scratch. I would get a very fine 1500-2000 grit wet and dry and very lightly polish back the sharp edges on the scratch, avoiding as much area outside the scratch as is humanly possible. I would then leave it at that.

And then go get yourself a set of neoprene covers. Best investment to keep that second scratch from happening.

--Biff

Edited April 1, 201412 yr by biffsgasgas

I used black nail varnish straight onto the aluminium and you couldn't see where it was scratched, it stayed on for 2 years and no leaks. then the bike got nicked but its probably still okay now but I hope the scum have killed em selves on it

Oh for the good old days when forks came with gaiters, not stylish or cool but cheap and effective

yes thin rubber is always the best defence against sharp rocks, and which bikes came with gaitors?

Edited April 10, 201412 yr by nigel dabster

yes thin rubber is always the best defence against sharp rocks, and which bikes came with gaitors?

Montesa

Beamish Suzuki ?

I used black nail varnish straight onto the aluminium and you couldn't see where it was scratched, it stayed on for 2 years and no leaks. then the bike got nicked but its probably still okay now but I hope the scum have killed em selves on it

Did you sand the scratches before you put the nail varnish on or just paint over the scratch area ? Sorry to hear about your bike being nicked had one nicked a couple of years back still P me off even now!

Did you sand the scratches before you put the nail varnish on or just paint over the scratch area ? Sorry to hear about your bike being nicked had one nicked a couple of years back still P me off even now!

I only took the raised edges off with a piece of canvas or the back of some emery cloth. The varnish works best if you use it to fill the scratches using a cocktail stick not the brush. A bit of practice to fill the grooves very slightly proud because the varnish shrinks a bit when it dries.

It may sound daft but don't take too long because it dries quick and messes up if you keep going over it.