Hi, I've asked Jim awaiting reply:  Any other takes on ridding oneself of the air system? Springs, caps, anyone done it?

 

 Ta

You would need a lot stronger springs I'd have thought.

just try it with no air , its way to soft.

maybe get the springs & caps off the older Beamish that didn't have the air assist forks

Edited July 2, 201610 yr by shakennstirred

I got rid of the air fork caps on my 1980 349 Montesa by removing the valve (car type) and bolting 2 washers to the top and bottom of the cap and drilling a small hole in each of the washers this left a 15mm chamber between the washers, this allowed some resistance while allowing the fork to breathe, to stiffen to the springs I added car valve springs, it worked very well and I left them on even when the 1981 model came out without the air caps and could have upgraded the parts to genuine, this may not work for you depending on the fork caps you have, but is a cheap fix and in my case effective way of getting rid of air forks,

 

I will qualify that the air forks on 1980 Montesa's were prone to blowing even by being pulled down on the trailer for transport and I once had one blow up into my face on a drop off (fork oil tastes horrible)

 

cheers Steve,

Edited July 2, 201610 yr by vonhazza

Thanks.