April 23Apr 23 I've acquired an Aprilia Climber. It's a 280, a 1993 model. Tommy Ahvala won the world title in 1992. So this is the replica, celebrating the Italian manufacturer's world championship victory. I fitted a Paioli RSD fork while waiting for the original Foral to be restored. It looks really nice. I spent a lot of time on the Foral fork. Bertrand Quartier had warned me about the rather poor quality of this component. Indeed, it's not great. Furthermore, a previous disassembly by someone less experienced had damaged the hydraulic system. I repaired it to get it working again. The fork was binding badly. The friction bushings were completely worn out, and the oil... well, it was like crude oil. I found a complete new internal assembly for the hydraulic arm. If my repairs restored functionality, the whole assembly would have been deformed. The poor guidance would have quickly damaged the untreated shaft.
April 28Apr 28 Author The fork is finally finished! I replaced the hydraulic part, which was completely wrecked. You can see the heat marks I made trying to reshape it... but the shaft and its guide bushing were shot. So, I found a suitable part from an earlier model year. There are a few differences, including the end stop, but that's actually a good thing because this assembly avoids a worn-out foam buffer in favor of a more durable rubber one. I adapted a brake hose guide. It's clean and doesn't rub anywhere.
April 29Apr 29 Author I remade the end piece for the swingarm pivot. It was fitted with an M14x1.50 thread and glued loctite 648. The original one was cracked. I had no experience with threading and tapping on a lathe. The result is perfect. Edited May 14May 14 by ahell
April 29Apr 29 Author I treated myself by buying all the hydraulic clutch control parts for the '94 model (the last Climber). Complete cover, hose, master cylinder. A modification that was on Tommy's official bike in '93. I was missing the gasket. That's been taken care of with a bit of gasket paper and 15 minutes! Edited April 29Apr 29 by ahell
May 1May 1 Author The hydraulic clutch looks very nice and soft. New ignition cover and cables heat protector.
May 2May 2 Author Reassembly without the rear brake (a spacer replaces the caliper) to start the motorcycle and quickly test the clutch. It's great, it works perfectly on the first try. The clutch disengages the transmission perfectly. The fork works well. Note: To get more rebound damping, you need to loosen the center screw on the left-hand cap. The adjustment is reversed compared to many other forks.
May 4May 4 Author Exit the original footpegs, replaced with a wider, almost contemporary (around '97) model from the Climber. Blasting and a fresh coat of paint on the levers and brake pedal. Adjustment of the fork height in the triple clamps. A short ride in the garden to get a feel for the bike and continue bedding in the brakes. The riding position is pretty good after the final adjustments. Steering angle is very good. The weight distribution puts a bit of weight on the front. It's a bike that feels quite "glued to the ground," even though it can be moved around. The fuel mixture is a little rich at low revs.
May 13May 13 Author new original piston ! 88.9kg with half tank ... I think 91 kg with a full one and the iron side stand.
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