Aprilia Climber 280 1993

[ahell]

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.

 

[ahell]

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.