Any tips for inserting M1R stanchions into slider?

[Andy Mac]

Hi,

Just about to do the final assembly of the M1R forks and to avoid oil seal and dust seal damage, I was planning to put a piece of thin, hard plastic sheet (from a cake surround actually!) into the slider, insert the stanchion into that and then, when the stanchion was well into the slider, slide the plastic sheet out.  Just a little concerned that the hard plastic sheet edge might nick the seal when being slid out - had thought of soft polythene but that might rip?

The seals are new (and were expensive) from a Ducati dealer but even after soaking in oil are pretty hard (old stock?).  However, even on the Ducati supply system they are listed as critical items - i.e. stocks are very low and will not be restocked - so I cannot be choosy.

Any tips would be appreciated before I risk the precious seals.

Cheers, Andy

 

[laverdakeith]

The lower edge of the stanchion should be free from any burrs or sharp edges if it is not then polish the leading edge until it is with a fine file and some wet or dry, bit of oil on the seal then just slide it in nice and square. Never bothered with any sort of protection athough I am partial to a bit of cake.


    Keith

 

[sfcpiet]

Andy,

It's a lot easier and safer to install the stanchions into the sliders BEFORE you install the seals.

Stick the stanchions including any bushes into the slider, slide the seal and any washers, etc. over the stanchion and press into place.  Use a short piece of thick-walled pipe as a driver by sliding it along the stanchion and driving the seals home.  Replace circlip... piece of piss!

piet

 

[Andy Mac]

Thanks Keith and Piet.

The oil seals are already fitted to the sliders and being a very tight fit, are not coming out again but a combination of both your tips should do the trick.

The old dust seals were a really tight fit when being removed, perhaps due to rubber hardening, but the new ones seem an almost too easy a snap fit, so I may put silicone sealant around them if they still seem too easy to pop out after the stanchion is fitted - they are genuine Marzocchi 41.7 mm items too. 

Before I found the genuine dust seals (at Pro-twins) I had bought a pair of Pyramid Parts branded ones off eBay - though they were roughly the right dimensions, they were were laughably cheap in every respect and completely unusable; they did not hold at all in the slider.

Cheers, Andy