Rusty Forks?

[wildpudding]

Hi everyone,

I have been looking at a bike to buy privately (2001 FXR 150), and everything seems fine except for some rust on the upper part of the front forks.

Its not actually on the part that goes into the cyclinder, but on the part above it, under where the handlebars are attached to the forks. I drew a pic to make it eaiser to understand. The fork seals seem fine, no residue or anything, and the bike has low K's (9000), so will this be a problem now or in the near future?

Cheers,

Stefan

[SARGE]

Hi everyone,

I have been looking at a bike to buy privately (2001 FXR 150), and everything seems fine except for some rust on the upper part of the front forks.

Its not actually on the part that goes into the cyclinder, but on the part above it, under where the handlebars are attached to the forks. I drew a pic to make it eaiser to understand. The fork seals seem fine, no residue or anything, and the bike has low K's (9000), so will this be a problem now or in the near future?

Cheers,

Stefan

as long as the rust does not contact any moving parts ( ie: fork seals..) you should be "OK" for awhile

[geoffm]

So long as it isn't in the seal area, it is ok, but it is only a matter of time...
I just had the RG500 forks rechromed. Around $350 for industrial hard chroming. Should last forever, as it is a much better job than Suzuki did in the factory
Geoff

[Bartman10]

What do you mean by 'rusty'?

If it's only surface rust you should be OK for a while, keep the bike clean and maybe put some clear coat or something over the affected area.
If it is deep pits or cracks or holes forming in the forks - i.e. structural - you'd best stay well away from it.

If you're unsure of the difference between structural and surface rust get a mechanic to check it out.

If you ride anywhere near the sea, clean your bike very regularly.


Good luck.

[wildpudding]

Thanks guys,

I'm pretty sure its only surface rust. I will have another look at it tonight, and give the forks a good look. Also, it will have a new warrent put on it, so if there is something majorly wrong i'm sure they will pick it up when it goes through.

Cheers,

Stefan

[Wasp]

i have rust spots on the lower part of my forks but the mechanic said that becuase they were up high i was fine but should still get rid of it.

used the rust kill spray deano suggested, took all but some of the solid deposit off

Bodytech Rust Dissolver 250mL (something like $9 or $16 from repco under $20 anyway)

Please not the i DO NOT garuntee any of my information as i do not which to be responsible if something goes wrong

[nudemetalz]

I learnt a tip yesterday as I have to do the same to my ZX.

Use a sanding stone and go gently up and down the forks. This is far less harsh than using wet & dry and deburs any of the pits.

Once again as Wasp states, this is only advice and not a recommendation, no gaurantees that it will be 100% successful.
However, I will let you know how I get on.

Cheers
Ndz

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Steel wool works well. Put some car polish on it and rub carefully. Then use a rag with car polish. If the damage is above the fork seals you have no problems. The rust is coming from the base metal and most rust spots come from stone chips. If you have stone chips in the working part of the shaft the seals will become a problem cos the chrome has sharp edges and it will damage the seal over time.

[Wasp]

erm mind the whole up and down thingy, my mechanic said to go round n round cos if you went up n down it would gouge out a vertical line (chasm? ditch? canal?) and would fuck the fork seals.

of course this wouldnt matter if it was the area that the forks cant get to at all.