What year are these Bombers...

Mindmap3

Senior Retro Guru
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I need to swap some stanchions over between two pairs of forks, so will need to refill oil etc and was wondering what year these are (excuse the picture, I was messing about with the editing tools on Photo Bucket).

DSC03732.jpg


Also, am I correct in thinking that the travel can be increased to 130mm on these Drop Offs? UK Bike Store still have the kits.

Thanks
 
Cheers for that.

Do the dates in the castings actually make any difference? I only ask because Marzocchi seemed to produce a load of 'in between' forks.

I had some Z150's that were somewhere between 03 and 04; they had 03 uppers and adjusters but air preload like the 04 versions.
 
Just downloaded the oil heights chart, and there is no Z1 Drop Off listed for '98. The first year they appear is '99.......I'm going to take a punt on that. In which case the travel increase kits are available.
 
Mindmap3":3fjlnr0g said:
I need to swap some stanchions over between two pairs of forks, so will need to refill oil etc and was wondering what year these are
If you look inside the dropouts, you will see a date stamp. The model year of the fork will be the year after the date stamp (i.e., they were cast a year in advance).
 
According to the graphics that look very much the same as the Z1 CR, they must be a 2000 year model. This is a bit more rare than '98 and '99 versions, as "rare" as Drop Offs get.

1998s didn't have any stripes and the font on the "Drop Off" logo is from the "porn" campaign that started circa 2000.

Mx
 
The lower legs are stamped with '98, as is the brace. The crown is stamped '00.

If the theory regarding they the date stamp being before the year they are sold, that would make them '99's.

I may try a tavel upgrade kit and see if it fits.
 
If the lowers are stamped '98 and the crown '00, that makes them clear '00s for me. Think like this: you are Marzocchi. You have a warehouse with fork parts that are the same for about four or five model years. You pair a '98 lower that is around with a crown that just came out of the factory and put this year's stickers on it. Done! Who cares except some guys on a retro forum, in the end? ;)

Mx
 
I just wanted to check so I could get the oil heights right and to see if I could fit a travel increase kit, which I reckon I should able to do.

Cheers
 
The colour is that of the 1999 Z1 drop off, it's highly likely that Marzocchi had some 1999 lowers painted up that hadn't sold in 1999 so mated them with some 2000 parts and bunged them out for cheaper than the 1999 retail (£324.99 at CRC) The arch from what I can see doesn't seem as machined as the 1999 drop offs, which means it could easily be from 2000 Z1, you appear to have 1999.5 forks.
 
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