Marzocchi Bomber Z1 Advice Please

Hiya,

I have this machine that I recently put together and I absolutely love it. I think it may have a lot to do with the bombers. Only ever ridden rigid in anger before this.

I have a small problem with my forks though. There is a bit of flex between the inners/sliders(?) and the stanchions. This indicates worn internal bushings right? It has become more pronounced since a month of me riding it. I replaced all seals and oil before fitting the forks but left the old bushings in place. I could detect zero play once I had put them back together.

Being a novice at this kind of thing I'm here asking for advice. I'm thinking that I should strip them again and replace the bushings right? But would this also mean that I ruin the new seals I have just fitted?

Tips most welcome.

Matt

yep - your diagnosis does put to replacement bushes, there may be a way to get the seals out but it may need special tool. dunno the answer to that altough google may.

wiper seals ok. Oil seals unlikely to survive & not worth the effort to rebuild & trial.

Definitely replace the bushes.I had mine done 3 years ago but I replaced the seals as I was doing it and it would certainly need a specialist tool to remove the seals without destroying them, tbh I think these z1 forks are the only retro fork that can give a modern fork a run for its money,I have had mine since new(`96).

I would think you are correct. The Manual is still downloadable from the Marzocchi site http://www.marzocchi.com/template/listM ... p;idC=1592

It might be just me but your top caps/adjuster knobs do seem to be very high? do they clip the frame? (I noticed the zip tied band on the down tub)

Well spotted there Matt.....

matt24777":ebh56fjb said:

It might be just me but your top caps/adjuster knobs do seem to be very high? do they clip the frame? (I noticed the zip tied band on the down tub)

Click to expand...

Yes they do...But they stick out like that right? OK just checked the manual (thanks for the link). And they are too high! omg..

So it looks like I'll be buying a new set of everything and rebuilding then. It's all good practice I suppose. Thanks for the replies all.

Bushings :? Sucks breath in through teeth :? Tricky finding them*


As to the seals. To get at the bushings youre going to have to remove both oil(internal) and dust(external) and usually its going to destroy them getting them out. You might if youre careful be able to remove the external dust seals carefully enough not to damage them but the oil will not survive the encounter so best get looking now. Although im one for sticking to the original parts the seals on early bombers are harder to find and tbh were never that good if you jumped anything, blown seals arent unusual for this fork. General use theyre great but big hits take their toll quite quickly
For that reason i'd recommend http://www.enduroforkseals.com/

To remove the old seals, i use a XL long flat bladed screwdriver with multiple layers of gaffa round the shaft to protect the leading edge of the fork as you have the rest it on the edge to apply enough pressure to lever out the inner oil seals ( REMEMBER TO TAKE THE BIG CIRCLIP OUT FORM BETWEEN THE SEALS )
Place the edge of the driver under the seal(push in hard) Place your knee behind and force it out.
The seal will come out suddenly and fly across the room, only for it to hit the curtains where it will leave an oily stain.

*
Might be able to help you out on that side of things. I have a set of Z2's that the crown is cracked on. The rest is working fine and the bushings are ok so you could use them in place of the worn ones you have :? The difference in length between to 2 is i believe minimal or about 8mm so its not going to make that much of a difference.
The bushings on bombers compared to modern fork bushings is length. Bomber ones are 90-100mm in length ,coated with PTFE , and i think modern are narrower but in a series over distance :? Not totally stripped a modern fork like a fox :? So can only guess from the spares they sell at crc

off the top of my head, to rebuild the forks means screwing the top caps into the legs, the legs then fit into the crown, a circlip is fitted around the top cap (to stop the legs falling out) and thenn the crown bolts are tightened. Until you've done this I'd forget about bushings. This sort of play can be mistaken for headset play, or even the brakes rocking back and forth on the studs.

jitensha":cc2a1lnk said:

matt24777":cc2a1lnk said:

It might be just me but your top caps/adjuster knobs do seem to be very high? do they clip the frame? (I noticed the zip tied band on the down tub)

Click to expand...

Yes they do...But they stick out like that right? OK just checked the manual (thanks for the link). And they are too high! omg..

So it looks like I'll be buying a new set of everything and rebuilding then. It's all good practice I suppose. Thanks for the replies all.

Click to expand...

&

66 triumph daytona":cc2a1lnk said:

Well spotted there Matt.....

Click to expand...

I did have to go in the garage and look at the set I have in there!

Mine seem to be different, but the crucial bit is the cir-clip that fits into a groove (in the nut on mine, but I notice no groove in your nut) is butted right up to the crown, not sat a few mm up from it.

Interesting point Alex makes about the headset.... worth checking first!