Balance FS450 Rebuild........And some help needed please....

[Jimmy oldskool]

Guys,

I bought this Balance FS450 last week from Hydorah after seeing the advert below....

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=155021

I loved the Manitou esque rear end and the non Manitou esque price! I had to have it!

So, it arrived in the week and yesterday I decided to start pulling it apart to see what was needed.

Before I go on and put any pics up, I'd just like to point out that I was aware that this needed work when I bought it and was in no way miss sold anything.....

So,

I removed the rear suspension unit from the frame......

......and stripped it down......

.....and was faced with all kinds of horrors!!!!

The left hand leg is in particularly poor condition, to the point that I'm not yet sure if it's saveable! :cry:

The stanchion itself it in a terrible state, corroded and pitted and with an odd dent/score mark half way down......

The screw in cap that mounts the unit to the frame has a brass bush in that looks like it has been opened up somewhat, this should be fairly simple to replace by an engineering shop.

The holes that you can see are for grub screws, which were missing. the thread for the screws are non existent, so these will have to be recut and replacement screws sourced. If anyone has a Balance FS frame and could take some pictures of what the screws look like in place, that'd be awesome!!!

The elastomers for the left hand leg were missing completely. I have already managed to find replacements from suspensionforkparts.com, but I'm missing the little plastic dividers that go between the elastomers themselves.....does anyone have any ideas???? :?

Now for the sliders.....

The left hand slider is in comparable condition to the stanchion. the inside is as pitted and corroded as the stanchion (This is obviously supposed to be completely smooth and free from scoring etc)

More worryingly, the top of the left hand outer has been 'beaten' flat.

This obviously is a result of trying to free off the leg when it was seized, but looking at it, I think it may need replacing completely. the top is out of shape and the groove where the seal sits is almost completely closed up on one side!

Which leads me onto my last area of concern, the stancion seals themselves!

Both of these are out of shape and cracking.....anyone have any ideas???

So! that's what I'm up against! I'm thinking that the easiest way forward is to try and source either a complete suspension unit, or certainly a left hand leg, but these aren't exactly Cannondales, and are not that plentiful, so if anyone has any ideas, is an engineer and wants to drop me a PM, or knows of a replacement unit or left hand leg, please get in touch!

Oh and in case you were wondering, the rest of the frame is in great shape!

There's a graze/scratch on the top tube that looks like it's the result of a handlebar/lever meeting, but other than that, it's lovely. I'm not a massive fan of the purple, so further down the road, once the rear suspension's sorted, I'm gonna have the frame ball burnished......

Well thanks for reading, I know it's a bit long winded, but I thought some of you may be interested in how the old girl was progressing!

Oh, and remember, any help with this will be very gratefully received!

Cheers, Jimmy

 

[Minty Sauce]

Hi, looks like your going to have some fun rebuilding this. I'm just in the process of upgrading the mcu's in my judy sl's to springs so have some plastic dividers if they are any use to you? Let me know and I can post them on to you

Have fun with the rebuild it'll all come good in the end.

 

[Jimmy oldskool]

Hi, looks like your going to have some fun rebuilding this. I'm just in the process of upgrading the mcu's in my judy sl's to springs so have some plastic dividers if they are any use to you? Let me know and I can post them on to you

Have fun with the rebuild it'll all come good in the end.

Mate, that'd be fantastic!!!

I'll drop you a PM.....Thanks again!

 

[Minty Sauce]

Hi mate, have stripped my Judy SL's this evening and have 10 plastic dividers and 3 elastomers that are in good nic! :shock:

Just thoght i'd let you know

 

[PANZR]

Hey, I know what your going through
It'll be okay with some perserverance

Firstly, the stanchions: they'll be okay with a wire brush and some steel wool
Get some pipe cleaner brushes (incl a wire one if you can) then attack the insides of the lowers with degreaser and some rust killer
Smooth up the stanchions as best you can and lay on the grease...there see, all better

As for the seal seats on the top of the lowers, erm...I don't know bout that one sorry...just ram the seals in and add some silicone sealer?

The seals; could probably be reused if you don't plan on getting the bike too dirty or wet
It will help to fit some fork boots too, like I have, even though my seals are okay

Grub/worm screws: On my bike the grub screws slot into a channel and are part of the adjustable compression dials on each leg
I can't see how they function on yours...could you fill me in and are they necessary?

I've posted a pic of mine, a 2mm hex is used to turn them

Out with the old

...and in with the new

Please don't give up on this bike. I'm so glad I kept at it with mine
I love it so much, I'm seriously thinking of hanging it in my lounge

Like I said, try to fit some fork-boots