I don't usually do build threads, as I'm too impatient to get the bike finished and on the road. However I knew this was going to be different before I took it on.
Originally rescued by Enid_Puceflange it left RB for a while and came back via lewis1641.
I thought I'd have my work cut out with this one, and I was right. The rear sus was seized solid, and still is. I've stripped it down and tried soaking for a couple of weeks in WD40, but it looks like this and similar things have been tried before. There are mole grip marks over the shock body where someone has tried to free it up. The next thing to try is heating up the casing, however this will fry the seals, and I'm not sure how easy they are to get hold of.
The next problem is the rear mech thread, I knew this was shot and was hoping to helicoil it, but as there is half a helicoil hanging out I'm on the look out for a frame saver instead.
The forks are also a battle, finding a long steerer for older forks is always a problem, so I got a pair with a short 1" steerer and got hold of a long 1 1/8" steerer with the intention of having it sleeved over the top. However the engineering firm I took it to handed it to the Saturday tea muppet, who just used a bloody great hammer to ram the steerer on, not taking into account the widening of the steerer where the headset fits.
So I still need to sort out the rear sus, find a frame saver and buy a new steerer tube. Not much progress yet, but work is underway slowly.
I'm back in the UK soon, so I'll bring the rear sus unit with me, and find a decent engineer to free it up using heat. I'm sure I can find a seal to fit from somewhere. Eventual plans are 8 speed STX RC and a bit more purple.
I will update this when I get more done, but it may be a while yet.
Originally rescued by Enid_Puceflange it left RB for a while and came back via lewis1641.
I thought I'd have my work cut out with this one, and I was right. The rear sus was seized solid, and still is. I've stripped it down and tried soaking for a couple of weeks in WD40, but it looks like this and similar things have been tried before. There are mole grip marks over the shock body where someone has tried to free it up. The next thing to try is heating up the casing, however this will fry the seals, and I'm not sure how easy they are to get hold of.
The next problem is the rear mech thread, I knew this was shot and was hoping to helicoil it, but as there is half a helicoil hanging out I'm on the look out for a frame saver instead.
The forks are also a battle, finding a long steerer for older forks is always a problem, so I got a pair with a short 1" steerer and got hold of a long 1 1/8" steerer with the intention of having it sleeved over the top. However the engineering firm I took it to handed it to the Saturday tea muppet, who just used a bloody great hammer to ram the steerer on, not taking into account the widening of the steerer where the headset fits.
So I still need to sort out the rear sus, find a frame saver and buy a new steerer tube. Not much progress yet, but work is underway slowly.
I'm back in the UK soon, so I'll bring the rear sus unit with me, and find a decent engineer to free it up using heat. I'm sure I can find a seal to fit from somewhere. Eventual plans are 8 speed STX RC and a bit more purple.
I will update this when I get more done, but it may be a while yet.
