Fork leg scratched, best way to fix it ?

[Anonymous]

To cut a semi-long story short my bike tipped over in a town square (was taking it off the centrestand). The fall was controlled, but the bike grazed a big square rock (there are lots of them on this particular town square).

After getting the bike back up I noticed one banjo bolt was bent on the splitter and there was a brake fluid leak, tightened the bolt and it was ok. The headlight got a scratch in the glass, but was otherwise fine. No levers were bent and the mirrors were ok. Phew I thought, that wasn't too bad. :?

Then I noticed that the left fork leg had gotten a scratch in the chrome It wasn't anything big - but it's been under a month since I changed the oil seals, and I'm not about to make it a habit. I would take a picture of it but a friend of mine is borrowing my digital camera, I'll get it back in a day or two.

Anyway, there are four tiny scratches within an area of about 5mm in diameter - should I sand them down with the fork on the bike ? Probably not, but do I need to use a whatchamacallit (http://www.heroy.vgs.no/std_retn/Nat...ages/dbenk.jpg)?

Help is highly appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Since my car has problems cooling itself I HAD to take the bike to work today. Used some 600 and 1200 grit paper on the fork leg last night to smooth out any rough edges. I put some motor oil on the fork leg and then wrapped the paper around the leg in a U-bend. When I was done the scratch was still there, but it didn't have any rough edges.

Took the bike to work today and didn't notice any trouble. Except for arriving at work two hours late due to a combination of fouled spark plugs and lack of tools :roll: That'll teach me not to keep the tools in the garage where I do 99% of the work.

[Anonymous]

Re: Fork leg scratched, best way to fix it ?

Probably not, but do I need to use a whatchamacallit (http://www.heroy.vgs.no/std_retn/Nat...ages/dbenk.jpg)?

That's a lathe (rhymes with faith).

Boy, that takes me back to high school shop class.

[Anonymous]

Since my car has problems cooling itself I HAD to take the bike to work today. Used some 600 and 1200 grit paper on the fork leg last night to smooth out any rough edges. I put some motor oil on the fork leg and then wrapped the paper around the leg in a U-bend. When I was done the scratch was still there, but it didn't have any rough edges.

When I replaced the fork seals on my 1983 GS750ES last summer, I noticed that the chrome on the left fork leg (the one that was leaking) had 2 significant parallel scratches. I also used "wet & dry" with oil (started with 300, thru 600 to 1200) to smooth the surface. Although, I could not remove all visible evidence of the scratches, I could no longer detect them with a finger nail. I have not had any leaks in the 1,000+ miles I have done since then, so I hope that you meet with equal success.

[skip]

just diod my fork seals two weeks or so ago. My forks had some minor pitting. started with 600 and oil went to 1000 then 1500 ended with 2000 then I used a cleaner style cutting compound followed by a swirl mark remover. they are wicked smooth but its only been a couple weeks but no leaks yet.

[Anonymous]

Simon Waters: Good to hear that. My scratch is very small, in fact I doubt the area affected is taller than the oil seal - so if your fork is doing well so should mine.

skip[: I might try some 2000 and the swirl mark remover later if the forks don't look smooth enough after a few weeks of riding. As long as it doesn't leak oil though I'm happy.

[Anonymous]

Re: Fork leg scratched, best way to fix it ?

should I sand them down with the fork on the bike ? Probably not, but do I need to use a whatchamacallit (http://www.heroy.vgs.no/std_retn/Nat...ages/dbenk.jpg)?

Hmmm. Red motorcycle leathers, in the new baggy fashion as well. Funny looking bike, though. Must be European.

Kim