[Closed] Servicing old bombers

you service them? how very modern!

Bought a SH kona with them on for the lad (jumpish bike) bike works perfectly having been in a shed for around 5 years but I thought I'd take them apart and try and soften them up as he is light and not getting much travel ( I do but I'm twice + a bit his weight). Might just lose one of the springs or try and find a soft spring for them.

Pretty much. I might even have 2003 oil charts knocking about somewhere on my home machine.

Which model?

Some have awkward damping, most it's as you say. but the legs might not just drop off, some you need to jam something (socket normally) down the top to hold things in place to unscrew footnuts. Some also need a very thin wall socket to do the footnuts.

No idea which model maybe MX100 basic dual spring, rebound damped with internal adjustment that's it.

*pulls up a chair*

I have some X-fly 100mm 2001 - would you have charts for them please?

matt_outandabout AT hotmail.com

have 2002 MXC (coil) pair here (actually, two pairs!) -- still rolling on.

Yeah they are MX comp.

Found this review on MTBR, I'm loving the dot.5 bit.

"9 years have pass and never had any problems. Until now that I realize it almost run out of suspension oil. Decided to rebuild the fork. Repainted the fork to match its new Surly troll frame. Refill it with oil. Just the standard 15w-10 motor oil. Tried DOT 5 but seems the viscosity is too thin. Not to mention it melts the newly applied paint. 🙂 Also bought an O ring at a local hardware chain store. Total cost of Fork Rebuild $11usd pretty cheap! Highest drop I did was 5 feet. The usual Xc trail hop and jump and a ton of air time on speed bump on the streets. Hoping this fork will last another 9 years. :)"

Full list of forks by year with docs.
http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/listManuals.asp?t=&tp=113&idMY=2147&Azione=Search&IDFolder=126&LN=UK&idC=-1

Just did a pair of ex-r's the other night and found this while having the same problem you are!

Oil type and levels are in the 'tuning tips' section, btw.

Mx comps are easy, and as you say. You want a socket extension bar to jam down them though IIRC.

Think (from depths of memory) they're just a spring in one leg as it is?

If you can't soften them up that way, try dropping the oil levels a little (like 10ml to start). Increasing the air volume reduces how much they ramp up as they compress, so can make them more usable at lighter weight. They'll likely be 7.5wt oil as standard too, you could try 5 for lighter damping too.

I have some X-fly 100mm 2001 - would you have charts for them please?

Maybe, I know I had some old charts before and probably didn't delete them, I'll try and remember to look...

Useful stuff- reminds me I must change oil on the trusty 2001 Z1s. Are oil levels with forks compressed?

Cheers

A bit of a hijack, but I've got some old 140mm bombers that came with my Five-0. They developed some lateral play and the stanchions are worn, but I've always wondered if I really needed to give up on them as early as I did.

I've poked around looking at companies that coat things in stuff (I understand that fork stanchions are coated in stuff) cos seeing as these were kick-ass 1.1/8 forks that would cost 5, 6, 7 (?) hundred to buy now (not that you can) it'd be a lovely way to stick two fingers up at the industry and keep 'em going.

But even if that was feasible - what to do about that lateral play... 😕

Are oil levels with forks compressed?

Sure are. It's a hot day - head to the corner shop & buy a Walls feast. Eat it. Yum. Take the lollipop stick and draw a line across it in pencil at however number of millimeters your fork level should be. Lower it into the fork until the line is flush with the top & take it out. If it comes out dry, add more oil. This is your marzocchi fork oil level-ometer. 😀

Sure are. It's a hot day - head to the corner shop & buy a Walls feast. Eat it. Yum. Take the lollipop stick and draw a line across it in pencil at however number of millimeters your fork level should be. Lower it into the fork until the line is flush with the top & take it out. If it comes out dry, add more oil. This is your marzocchi fork oil level-ometer.

This man speaks a lot of sense*

*I mean clearly the Feast is the prime choice of ice cream from the freezer cabinet.

*Ahem..*
[img] [/img]

Also, the oil level should measured from the top of the stanchion tube, not the thread bit in the crown, apparently.

You can't even compare that abomination to a feast!

If you're fettling oil heights in bombers, careful not to add too much as you can blow the seals out, or just make them lockout before they bottom out. Also pull the spring out before measure oil (should be obvious?).