Fork Tubes

[tobydmv]

What are the options? Im leaning towards Forking by Frank. Has anyone used him before? Will he move the damper plugs over to the new legs?

[amartina75]

I've used franks, I got two sets of tubes. One for my 450 scrambler and one for a set of Ceriani's. They make excellent tubes I wouldn't worry about quality. Here in the US they are about
Your only option. Nobody sells them any cheaper then them and if they are selling them at all they are either coming from franks or overseas somewhere. Unfortunately there is not a cheaper option anywhere. If your tubes are not pitted badly in the travel area they can be polished up and straightened if they are bent. I've straightened them myself and it worked well. They are actually the easiest tubes I've straightened because they are thick wall small diameter and short. The 35mm tubes I've straightened were much harder. I've heard of people having them chromed and also hard chromed, if your tubes can be refinished that might be cheaper, but most likely it would cost almost as much as a set from franks.

[m82a1]

I've used Forking By Frank on my last three singles rebuilds and had very good success. You need to specify the length you want as I recall. He had several lengths available.

Ken

[tobydmv]

What does FBF charge btw? My tubes are bent badly.

[JimF]

I have had slightly bent tubes straightened:

http://www.snowcrest.net/gte/

Fifteen years ago it was about $15 to get a fork tube straightened. The shipping was more than the repair. I had great results. The forks came back straight as an arrow and I had access to a large granite table so I knew they were bent before I sent them and they were perfect when returned. I imagine anyone with a hydraulic press could attempt the work, but I'll bet there's a learned bit of intuition about where to put blocks and pressure to achieve the desired results.

I've also had fork tubes custom made by FBF. They are in Illinois as am I. I drove there to drop off my forks. First and foremost they made great forks. The place is in an exclusive town of Evanston IL , just north of Chicago and where Northwestern University is located.

I guess I expected that everything in Evanston would be ritzy, but FBF was not. Cats everywhere. I could not see the machine shop save for through some slits in the boards along the staircase from the door to the second floor, but I have nothing against cats and as I said before, when they shipped me the forks they were perfect.

[amartina75]

Franks tubes are just under $300 shipped. Straightening tubes
Is not that difficult if your are competent at that sort of thing. I've been working with metal for many years. I straightened my tubes on a H-beam press, by eye, using a cast iron table as a surface plate.
If you end up buying new tubes and yours are in good shape other then being bent
I might be interested in them.

[tobydmv]

I'm all in favor of straightening and reusing mine. Do they need a chrome plating or surface treatment?

[double diamond]

Tubes that are badly bent should be replaced. Straightening them will leave you with an ovalized section at the bend and the tube can also crack at the bend. When the tube is bent, the metal is stretched. Straighten it and the metal will tear on the inside of the bend. Stock 31.5mm Ducati fork tubes are not hard chromed. The surface is softer than hard chrome and scores easily. It is also more susceptible to rust since it isn’t plated. Both of these conditions lead to a poor surface for your fork seals to seal on. Fork tubes can be hard chromed for about $100/each, but they have to be perfectly straight and round since the tubes have to be centerless ground. Fastfromthepast.com sells new Tarozzi fork tubes that are hard chromed. The tubes are good quality but the chrome will rust if neglected. Since the Ducati fork is shrouded, you have to disassemble the fork to keep the tubes from rusting. Might be good to coat the tubes with grease under the shrouds.

Thought I’d heard Forking by Frank had closed recently?

[amartina75]

one persons idea of badly bent could be completly different then anothers. any bend is bad but fork tubes are straightened all the time. and the new tubes these days are much harder to straighten then the ones you have. it would be best if you posted some pictures of your tubes. roll them on a flat surface like a thick glass table top. find the spot where the gap is the largest. see if there is only one bend or more then one. carefully inspect the bent area for any kinks or distortion out of round. also inspect the travel area make sure that the entire area that will contact the seal is in good shape. if it is not then all this is wasted time and they should be replaced.

some ducati 31.5mm tubes were chromed, ive seen more then one pair that were. they were possibly replaced back when parts were more commonly produced and available or they may have come from ducati that way i dont know. but i have seen more then one set of old chromed tubes.

you cannot buy new tubes that are not chromed, Franks are hard chromed as well. I would not grease anything that wasn't sealed, grease attracts dirt and dust and becomes an abrasive paste.

[SP3]

another vote for Frank. I had new stanchions made (had to send in an original) as my were fairly well pitted. What came back (with the original) was magnificent. everything fit back together perfectly. the originals were not chromed, btw.