I know there's a 916 fork repair thread running on here but I didn't want to hijack someone else's topic ... I'm about to replace oil seals , dust seals , and bushes on the standard Showa forks on an ST4 and I've just spotted a couple of tiny pits on the chrome , of one leg only . I've attached a pic but it's difficult to make them show up Is it a certainty that they going to cause early failure of the new oil seals ? I suppose I could just do it , then wait to see if the Kiss of Death comes ... I've thought about having the hard-chroming done , or buying used parts , but it seems like an expensive fix for a 20 year old bike , with only two tiny pits ... I've watched and read various things about using super-glue , JBWeld or Araldite to fill tiny pits , followed by "shaving" then carefully rubbing down with very fine wet-and-dry .... it appears to be a temporary fix , at best ..... or not ? Anybody tried it ? ..... any thoughts or suggestions ? . ..... irritating !
If you can't feel them with you fingertip I'd be tempted to tempt fate, if you feel them raised then wet and dry and again tempt fate - shitter of a thing to find
If your forks aren't leaking now then I waould say they will be ok. In any event polishing them up with some v fine wet and dry wont go amiss. TB
I've already worked them with 800 emery ( wet ) and then 1200 , first dry then wet and I can still feel them .... just about . @Topbox The seal on that side was already weeping slightly , when I had to leave it standing 4 years ago .... and now I know why
I just couldn't decide between reassembling as things stand , or using the glue , but the fork is on the bench and super clean , so I'll have a go . Now I just need to decide between epoxy and super-glue .... Since the first post , I've been searching " The Sprawl " for information . This bloke goes one step beyond , and uses an old AA battery and a phone charger to zinc plate the pits before using the glue .... I kid you not ! -
