AJS & Matchless Owners Club

I rebuilt my forks with new bottom bushes and sidecar springs but on advice from Steve Surbey I did not change the plastic top bushes as he said that it is very uncommon for them to wear out. Having ridden the bike for a year or so I have noticed play in the top bushes by rocking the forks back and forth on full lock and feeling movement between the oil seal holders and the sliders.
This would probably not cause too many problems on a solo but there are different forces in play on a sidecar outfit with sideways force on the forks coming into play on bends. On a solo the force is predominately up and down.
Before I replace the bushes with some more plastic ones, my question is, has anybody replaced the plastic bushes with bronze and where did they come from.
The part in question is "(022700) PLASTIC BUSH; FORK INNER TUBE" shown in the club spares.

Thanks

Jim

Jim, I think we might have been talking at crossed purposes because it's the bottom bushes that don't usually wear out. I always recommend the top bushes should be replaced because they certainly do wear. Also if they are the original bakelite, they can swell and are an absolute bugger if they seize as they can be incredibly hard to remove with the usual heat/violence technique. We stock the bronze bushes because they're much easier than plastic to machine to a consistent and accurate size.

Steve

I recently rebuilt my 1 1/4 inch G80 forks with the bronze bushes from Steve Surbey. I can vouch that they are well engineered and fitted easily. I went for the bronze instead of the plasticky stuff simply because they seem more substantial and stronger. Also, if you have to take the forks apart again because you forgot something (speaking from sad experience here), the bronze bushes come back out without too much drama.

Steven S wrote:Jim, I think we might have been talking at crossed purposes because it's the bottom bushes that don't usually wear out. I always recommend the top bushes should be replaced because they certainly do wear. Also if they are the original bakelite, they can swell and are an absolute bugger if they seize as they can be incredibly hard to remove with the usual heat/violence technique. We stock the bronze bushes because they're much easier than plastic to machine to a consistent and accurate size.

Steve

Thanks Steve. I will give you a call and order some - it will give me something to do over the silly season. Sorry about the (my) confusion.

Jim

oldandsmelly wrote:I recently rebuilt my 1 1/4 inch G80 forks with the bronze bushes from Steve Surbey. I can vouch that they are well engineered and fitted easily. I went for the bronze instead of the plasticky stuff simply because they seem more substantial and stronger. Also, if you have to take the forks apart again because you forgot something (speaking from sad experience here), the bronze bushes come back out without too much drama.

Thanks for the heads up Bruce. I was sure I read somewhere that bronze bushes were available. I will give Steve a call tomorrow and order some.

Jim