Yes Vincent, my breathing is much improved, Thank you
FF: Forks Brampton forks
- Thread starter Robert Watson
- Start date
Years ago I fitted a gas shock to my 'A' Rapide bramptons, worked fine as also did the Norton disc brake.
Can't remember the details but I know I scrounged both items off brother Bill ! The bike was slightly non-standard.
Can't remember the details but I know I scrounged both items off brother Bill ! The bike was slightly non-standard.
I Have to say with a modern damper on my Bramptons and a rear AVO coilover and some natty round profile tyres I was more than pleased with the Comets handling on thousands mountain corners in Northern Spain.
I talked the talk on here over a year or so, fitted the gear in its present form just before covid including the Bramptons off the racing twin, rode around UK this summer I felt handling was fine but not earth shattering. But now I really had an opportunity to really try it out its superb. Whatever would you want a featherbed frame for?
Unfortunately the weak point has now retreated to the engine another winter strip down beckons...
I talked the talk on here over a year or so, fitted the gear in its present form just before covid including the Bramptons off the racing twin, rode around UK this summer I felt handling was fine but not earth shattering. But now I really had an opportunity to really try it out its superb. Whatever would you want a featherbed frame for?
Unfortunately the weak point has now retreated to the engine another winter strip down beckons...
It was an S and W Air shock off one side of the back of a Harley Davidson,
I used it as a rear "D" unit for some time, On my Special twin, Worked super smooth,
But right at the end of it's limit, Fine for the front on Ron's "A",
Ron had two scooter hydraulic dampers, One each side to act as travel stops ?.
Good Times.
Last edited:
All of this is lovely, and I had works make some many years ago but is there someone today that is supplying such an item??????
Nope
I wonder if Norman Walker would like another project to get his teeth into, I am sure he would make a great job of it.
This week I have collected all the remaining parts for the 20 JE steering stems which have been on order for months. This includes several head lugs which have been converted to taper roller bearings and fitting hydraulic steering dampers to most of them and also fitting the modified lower links to those who have ordered the ball race mod. In addition I now have the new brake shoes which were ordered months ago, the hydraulic steering dampers to fit the standard girdraulic forks and the bits to fit a needle roller thrust race into the outer plate of a Burman clutch. I will be contacting all those who have ordered some, or even all, of these items over the next week or so and yesterday was starting to make up parcels. I do not have access to any Brampton forks so cannot really do any design work. There is an additional problem in that I think that in order to make this mod it is probably necessary to make some modification to the forks, specifically the front of the lower link, and I imagine there would be some resistance to that.
Since posting the above I have had time to think about this but need to run some ideas past those who have an interest in this. First, some background. When I took orders for the latest batch of 20 JE steering stems several people wanted to use the modified lower links but did not want to use their existing link. Four people ordered links from the Spares Company and had them sent to me while others looked around for second hand links. It turned out that the SC was out of stock of these links and that had been the case for some time. I can't remember exactly how long the delay was but about two months. When they did finally turn up two were so badly machined that they had to go back and be exchanged. I have now had to work on quite a lot of new lower links and if you have never seen one you will get quite a shock. They are supplied as cast with surface rust. The only machining that has been done is on the places where is has to be done and there has been no attempt to smooth, or even polish, the other surfaces let alone paint them. I have also worked on some of the original seventy years old ones and on those all the surfaces have been smoothed, possibly polished. Because of the supply problem I offered to do some design work and get a price for getting some new ones made by CNC machining. There was no interest.
With that as a background I was wondering if this might be a path that would work for the modified Bramptons. The idea is that in consultation with those who have Bramptons and who might already have them modified it should be possible to design new lower links with the fitting for a lower attachment point for a coil over damper unit. This way no old links would be modified and the design could be optimised to allow the fitting of some as yet unspecified suspension unit. The problems I foresee are how many would be required and is it possible to find a consensus as to the design parameters? I assume that the originals would have been forgings but things have moved on enough that we now have girdraulic fork blades machined from extrusions so it is possible that there are now steel specifications whose use would allow the same to be done with the lower links.
Thoughts please.
With that as a background I was wondering if this might be a path that would work for the modified Bramptons. The idea is that in consultation with those who have Bramptons and who might already have them modified it should be possible to design new lower links with the fitting for a lower attachment point for a coil over damper unit. This way no old links would be modified and the design could be optimised to allow the fitting of some as yet unspecified suspension unit. The problems I foresee are how many would be required and is it possible to find a consensus as to the design parameters? I assume that the originals would have been forgings but things have moved on enough that we now have girdraulic fork blades machined from extrusions so it is possible that there are now steel specifications whose use would allow the same to be done with the lower links.
Thoughts please.
I thought that moves were going on with AVO to make a unit for Bramptons ? (I have not followed it since I have a Works unit from my Canadian/Californian friends years ago) but certainly I have publicised via pictures on here the link arrangement that holds the bottom of the unit on the original coil spring mounting
So an AVO plus two bolts and two flat steel links would seem the most cost effective solution
So an AVO plus two bolts and two flat steel links would seem the most cost effective solution