A cautionary tale. Somewhere in the Vincent literature someone said it was feasible to drill and tap the top link for a grease nipple without dismantling same. Some years ago I had my Girdraulics refurbished by a Vincent specialist (since retired). I asked him to fit grease nipples as the forks were to be fitted with Phosphor Bronze bushes. The spindles have been greased regularly however the front top spindle gradually developed play. None of the other spindles have. I withdrew the spindle. Now I have seen worn fork spindles. I have seen very worn neglected fork spindles but I have never seen anything like this. The depth of the wear was unbelievable but the condition of the spindle was extraordinary. It was chewed, graunched, moonscaped in a way difficult to imagine. There are deep, ripped, criss-crossed, overlapping grooves as if the metal has been torn by some terrible claw. There are tiny pieces of swarf which to my untrained eye consist of steel, bronze and aluminium. The bushes are in a similar state. My hypothesis is this. Supposing that when the specialist had reassembled the forks he realised he had forgotten to fit the top link grease nipple and so he fitted it in situ. The swarf from the tapping fell into the link tunnel and with my assiduous greasing was carried into the bushes with the above disastrous results.
Hugo
Hugo