It makes for a heavy fork, but a strong one. That, apparently, was the most effective way of doing it. "After about 1914 to 1915, almost all designs went over to the familiar top link systems with 4 spindles and a rigid girder. There was also a cantilever system where the pivot action is up by the steering head. Some were lower leading-link (meaning that the front axle is forward of the line of the front forks, much like a swinging arm reversed, while some had a parallelogram type system. The designs varied considerably from company to company. "The earliest girder forks were built usually by motorcycle manufacturers. I was thinking of reproducing Speed Twin girder forks, but I have to be sure the demand is there because it takes a lot of time and a lot of investment in tooling to complete such projects." Types of Girder Forks I’ll be happy to make batches of other forks for clubs. "But the demand is still there, which is why another batch will be ready soon. The price was £1950, and all have been sold. My forks are faithful reproductions, and accurate in every detail. The Castle design was “borrowed” from Harley-Davidson, and altered in minor ways. "Recently I made a batch of 10 sets of Castle forks as fitted to Brough Superiors. I look forward to helping out where I can." Generally speaking, I can sort out most problems without too much fuss. You still want to keep the air system working properly, but Dowty forks can collapse when a seal blows, and the spring acts as a back up. "I also do a coil spring conversion that fits inside Dowty Oleomatic telescopic forks, as fitted to Panthers, for instance. That allowed the owner to use the bike in other categories. The owner wanted to revert to girders, and I was able to build a pair from parts that I had around the workshop and extend them for extra ground clearance. "Recently I had a works Royal Enfield in the shop that at some time had had its girder forks replaced by Montessa telescopic forks. It manifests itself in uneven spindle distortion, bent side plates, and fractures on one side of the forks. "Sidecar forks, incidentally, take a lot of abuse on the sidelinks, caused by the unbalanced riding and turning forces. Changing the length of the lower side-link alters the trail, which may be suitable for sidecars usage, or for trials riding or sprinting. I can help in replacing side-links with different sizes to suit various needs. "Often, girder forks need to be modified in some way. You live with 'em, and suddenly you can't live without 'em. But make sure you read the small print on the shirt. You can click here to visit the appropriate page for more info, or click on the T-shirt image.
The postage, incidentally, is a flat rate regardless of how many T-shirts you buy. It's an original design unavailable anywhere else, and will age nicely. You just want to know if they're a decent bit of clobber and worth your hard earned money, and they are. well, you don't want to know all that technical stuff. Fifteen quid's worth of prime 100% pre-shrunk black cotton, conceived, designed and printed in England, and. Why? Who knows? Bloody-mindedness? Sexual deviancy? Curiosity? Greed? Malice.? Or just for the hell of it?Įither way, here it is. Just when our Sump "Goggles" T-shirt was getting started (and doing very well, thank you), we went ahead and created another. ▲ Chromed Girdraulic fork on a customised Vincent Comet. It's a project that Jake is planning to tackle at some point in the future. The forge needs some attention to get it back into working order. Insight into girder forks care, repairs, maintenance and manufacture. Jake Robbins talks about his girder fork engineering business, sharing his