Here is a good one for all you experienced fork guys out there. I have a set of 35mm Ceriani forks, and the standard fork caps DO NOT fit the threads in the tubes. The standard thread for the fork caps is supposed to be 1.25mm. The threads in my fork tubes are 1.0mm. Every reference I have looked up and everyone I have asked says that they SHOULD be 1.25mm. I have two sets of the standard caps that do not thread in. IS anyone else familiar with this situation or experienced it? IS there any other brand of Euro bike that back in the day may have used Ceriani forks with finer threaded caps? Maybe made that way to meet a spec called out for by the manufacturer? Any and all help is appreciated.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
Maybe something Ceriani made for some off brand British bike or?[xx(]
Are they Ceriani or very similar in appearance Metal Profiles?? Ceriani have drain holes in the rear, profiles on the side if I am not mistaken [?]
Dale Fisher
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They are Ceriani that were on a Penton.
Larry P
He didn't say he was working on a Penton just a set of forks. MP's come up on Ebay and are not always identified correctly. The Penton Mudlark came with metal profiles until the later model swap on the Woodsman.
Dale Fisher
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He got the forks from me and they came off a Penton.
Larry P
I was like a lot of guys and thought Cerianis were all the same. These were said to come off a '74 Jackpiner. A true '74 bike would still have the shorter suspension on the front, no?? The fork legs, wipers, and everything look just like the forks on my'74 1/2/'75 250, they are just a bit shorter, both the bottom legs and the over all length. I know of no other forks that are taper tops, but I am no expert. I'm confident that these are Ceriani forks, just need to figure out what to do with the caps, and decide if I can use them on a '74 1/2/75 400. I need to recheck the frame numbers and get that straight in my head again. The 400 that I may use them on, has a set of later Cerianis, ( I thought they were Marzzochis), the long ones from the '76/'77 bikes, with the straight triple clamps. This affects the steering radius of the bike. If I don't like the longer forks I want to be able to go back to what was stock, which will be plenty good for me. This is the bike I have posted about before, that my late brother found in a collection of stuff outside of Atlanta. I think it was built out of parts at the time due to the parts on the bike. The engine had 1973 on some of the casting clocks, the forks were later model and not available in '74/75, the early Work shocks that were not available then either and a bunch of other stuff. I put the bike away a couple of years ago after having the engine rebuilt, then just hung a bunch of the other components on the bike to store it for a while until I could get back top it. That time is coming so that is the reason behind getting these forks figured out and squared away so I can use them. Figuring out that the fork length differs from early to later production units can be handy information, that may save some one else some grief.
Thanks a lot,
Dan McEntee
Since the Caps didn't match the threads on the forks, just a thought that came to mind could they be steel tanker forks or tubes that has had the top of the tubes turned down on a lathe to work with the tapered triple clamps, which brings the question to mind;
Do the steel tankers have the same thread pitch as the 73-75 Cerianis, or would those caps fit those tubes? Obviously if they did they wouldn't work with the tapered triple clamps but they might shed some light on the fitment problem. Mike
Michael R. Winter
I enjoy rebuilding and appreciating Pentons!
1974 250 HS Penton
1976 MC5 400
1978 KTM 78 GS6 250
L78-79 MX6 175-250 KTM's
1976-78 125-400 RM's
2007 CR125R Honda
1977 MC250 Maico
2017 KTM Freeride 250R
They are not steel tanker forks. These are tapered and were on a 74 Jackpiner. The caps originally on them were mangled from Vise grips( not by me.) The replacement caps are remakes made in England.
Larry P
Well I finally thought of another way to check them out and that is the actual travel, I collapsed the tube into the leg as far as it would go and made a mark, pulled the tube out until it topped out and measured, and it is 7". That is as good a way to check travel as any isn't it? I think this just brings me back around to the cap thread issue and see what develops there as I hear back from some other sources.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
I just received a set of 74 Ceriani's with caps that I can check length of lowers, extended length, and thread count the first of next week for you. Mike
Michael R. Winter
I enjoy rebuilding and appreciating Pentons!
1974 250 HS Penton
1976 MC5 400
1978 KTM 78 GS6 250
L78-79 MX6 175-250 KTM's
1976-78 125-400 RM's
2007 CR125R Honda
1977 MC250 Maico
2017 KTM Freeride 250R
Dan, length of lower from bottom to top edge 14-3/4". From bottom of fork leg to top of tube 32-5/8" with top out spring resistance felt, or 32-7/8 with no resistance felt. Thread count 1.00mm. sounds like you just need to find the correct caps. Mike
Michael R. Winter
I enjoy rebuilding and appreciating Pentons!
1974 250 HS Penton
1976 MC5 400
1978 KTM 78 GS6 250
L78-79 MX6 175-250 KTM's
1976-78 125-400 RM's
2007 CR125R Honda
1977 MC250 Maico
2017 KTM Freeride 250R
Hey Mike;
Thanks for checking. Looks like they are not all the same. Maybe it's a "74 thing."?? At least I know mine are not the only ones!
Thanks a lot,
Dan McEntee
Anybody else out there got some loose fork caps that can check the threads? Just want to see what others may have and they don't know it. Mike's and mine can't be the only two with 1mm threads??
Thanks in advance,
Dan McEntee
Never heard of it and I have rebuilt a ton of Ceriani's for Pentons. Interesting
What other brand bikes forks use taper top tube Cerianis? Maybe an issue of doing what they had to do to keep up with demand at the KTM plant?? I find it curious that both mine and Mike's are off a '74 bike, maybe the peak year for Penton production?? Just guessing here.
Hey Kip; You say you have never heard of it, and I have no doubt that you have rebuilt many sets of Ceriani forks, but did you check the thread pitch on each one? Did they all get new after market fork caps?
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
Daniel - Your message hit home with me as I too have some questions about the forks on my 75 250 HS for another message. I pulled one fork cap and measured the threads. They are definitely a 1.00 pitch.
My bike is a CMF High Breather with laid- down Marzocchi rear shocks, titled as a 1975 model with frame serial number 54-411-79599. So, a November of 1974 production date. The forks are the 35mm diameter tapered top tube Ceriani (non-ribbed). Hope this helps.
Thanks for the feed back Stephen. I'm going to check outthe caps in a '74/'75 250 I have been building and see what those measure. Maybe this is a '74 thing and may really not be THAT unusual????
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
Well, today I got the chance to check the caps in a '74 250 I have been stalled on rebuilding and compare them to the caps I have. The frame number on the bike is 54-407, so one question is, is this a '74 or '74 1/2 frame? It has multi position shock mounts. I do not know for sure if the forks came with the bike, too much water under the bridge since I started that rebuild. These caps are much longer and have a different top to them than the two other sets that I have, and the thread count is 1mm. The cap fits the tube of the forks in question. I'm beginning to think that this may be a situation of some 1974 vintage bikes with taper top forks will have these caps in them. I sent pictures to Mike Winter and asked him to post them to this thread for anyone that may have an interest. At least now I think I got a good idea of what I need to be looking for, and and a good feeling that all Ceriani fork caps are not the same!
407 would be a 74.5 and should have the multi-position swingarm.
Larry P
Check your email Larry, I just sent you photos.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee