Restoration of '73 Six days for AHRMA competition

[jasonlamar]

Hi all,
I am pretty new to the group. This is my first new topic post.  I have done some searching here for answers prior to posting, but if I have missed any good threads that address my questions, please just reply with a link.  
I am going through a '73 six days to get it ready for ahrma competition this season. The bike came from a POG member Sean Guthrie who got the bike from another member in trade.  I need to go through the front end.  I have the forks off and one fork halfway disassembled.  They are 32mm ceriani forks.  There was not so much fork oil in there as a thick sludge that I was able to pump out through the drain hole.  All I really want to do is clean, replace fork seals, and adjust spring/preload setup to my liking.  I was trying to remove the bushing from the bottom of the fork leg(top piece) so I can clean the spring, seal, and valve components.  I assume it needs heat to remove.  First question, do I need to this bushing to adequately clean all the dampening components? What type of material is the "seal" made of (going off owner/shop manual terminology)?  I am a bit over my head here as this is first time I have done this type of work.  I know plenty of people that can help me but none with relevant experience.  I am of the mind to ship it out as this seems to be in the "task to be completed by qualified technician only" category.  In that case can anyone recommend someone to do this work for me?  I have broken a couple of circlips already in the disassembly process.  They were rusted pretty bad.  Polished/chrome components seem to be ok.  Some pitting present but not in critical locations such as fork seal area. The pinch bolts on the triple tree are pretty rusty and were well frozen in place.  I have not checked to see if they came out clean, but I would like to replace the bolts.  My setup is two pinch bolts per fork leg if that matters.  So any feedback or suggestions are greatly appreciated.  For the record, I am not asking for input on fork oil level or type  I have already gone through those threads.  I would also like suggestions on replacement shocks.  The bike has beilstein shocks which I understand aren't really worth the effort to rebuild.  Thanks for reply.
Jason

[Rob Thatcher]

Jason,
I actually disassembled the forks on my 72 Six Days yesterday.  I am building my bike for AHRMA racing also.

I found it easiest to leave the fork caps on (for the spring tension) and then remove the allen bolts from the dampener rods.  Sometimes, if the bolts are a little crusty, pushing down on the fork to increase spring tension is needed to stop the dampeners from spinning.

Then, it is easy to clean the fork legs and replace the seals.  

If additional repair/refurbishing is required, remove the fork caps and springs.  Only rarely do the dampener rods need to be completely removed.

[jasonlamar]

Thanks for the reply. I have attached a few photos to get opinions whether parts are reusable.  I removed the allen bolt from the dampening rod and removed the lower fork leg.  The old seals are out, no problem.  The dampening rod is pretty corroded at the top and there is some pitting on the chromed area.  





Does this look usable?  I have cleaned the top a bit, but there is still oil residue on the rod.  The circlip broke while removing the rod bushing. It was pretty rusty.  If the rod is usable, anyone have a source for the clips, or an alternative?
Thanks in advance