'68 ciriani shock rebuild V416

[Fred Deagostino]

Gents, after a full read thru past posts on this topic I've found a post by Kip from 12/01 at which time these could still be rebuilt. That (unless something has changed) is heartening news. But the plot thickens.
  My right side shock is worn thru the (once) chrome dust cover badly from rubbing against the chain guard, 1 1/4 long x 3/8 wide exposing the spring. The left side has a spot at the bottom of the chrome dust cover that is rotted through. Add in the effects of the pitting and these lower covers are poor candidates for resto.
  My intention is to restore to as original as possible so keeping the original shock style is an issue.
  If anyone might have a solution be it parts, suggestions, insights, etc. it would be appreciated. I didn't see this one coming. 'Nasty surprise!  Thanks in advance,  Fred


V416 OneMoreTime

[slvrbrdfxr]

Fred,
The shocks spring covers are available on ebay. Check out item # 350483360359 offered by parmabike. His parts are top notch. In my opinion his price on the repop shock covers is a good one too. I know this to be true after paying $90/pair to get 3 original sets rechromed several years ago and likey much higher in todays market. Hope this helps.
Dave McCullough

[johnborn]

i bought a set of those chrome covers from parmabike for the shocks with exposed springs and they look perfect.

[gooddirt]

The 1968 had a longer top bell.

[Fred Deagostino]

Looong sigh!  I checked out parmabike's covers and they're not the same as mine. He had one set left and I was ready to jump until I went out and measured my lower covers. I think his are top covers and he states they're for '70's pentons. I'm a '68 w/fully covered springs.
 His length is 3 5/8", mine is just over 4"
 His OD is 2 3/8", mine is 2"
 The fact he shows a top opening dimension says he's talking about a top cover (I think?). I have both top and bottom covers.
 The tips offered up had my heart beating faster for a bit but I think we're talking about different shocks. If you guys look at the pics of V416 in my first post you'll see the early full covered shocks I have here. I have a creeping feeling that all's not well in V416 world.
Unless there's a restorable set of early shocks or lower covers out there in POG land I'm probably looking at a billion hours of brazing and filing to fill in the missing metal. Yikes....!  [xx(]   Fred

V416 OneMoreTime

[Fred Deagostino]

A bit of jumping between topics here. Dave, I see in the pics of your '68 that are posted at the end of the '68 stinger revisited forum that we have the same shocks(bike for that matter). Yours also shows the right shock up against the chain guard just like mine was. Those are the shocks with the worn chrome covers that I have. Assuming a fresh set of NOS covers are not going to drop from the sky I'm currently concocting a plan for a form to 'roll my own' so to speak. If I do it, and if it works, I'll post a 'howIdunnit' description, in the mean time I would ask the audience to hold their laughter till the end of the performance..  Fred



V416 OneMoreTime

[gooddirt]

Early girlings covers may work ,check with Speed and Sport he has new or some used on ebay.

[Fred Deagostino]

Some time has passed since I'd posted on this but as a catch-up I was unable to find lower cover dimensions matching V416's.
 On the plus side, my pal feels sure that they match girlings as you do and that leads me to believe I've either missed something, or not found the right parts. Always possible. He's currently going thru his 'attic stuff' to check my lower covers against his. I have no fear of being wrong. 'Just seeking a solution.
 To borrow/paraphrase someone else's quote (Churchill?) "There's no limit to what you can achieve as long as you don't care who gets the credit".
             Cheers, Fred

V416 OneMoreTime

[Fred Deagostino]

It's been some time since the last post on this topic but just as an update it seems that (after exhausting all avenues) there is no solution to missing lower shock covers on those '68 Ceriani's. The Girlings, do not have the recess stamped/formed into the bottom to capture the spring locking clips which are at the bottom of the shock. So it appears I'll be making something up for those after all. Other than that nasty detail the shocks are now redone.
 What I'm really in need of though are 4 more of the rubber bushings for those shocks. I was very, very fortunate to get four NOS from one of our suppliers but I'm still short four. If any one might see their way clear to sell me four of those they may have stashed away it would most surely be appreciated. Thanks, Fred


V416 OneMoreTime

[johnborn]

Hi,Fred.I just noticed on my fathers restored Honda s90(1966) the rear shock absorbers are very close in appearance to the shocks in question.they also appear to be the same length as the shocks on my 1970 berkshire.there are several pairs on e-bay,I do not know if they would be of any help to you,but it may be worth a look.who knows maybe the bottom covers would even fit your shocks.

[checkcrew]

Fred,

another place to look is Ebay BMW motorcycle parts,
early Beemers used the closed shocks as well and coming from the same area of Europe as KTM/Penton they may be the same ??

Beemers were black and chrome
Pentons were green and chrome

good luck and keep us posted :-))

regards,

Mike Gallagher, NJ.
[email protected]

[Fred Deagostino]

John and Mike, thanks for the tips, I will do some more exploring again before going into 'make it myself' mode. These full covered Ciriani's are killing me. 'Still missing those four shock bushings too!
My first year production six day is proving to be a bit of a double edged sword. I've got the rest moving along pretty darn good but by early spring V416's going to be sitting there all done with no shocks on it!:(
On the plus side, we straightened the frame today. Oh Happy Day ! Oh Happy Day!:D
Thanks again you guys....., Fred

V416 OneMoreTime

[gooddirt]

Do some brazing fill on the chain spot  and belt sand the rough areas on the covers as best you can and have the plater do a thick copper dip or two.

[Fred Deagostino]

Gooddirt, greetings and thanks for the response! I'm afraid my lower covers are so far gone that a rehab might possibly be more trouble than a brazing can fix. Nothing's impossible of course, but they are very bad.
Aside from the worn thru spot on one, both are laced thru on the bottom and the bottom lip which holds the spring retainers in are all but gone on one and the other has the structural integrity of a gum wrapper. the pitting is deep enough on a .030 piece of tin that sanding even about half of it away would leave the plating as the lions share of the main structure. In short..., they're bad.
No provision was ever made to get water back out of the fully enclosed shocks, even condensation, so it just sat there eating things away. In this case for 44 yrs.
Having said all that I do still ponder the brazing fix, but only while trying to get a plan/visual on how I might make up dies to press out a new pair. I think I might have a valid approach to do this but it's going to be a trip to the steel supplier, a day on the lathe, and ultimately, a bit of a crap shoot.
On the subject of the missing four bushings,there doesn't seem to be any cavalry coming over the hill on that one either.
As I'd mentioned in the prior post things are moving along every day on this project but unless I get a solution going now on these shocks I'm going to hit the Ciriani wall for certain at the end.[B)]
On the plus side, over the last three days we straightened the frame, repaired the broken lower motor mounts, and welded the broken footpeg mount back on. Everything's been washed, degreased, and bead blasted, and the tin is bodyworked and in primer Thanks again for the response!  Fred

V416 OneMoreTime

[nsujeff]

I've found the shocks from a Harley(Aermacchi)M50 are almost exactly the same except for the length. They were also produced in the '60s.


Jeffrey P. Borer
Amherst,Ohio