Fork damper rods

[Catz]

My A10 came fitted with Eddie Dow damper rods but my question is, do they actually work?
I'm overhauling the forks and thinking of doing away with the damper rods. What's everyone's thoughts on this? Looks like a bit of oil going through some holes is a bit over the top considering how old the forks are and they are not exactly like a "modern" bikes damper rods.
Hope i've not opened up the proverbial can of worms.

[JulianS]

I tried these dampers from several different sources of the past many years.

I found that they stiffened up the fork action on compression but did little on extension. When cmpressing there is only oil beneath the damper valve on extension there is some oil and a lot of air above the valve.

Others may have a different experience.

[limeyrob]

I tried with and without on my Goldie many years ago.  My understanding is the rods should be used with the Eddie Dow top yoke which drops the stanchions down by an inch (or is it 2?)  The recent "hello" thread shows a very nice pic side on of an A10 with the Dow yoke and rods.  I had the Eddie Dow yoke. The ally pistons do make a difference and are intended to mostly improve rebound damping as there is little to none on the std forks.
Do they make a difference? Yes but at the expense of travel. I would not bother with them on the road as travel matters given how bad a lot of roads are.  I'm sure on a good surface going fast the shorter travel and better damping is what you want, but on the road I'm not so sure.  I don't know whether they work with a std top yoke or if there are two lengths, one for the flat top yoke and one for the dropped one.

[muskrat]

G'day Catz.
I made my own for both the plunger and Cafe. They do work if set up right. 4 things need to be in harmony. 1 - length of rod, 2 - amount of oil, 3 - the fit between the valve and fork leg and 4 - the size of the dampening holes.
https://www.a7a10.net/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2895.0;attach=7512;image
Cheers

[Catz]

Thanks for the replies.
Muskie, that sounds like too much work for me and so i'm going to keep it simple for now and go without as it came out of the factory.

[Tomcat]

I bought new dampers from Paul Goff for my '59 Super Rocket and really like the handling with them.

[JulianS]

I posted Eddie Dows fitting instructions here;

https://www.a7a10.net/forum/index.php?topic=12359.0

This is an advert from one of Eddie Dows lists. Quite an expansive conversion for the mid 1960s.

[limeyrob]

That's the set up I had and its the one on the bike in the recent thread.  I do recall the much shorter travel.  The ally yoke pushes the stanchions down a lot.  Great at speed on a smooth track.

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
Somewhere long ago I posted drawings of the damper valves if you want to make your own.
In my opinion they are well worth keeping or fitting, I have bikes with and without and it makes a big difference
Originally if the complete kit was fitted it reduced travel due to the extra long bushes, ride height was restored by fitting the alloy top yoke.
If the Dow damper rods are fitted to standard forks I believe the rods are too short?
Easy cure is to add more oil so that the valve body is still in the oil at full extension.
I found 10wt fork oil to work well.
Anything heavier makes the forks too stiff
For the next project I am going to make a longer set of rods to try with the standard amount of oil

John

[mikeb]

i made some off chatterlea John's pics (on the forum somewhere) and find they make a spirited ride more predictable. yes to 10wt oil. would recommend. upgrading the rear shocks helps too.

[Topdad]

I got mine from George Prew and I like them ,my front brake worked well then and I got fed up of the dive on heavy braking so its a yes from me, nice bike by the way

[limeyrob]

I don't recall the ride height being changed by the alloy Dow top yoke.  I think that was set by the bottom yoke and springs.  I think the Dow top yoke pushed the stanchions down which is what limited the travel but it also put the stanchion bottom nearer the damper cone in the slider so the compression damping came on sooner.  The standard BSA forks aren't great, they clatter when worn and don't have much in the way of rebound damping, but they cope with speed bumps and pot holes effectively with their longish travel.

[muskrat]

G'day Fellas.
John's post from 2010. https://www.a7a10.net/forum/index.php?topic=2895.msg19476#msg19476
Cheers

[chaterlea25]

Hi Rob, and All
The Dow kit included extra long top bushes that limited travel and effectively shortened the overall assembled length
The dropped top yoke to match set the ride height back to normal

John

[olev]

Will a set of A65  forks work?
Takes care of dampers and the lug for a twin leading shoe brake.
cheers