Pitted forks

Was on the CBR forum earlier, one specific member said this...

pitted forks is a MOT fail BTW.

Is that absolute tosh? Or true?

I know if your fork seals are leaking it's a fail - had enough ratty old bikes to know this one Not sure about just pitting though. I'd have thought that if your forks aren't leaking it'd be fine

My forks are pitted to fook and passed it's MOT.

Pitted forks, as in the shiny sliders that go into the fork bottoms.

If they are pitted they can damage the fork seal as they move up and down also they may draw the oil out in the little pits and eventually you'll end up with unbalanced damping.

As Pete says, in the area of travel of the fork, pitting can mean damage to seals and leaking so could lead to an MOT failure if the examiner thought they were bad enough I guess - or if there were signs of oil on the forks indicating seal damage.

Originally Posted by philbut

As Pete says, in the area of travel of the fork, pitting can mean damage to seals and leaking so could lead to an MOT failure if the examiner thought they were bad enough I guess - or if there were signs of oil on the forks indicating seal damage.

Yeah, I can understand that, but I have never seen pitted male sections of forks (It's easier to call the two parts male and female )

Originally Posted by plowsie

Yeah, I can understand that, but I have never seen pitted male sections of forks (It's easier to call the two parts male and female )

you have never seen the top of my ZZR forks then It does happen, particularly where bikes aren't used that much and not kept clean - if you use them the forks clean themselves in a way by just moving over the area. The chome will eventually lift and allow rust to form, then you have to get them re-chromed really - its no good just getting out the autosol.

Originally Posted by plowsie

Yeah, I can understand that, but I have never seen pitted male sections of forks (It's easier to call the two parts male and female )

It used to be a common sight on bikes a few years ago Plowsie, but presumably better quality plating combined with the fact most bikes are toys rather than basic tranport so get looked after better means it doesn't occur that often. A lot of older bikes used to have gaiters fitted to protect them. Of course most USD forks use the mudguard as protection. Better looking solution IMO

Originally Posted by philbut

you have never seen the top of my ZZR forks then It does happen, particularly where bikes aren't used that much and not kept clean - if you use them the forks clean themselves in a way by just moving over the area. The chome will eventually lift and allow rust to form, then you have to get them re-chromed really - its no good just getting out the autosol.

ACF 50 FTW?

Also as said pitted forks will lead to the seals going fairly constantly so u'd need to replace the forks.

Nah, they aren't too bad, just the odd spot between the yolks, so not in the area of travel - was just an example of how they can become pitted if not kept clean.