loose head lamp brackets

becks · Post by **becks** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:09 pm

Hello to all
trying to assemble front end on model 20 but I cannot seem to be able to get the headlamp brackets to remain tight. In the manual it describes a packing washer which is listed as no 18(rubber ring for top cover tube housing ring) to be interposed between the top and bottom yoke does this fit under 19 (housing ring top cover tube)or on top. When I stripped the forks, the only rubber packing ring that I found was between the top of lower tube fork cover 16 and the underside of bottom yoke 39 (fork crown)
Thanks to all that have helped me along this far.
Mick

itma · Post by **itma** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 10:06 pm

according to the parts book, cos I am damned if I can remeber
its
bottom yoke
rubber ring
alloy ring
lamp bracket,
top collar
top yoke
idea being I suppose that the rubber pushes up on the headlamp bracket.
funny old set up but thats Plumstead for you

becks · Post by **becks** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 10:58 am

Thanks Itma,
Ive
been putting a rubber ring on top of the lower fork cover but not on top of the bottom yoke.
No wonder ive got five children, been putting the rubber in the wrong place all these years.

deshollier · Post by **deshollier** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:30 pm

Even with a rubber ring in the right place, after some considerable time the headlamp brackets can still become loose and a recommended fix is to take the weight off the front wheel and slacken everything off at the top end of the forks without actually disconnecting anything, obtain a leather washer that is normally used on top of the spring inside the shroud (a few pence for a pair from JSL) make one cut across one side only and wind it around the stanchion over the top (or underneath, if you can't shift the rubber ring) this effectively thickens the packing and will allow you to readjust the steering stem bearings correctly and remove the looseness that you had in the headlamp bracket. You can do one or both sides, as required. Although it is straight forward enough, there are full details on page 57 in the Workshop Manual (Red Book). If the forks have not been disturbed for years you will most likely require a fork puller tool to shift the stanchion from the crown in the first place, by screwing it into the stanchion and hitting it with a mallet, and then to pull it back tightly into the top stanchion when you have fitted the washer. So invariably what appears to be a simple job turns into a more expensive one than it might appear!

becks · Post by **becks** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:09 pm

Thanks for all the info.
Mick