how much to cut?

[MarkH]

chrome ring frame - cutting it down to accommodate GP forks, leggies, headset, etc. someone once told me to cut an inch off the top and reweld the stops, another has told to to cut off the top, take out an inch below the legshield bracket and reweld the top back on (thus retaining the stops).

thoughts?

and whose got italian gp headsets?

[J1MS]

I cant remember how much to take out of the fork tube, but I have in the past cut a section out of the middle (from a non chrome ring model) with a pipe cutter which gives a square cut, then put a light shamfer on the two edges to be welded back together, doing it this way meant the top bearing race location point could be retained and the frame stops for the forks...

I bolted the forks (with the top & bottom bearings fitted) back into the tube to hold it all together prior to welding, it makes it an easy fix...

I repositioned the stop on the forks when it was all done, as it is only a small piece of metal welded on...

The light shamfer (leaving about 50% square edged, & 50% shamfered) on the cut edges ensures a good weld as its being butt welded, this would help the weld penetrate through to the inner edge of the tube, ensuring a good strong weld.

[YAMLAM]

Who1s got italian GP headsets?
bloody good question, i have a bottom half but cant get a top ,unless i want to pay "silly ebay prices "
think i`ll sell the bottom and buy injun.......

[Knowledge]

I have a GP look-a-like based on a SII Spanish frame. I cut 25mm off the top of the tube to match the length of the GP forks, and then modified the chrome ring to re-seat the top bearing.

You need to remove most of the "ring" from the chrome ring*, and then place the ringless chrome ring in a lathe and carefully turn-down the outside of the chrome ring (the bit that sits in the steering tube, not the shoulder at the top) until it is a tight fit into the cut-down steering tube. This will allow you to seat the top steering bearing squarely in the tube, even if your cut is a little wayward.

The steering stop can be moved quite easily from the fork stem. Grinding it off and re-positioning will not cause any cosmetic damage.

Martin

* Don't forget to leave a bit of the chrome ring behind, as this is where the steering lock fits.

[Dimitrios_231]

and whose got italian gp headsets?

Andy Francis has, look at his site.