[klaudius]

Hi Paul
What fork levers are built into you. Is it the long ones for sidecars that reinforce the feeling when components are a bit worn out. Is the fork adjusted correctly? Relieved checked? I built something like this to relieve some of the pressure. Is from old wagons. Nice size from Germany. Claudius.

[Greybeard]

Hello, Paul. At the risk of sounding flippant, if you wish to ride at 60mph plus is an 80-90 year old machine built up of many irreplaceable parts the ideal machine to use? 
Whilst I'm sure the machines were capable of it there were times when worn out parts were more readily available. If the bike feels 'nervous' rather than the rider then I would be directing my attentions towards head bearings, fork spindles, wheel-bearings, tyres etc rather than on something that at best can only mask the symptoms of a problem. As Thomas has said, the dampers were primarily for sidecar use.  The dampers on my bikes are always backed right off and could just as easily be removed without causing a problem.

Steve

[Thomas]

Hi Paul,

yes, 1/8 of an inch means that the damper disc is loose. To get the damper rod thread into the disc one needs to move the rod from side to side a bit until you hit the hole . There is no radial guide.

I do not believe that your loose disc is the reason for your  "nervous" driving. The damper is made for sidecar driving and should be untightened for driving without a sidecar.

Cheers, Thomas

[singleminded]

The bottom fitting that the damper rod goes into is held in place by the bottom spindle.

[paul.w]

I said I'd soon find another problem, here it is.......

I've discovered my steering damper is loose - this is I guess why 60+ mph feels "nervous" (or at least, the rider does!).  I've tried tightening it and couldn't and I can't work out how to get it apart (I don't want to hit it with a bigger hammer).

The adjuster unscrews and i can take it out of the headstock (its about 12" long and threaded at the end) and I then expected the parts of the damper to fall off - but they didn't. There is about 1/8" of gap between the damper discs so obviously it doesn't work and it can't be tightened.  The bottom disc is loose and under it there is a boss which I'm guessing should be what the damper rod screws into and gets pulled up to apply friction. I expected that a gentle tap on the top of the rod would push this out the bottom - but it won't shift.  I don't want to hit it hard or put a rod down the hole and hit it in case I either damage the thread or break something.

I'm at a loss!  I'm missing something, how do  take the damper off the headstock to either replace the friction material  - or just to check it and then do the damper up a bit.  It seems to me the bottom boss should just drop out, is it just that its stiff and needs hitting with a bigger hammer (which I am loathe to do for obvious reasons)?