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Ride 'em High said:
Naw, not at all. I've just never had a springer and I need to graduate.
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The reality is I'm putting a springer fork on a frame it wasn't designed for.. This style of springer fork is only available for a 20" frame. However, they were meant to be aftermarket for Schwinns which have a much shorter headtube than Murrays. With a cantilevered Murray frame, I could probably have chopped the headtube to match., however, these Murray Eliminator frames have all these reinforcement plates in the headtube that limit how much you can trim. I want the look, and will make it happen, but I am square pegging a round hole at the moment.

Ride 'em High said:
..and maybe MacGuyvering an angle wedge off the bottom?
View attachment 238643
Click to expand...

Not enough clearance to pull it off. If only I could redrill and tap a new hole at this angle lol.
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If you have access to an electric drill a hammer and a vice, you can make an adapter for the cage that raises the spring and bolt up above it. There will be some bending forces, and it won’t be strong, but for a show bike it will be OK.
 
No I don’t think that would do the trick at all. You need a piece of steel with two holes in it. One for the long bolt and one that you can bolt to the cage with a short bolt and nut. The distance between the holes is equal to how far you are off from the hole now.
 
What happens if you take the mount off the steer tune and bolt the cage to it and then try to get the mount back on the steer tube. You'll probably need to grind a little off the the hole so it fits back on the tube at an angle. Then make angled spacers as Ride'em High suggest, only they would need to be turned 180 degrees.
May need to grind a little off the back of the mount to clear the head tube too. If only the tab for the cage bolt stuck out further from the head tube before making the 90 degree bend. You could just bend it a tad more to fit everything together.
 
handyandy1100 said:
What happens if you take the mount off the steer tune and bolt the cage to it and then try to get the mount back on the steer tube. You'll probably need to grind a little off the the hole so it fits back on the tube at an angle. Then make angled spacers as Ride'em High suggest, only they would need to be turned 180 degrees.
May need to grind a little off the back of the mount to clear the head tube too. If only the tab for the cage bolt stuck out further from the head tube before making the 90 degree bend. You could just bend it a tad more to fit everything together.
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(with no hands on experience) I too wondered how this would all work out if it were installed in reverse but with everything upside down, affording more/less pressure from different angles. Like, if it were secured at the mount first, would force applied to the other end not bend what you need bent naturally.

Ulu said:
No I don’t think that would do the trick at all. You need a piece of steel with two holes in it. One for the long bolt and one that you can bolt to the cage with a short bolt and nut. The distance between the holes is equal to how far you are off from the hole now.
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I'd like to see how thats done for future reference. ( I'd like to make a reflector mount =)
 
Here's an idea for you. You could make a plate to locate the exact location and angle for the spring bolt.
fork.jpg



The only thing is, it would need to be a thick enough piece of steel to handle the load which will be difficult to bend without a vice. Also, it would probably need a second bolt at the top (or just welded in place) to prevent it from rotating.
 
The Renaissance Man said:
Here's an idea for you. You could make a plate to locate the exact location and angle for the spring bolt.
View attachment 238727


The only thing is, it would need to be a thick enough piece of steel to handle the load which will be difficult to bend without a vice. Also, it would probably need a second bolt at the top (or just welded in place) to prevent it from rotating.
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This is more feasible. I had been thinking about an adapter for the cage, but this would preserve the geometry of all parts involved.
 
That could work as well.

If you make that new bracket a little wider than the existing one, you can groove the back of it with a file, so that it keys on the existing bracket. Then it will not rotate, even though it only has a one-bolt connection.

I don’t understand how the Springer would work if the Cage doesn’t already pivot a little bit.

It looks like a pretty huge alignment discrepancy though, from the photos.
 
Ulu said:
That could work as well.

If you make that new bracket a little wider than the existing one, you can groove the back of it with a file, so that it keys on the existing bracket. Then it will not rotate, even though it only has a one-bolt connection.

I don’t understand how the Springer would work if the Cage doesn’t already pivot a little bit.

It looks like a pretty huge alignment discrepancy though, from the photos.
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The angle of the fork allows for compression of the spring straight back (horizontally) into the bracket, and the pivot happens at the base of the steertube where the connection bolt/axle is.

The firmness of the spring doesn't allow for full compression (within reasonable weight threshold) so the cage doesn't really need to pivot to accommodate during shock absorption.
 
Ulu said:
If you make that new bracket a little wider than the existing one, you can groove the back of it with a file, so that it keys on the existing bracket. Then it will not rotate, even though it only has a one-bolt connection.
Click to expand...
Good idea.
Here's the same concept, but less work than filing a channel. Make them the same width and bend a piece of flat stock to wrap over the outside.

fork.jpg
 
Thank you all so much for your input!

After digesting all the feedback, I went back to the springer fork and screwed on the spring and cage again without attaching the fork legs.

I realized that I had tried to get the cage to line up with the mounting holes without trying to compress the spring. Because the bracket is flush with the headtube, I couldn't tighten the bolt any farther to test alignment. So, by manually compessing the spring, I was able to gain enough degrees of angle to put in the mounting bolts for the legs!

HUZZAH!

I will have to grind off a small bit of the shoulder on the cage, but most of the shoulder will be retained for rigidity and function.

20230629_231654.jpg
20230629_231729.jpg


The bolt is still at a slight angle, but the spring and cage have enough tolerance for it to work. I may put a spacer behind the spring (headtube side) so that the spring is slightly more compressed when stationary. This should help a bit with the geometry. 🤞

You can see the gap between the rubber gasket and the cage, as well as the off centered position (head on).

20230629_221213.jpg


20230629_221140.jpg


Here's to a test ride in the near future! 🍻
 
Looking good! I'm glad you got the fork fitment issue resolved. That looked like a doozy. I love the paint scheme and the graphics on the chain guard. I was leaning toward the green pedals but the purple ones rock!
 
Pondo said:
Looking good! I'm glad you got the fork fitment issue resolved. That looked like a doozy. I love the paint scheme and the graphics on the chain guard. I was leaning toward the green pedals but the purple ones rock!
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Thank you!
Yeah, I was torn between green and purple. If I wasn't trying to tie in the 'My Pet Monster' elements, I would have gone green pedals and grips.
 
I ground off the corners of the cage shoulder and now we have a fully assembled/functional springer fork. The angle is still an issue, but I'll figure that out later. You can see the gap between the cage and gasket increased with the adjustment.

20230701_161307.jpg

20230701_161639.jpg


If I get the motivation, I may go ahead and cut off a bit of the base of the headtube. Now that I know it will assemble, and that the fit will improve, I feel more comfortable making that cut. However, I will need to mod the bottom bearing cup (as I did with the top) in order to accommodate the internal reinforcement plate. So it continues...
 

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