Rejuvenating my Deau

[NickNickleby]

Greetings.

My old Deau is sitting in the back garden now, forlornly. I brought it home a couple of months ago, and realised that there's plenty to do on it. So I started...

First job is to fix the leaky fork seals. Got a quote for €210, and thought "to hell with that, that's more than the bike is worth". Of course that's exaggerating a bit, but its my excuse for tinkering . Anyway, off to eBay and got the seals for €34. I already have plenty of tools - apart from a device for installing new seals. So, brakes off, wheel off and one fork off. Then disassemble the fork. Using my trusty Haynes manual, a copy of the official Deauville workshop manual, and TingBikers youtube videos I got going. Bit nerve wracking but got it done and old seal and dust cover off. Cleaned it all up, then time to reassemble. This is where not having the proper seal installing device raises its ugly head. Tingbiker uses some wavin pipe cut to size and used as a slide hammer. I didn't have any pipe. So, hey presto on youtube I find an alternative-alternative seal install device. Basically, you tightly wrap insulation tape round the tube and slide the tube in and out a few times hitting the seal downwards into place. Works like a dream. Also, used the same method to bang down the washer onto the upper bushing, until the bush slides completely home, prior to installing the seal. The beauty is I just wound the tape on until the required thickness was reached. When the bushing was in I rewound the tape back onto its reel to make way for the seal, then when the seal was all the way down, wind the tape back on and repeat.
So, next step is to fill with oil and put the spring etc back in and refit the cap and the reinstall the fork onto the handlebars.

I'm going to try to put up a photo, if it works I'll take more and put them up as well.

fork.jpg (293.36 KiB) Viewed 2199 times

looks like it works after some jigging to reduce filesize. For those of you worried about me destroying MrsN's lovely carpet, don't worry - that's the shed! or should I say 'the posh shed' . Cheaper than getting it taken away

[Apelles]

There's always such a great sense of achievement when you go beyond that 'imaginary barrier' in your head that initially tells you you can't do it, but you go on to figure out then tackle and fix these broken things by yourself. Good job Nick.

[NickNickleby]

Thanks Apelles.
I'm going to document this journey. My strategy is to spend as little money as possible as I progress. This is to prevent me falling into the "sunk costs" trap.
I KNOW that my brakes are goosed because the forks leaked onto them. So I'm going to fix the forks and brakes myself. I'm hoping that for now I'll get away with just replacing the brake pads and fluid, and that the seals are still good. Of course the seals can be damaged by crud on the pistons, so that'll have to be checked. Hopefully a good cleaning 'in situ' will save the day. I fear that removing the pistons will damage the seals. So, carefully does it.

Assuming all goes well, I'm hopeful the bike will be back on the road for under €100. Then it's time to think about all the other stuff that might need doing. Diagnosing stuff like swing arm bearings and the rear shock is simply beyond me. That's when I'll go to a professional, for a thorough once over.

That's without mentioning the scratched plastics and broken mirror mount and leaky exhaust. Jobs I'll do myself, if the bike is not beyond economical repair in the other areas.

In the spirit of complete openness, and as a warning to anyone considering doing their forks, here's an admission of utter stupidity : when replacing the dust cover on the fork, I was unable to press it fully home with my bare fingers. So I decided that careful application of force using a hammer would get it in.
" tip, tip, tip....tip,tip,tip... tip, tip, SLIP, DING AAARGH" . Tiniest of dings on the fork tube. I'm hoping against hope that I'll get away with it, having rubbed it gently with 400 grit . I've stolen MrsN's wooden spoon which I'll cut to size and shape to fashion a dust cover bang home tool. Yep, bit late now, but there's still another fork to do.

Watch this space...

[NickNickleby]

Update...

Replaced the forks on the bike. Not happy. One of them makes a grinding sound when the outer slider is turned. Took it off and removed the top cap and the spring/washer/compressor tube. Nothing wrong there. I'm suspecting the inner tube bush, because it was noticeably looser on the tube than the other one - something I only noticed when I actually did the other one and saw a noticeable difference. This is where lack of experience raises its head. A mechanic would probably have known instantly that the bush was dodgy.
Anyway, I'm going for a complete disassemble and replace that bush. I'm in two minds as to whether I should replace the new seal I put in. It won't have had enough time to weld itself in place, so I should be able to remove it safely and re-use it. Shouldn't I? Comments welcome.

[JayZeus]

Good rule of thumb for all such operations, never re-use an oil seal if it'll be complicated to replace it in-situ if it ends up leaking.

If it's only a few quid for a new seal and you've to order the bush anyway, just throw in another new seal for your own peace of mind.

[NickNickleby]

Hey JayZeus,

Thanks for the advice. Yes it makes complete sense. I bought the seals on eBay Germany so no faffing around with customs. However the lead time was significant. I'm heading out tomorrow morning, so I'll be calling in to Jackson Motorcycles near the airport. I'm getting brake pads/fluid, so I'll give him the business for the bush(es) and more seals. He's the guy I'll be going to for the bigger jobs, so might as well establish a rapport. I only discovered this guy AFTER I'd got the seals and needed fork oil. Nice guy.

[NickNickleby]

Right, it took a while for the bits to arrive. Again....
I collected a full set of seals and bushings (I only needed enough for one fork, but apparently they come in a set) and retaining clips and o-rings. What wasn't included was the piston seal. That was disappointing as when you add the fluids and brake pads, my visa card was €250 lighter. Plus I bought some more insulating tape in Woodies for 1.50
Anyway, its all sitting in the shed while I recover from a nasty chest infection. Hopefully I'll get stuck into it on Friday and then get the brakes cleaned up and new pads fitted, then a quick spin to see how its all hanging together. Fully suited and booted, of course.

Hopefully I'll be back here on Sunday, crowing!