new member -- first Proflex 856

[benton]

Hi all,

I just bought a Proflex 856 from Craigslist, so I thought that I would join the group and figure out how to get it working again. It is the one that DugB posted to the BUY,SELL,TRADE thread:
 
$50 856 in northern Virginia
« Reply #323 on: September 19, 2008, 10:45:00 pm »   
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http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/bik/834997742.html
 
I have a friend who could pick it up and deliver it for free, so I have just $50 in this project so far. Let's try a picture from my Photobucket account:

[benton]

I started taking my new bike apart last night. Of course the MCU's are shot. Check out this picuture:

Is there an award for "most disgusting mess from an MCU faillure"? Threre is sticky yellow goo all over my shop floor now. I am planning on puting in a set of Rapid Decent springs soon.

The rear shock seems to be leaking oil. I haven't opened it up yet, but it must be only 20% full. I saw one of the threads about finding a new oil seal, but the supplier was in the UK and I am in Virginia. The only source that I could find online in the US was a place in Sparta, NJ, but they had a minimum order of 250 pieces. Anyone know how to get a 10x20x9.5 TC4 metric oil seal in the US? Maybe there is just a bit of dirt caught in the seal that is making it leak and I don't need a new one. (Wishful thinking)

I also found that some of the plastic washers in the fork mechanism are all torn up. The arrows in this picture point to the pivots that need new washers:

Anyone know of a source for replacement washers?

[Lysander]

$50?? That's @ £30 British Poondz.............ye've been done!!
Ye'll need new elastomers and stuff, but I'd say that's a bargain.

[DugB]

Hi Benton,

Welcome to the list (I'm pretty new here myself)! Glad that my Craigslist scanning helped someone!

I too had been looking at the ODS seals from that British supplier...I'd go in on an order if you're interested. I'm just a little north of you in Falls Church. Perhaps that would help to defray the postage costs? I'd be interested in 4 or so. Drop me a PM if you're interested. I'd also love to find a spare fork rebuild kit myself...

- Doug

[kiwi]

there is something not quite right about that 856....you have an earlier model fork than the 856 would have had....the washers you refer to are seals...might be still available from iron horse in a kit,RK005,see the stickies for Iron horse contact info.

[benton]

there is something not quite right about that 856....you have an earlier model fork than the 856 would have had....the washers you refer to are seals...might be still available from iron horse in a kit,RK005,see the stickies for Iron horse contact info.

Kiwi,

The fork is labeled "Vector 2" on the stem and has an oil filled damper. It looks exactly like the one that Simon posted pictures of in the gallery:
http://idriders.com/proflex/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=17&pos=7

Last night I took out the pivot seals and all of them looked fine except for one. Someone let one of the pivot bolts come loose and the rode it like that. The seal slipped down between the bushing and the bracket and got squashed flat. I trimmed it a little with some scissors and put it back in. Nothing binds up, but I'll try Iron Horse to get replacements while I can.

DugB,

I'm pretty sure that we can find somewhere in the states to get oil seals that will work without ordering from GB. I have a friend at an auto parts store working on it. So far my best offer direct from a distributor is for a similar seal that he says "might work" at $7 each with a 5 piece minimum. When I took my rear ODS apart the shaft had lots of goo on it that would have prevented the seal from working properly, which might be the only problem because the seal itself was in good shape. I'm going to clean it all very carefully and put in some cheap hydraulic oil to see if it leaks.

[orange]

As a temporary measure I have cut garden hose into very thin slices for the Vector seals and it works!!!!

[Colin]

What a bargain! well done!
For relatively just a little more spent on sorting it, you should have a cracking bike!

Yep, RDS Coils are the best thing to do front and rear instead of MCU's (top marks for the mess!)

As I've said before, and posted pictures of, early 856's had Vector II's with a stem ULM (upper link mount) which reduces weight compared to the steerer ULM, but reduces choice on Stem length and height.

The plastic washers in the Vector are seals to keep dirt out of the nylon pivot bearings, so if one has failed it's worth stripping the fork down to clean the bearings, but as Kiwi says you really need a RK005 kit from Iron Horse (see sticky link at top), but Orange's "bodge" sounds a good temp. fix!

Send me a link for the UK company that does the ODS shock washers and I'll have a look at getting some in stock!

Col.

[pressureangle]

I didn't find your seal here, but it's such an unusual resource I figured I'd post it anyway;

http://tinyurl.com/3fsx56

Small Parts Inc. They have any tiny thing you need.

[orange]

Just remembered this post I made in March 07 - worth a stab? May have the seals you need?

Just had a great few days biking in the Lake District and popped into Bike Treks in Ambleside for old times' sake and it turns out they have a few old Proflex parts lying about - seals, bushes, derailleur hangers, a few odds and sods (half a carrier bag full he said). I asked if it was OK if I mentioned it here and they said fine, so that's what I'm doing. Give them a bell if you need small Proflex parts - you just never know they may have what you need.

http://www.biketreks.net/
 

[benton]

World Wide Cycle Supply (which is apparently the same as Iron Horse) still has RK005 seal kits for Vector 2 forks, so I ordered one.

The ODS oil seals are another story. WWCS doesn't have them and every supplier in the US that I talked to has seals that are similar except for the width. The ODS seals are 9.5mm wide and they only have 7.0mm seals.

After cleaning and reassembling mine they don't apear to have a leak anymore, so I am going to hold off on replacing the seals and cross my fingers.

[rapiddescent]

wow!  a 856.12389721934723947  - I've never seen a photo of one before!  It is a re-sprayed 855 and retrofitted with ODS shocks!

[benton]

wow!  a 856.12389721934723947  - I've never seen a photo of one before!  It is a re-sprayed 855 and retrofitted with ODS shocks!

856.12389721934723947 ?

What does all that mean and how did you figure it out? What is the difference between the 855 frame and the 856? I noticed the upper link mount on the stem, which seems to be an older style, but what are the other differences?