Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126032
AVISIT TO UNCLE JOHN~S & a loook at some trick new Marzocchi & Ceriani forks Jolin Penton By Jim Gianatsis over the one area In the motorcycling has neglected it has been maximum load, the rear axle shaft, top shock mounts and steering head a re situated in-line to distribute the force most effectively throughout the frame . The Marzocchi pneumatic sho cks, d esigned three ye ars ago for basically st andard suspension systems and 12 0 pound maximum spring rates, haven't had a very good rel iab ility re cord whe n us ed with he avier springs or laydown susp ension sy st ems . IIi -Point A c c e s sories will h ave newer model Marzocch i shoc ks availa ble for sale and as s ta n da r d e q u ip me n t o n the Pen ton /KTMs. T hese new shoc ks will h a ve thicke r 12mm sh aft s, flo ating eyelet bushings and larger d iam eter cyl i n de rs. Design ed spec ifica lly fo r lay down sus pe nsio n , th ere sho uld be no p roblems with th e new u n it s. It's what's up fro nt that co unts ..32 What re all y ca tc h you r eye o n th e new Penton /K'I'M m o toc ro ss bi kes are the leading ax le magnesium Ccriani fron t fo rks . The fac t tha t th ey pe rform even bet te r th an they look can ea sily be p ro ven b y th e nu m be r of fac tory teams who p lan to use the m on th e works bikes this season. Besides co m ing as s t a nda r d e quip me nt o n th e Pen t on/KTM m otocr o sser s, Uncle J ohn will be selling th ese for ks as b olt-on items to fi t o the r brand bik es as well. In ad di tio n to th ese new Ceriani forks, IIi -Point Acces sories is also selli ng th e ne w Marz occhi in-line a nd lead ing ax le fro nt fork s in either alum inum or m agn e s ium . It' s the leading axle m agn esium Marz o cch i forks that Jim Pomer oy used on h is factory Bult aco durin g the 19 75 Grand Prix and Tran s -AMA s eas on and tha t Ke nt Howerton had on his works 360cc lI usky for th e last five eve n ts of the T ran s-A:\IA. The new Ceriani and Marz o cchi front f ork s o f fe r a d egr ee o f d amping sop h istica tio n presently un avail able in a ny o t he r production forks. The y p r ob abl y d on't equal the $3 ,000 Kayab a fo rk s on the works Suzukis, but for less th an a tenth the price they 're cert ai nly a much better deal. Besides being the most advanc ed forks you can get, their increased wheel travel m ak es them the ide al choice for updating your own bike to the latest lo ng travel suspension ideas. The right set of forks for the right job Carl Cranke, perpet ua l [SOT Gold Medalist and Two-Day Trials star, was on hand to give ad vice and to tear down a set of the Ceriani and Marz o cch i leading axle forks to show us what they looked lik e insi de . Probabl y th e firs t thing to co nsid er if y o u know yo u want better fo rks on yo u r. b ik e is wh e th er to ge t leading axl e o r in-lin e ax le typ e. Le ading ax le forks offe r i ncreased fron t wh eel trav el without raisin g the front e nd of th e bike to adversely affect geome try an d handlin g. Becau se o f th is, the leading ax le Marz occhi and Ceri ani forks o ffe r [ / 2 inch to [ inc h m ore travel than th eir i n- line ax le co u n terparts. In ternally , bo th m odels of the Marz occh! and Ceri an i forks have th e same wor kin g par ts, so ac t io n is p re t ty much th e same. If yo u 're a n e nd u ro o r wo ods rider wh o d o esn ' t th ink long t ra vel fo rks are a good idea , d on 't ov e rlook th e fact that this year 's m otoc ross bike usuall y en d s up as next year's en d uro bike w ith just th e ad d ition o f Iigh ts and a bigger fue l tank. T he o nly possible hindrance in usi ng leading axle forks on a woods bike, is that th e fork tubes, positioned more clo sely t o th e steering stem, may reduce th e bike's turning radius b y hitting on the fuel tank. Th~ Ceriani in-line axle fo rks are only available in aluminum . with the leading a x Ie versions only available i n m agn esiu m. Marzocchi offers a wid er ch o ice with b oth the in -line and lea d in g axle forks availab le in aluminu m and m agnesium . Both metals offer ap p ro x im ately the same strength, so the de ciding factor has to be whether you're a go od en ough rider that the sligh t weigh t difference is worth the ex tra cost for magne sium . The chart should