Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

------~ o Of .,. This tear-down photo shows the innards of Ceriani's leading axle magnesium forks. The springs were mistakenly omitted from the photo. The Marzocchi damping mechanism is simpler than Ceriani's. . .fewer parts . . .but it still works as well. Cerian i's damping system, more complex than Marzocchi's, is shown fitted over the steel damping rod• • . .and here are the Marzocch i leading axle magnesium units. Many of these parts are also found in the in-line axle models. rundown of just what is available. specifications, and approximate prices. Becau se new m od els of forks were jus t arriving from Italy at the time of th is article, retail prices may vary by a few do llars . All fork asse mblies co m e co mplete wi th triple clamps and ste eri ng ste ms, Fo r some b ikes, like th e 250cc Honda Elsinore. . y o u can order the in-line Marz occh i fo rks an d use yo ur old tr ip le clamps to save about $3 0. Th e Mar zocch i triple clam s are substantially lighter and stronger than stock clam p s, though. All leading axl e forks come complet e with triple clam p s an d steering ste ms. Forks are in sto ck for all major Japanese and Euro pe an bikes. Marzocchi A major manufacturer of hydraulic pump s a n d c o m po ne nts in Italy, Marz occh i used to produce hydraul ic motor cy cle forks b ac k in th e 1940's and 50's. The co mp any lo st in terest in mo torcy cles for about fifte en years, th en in 197 0 you ng Andrew Marzo cchi decided to ge t the fa mily b usin ess ba ck into makin g motorcy cl e:: susp ens ion s. No w in full co n trol of th e business, And r ew M a rzocc hi is devoted to bu ilding the best suspensio n systems possible. In o ur tear down of the Mar zocch i lead in g axle m ag forks, we fou nd th e damp ing p arts to be simp ler than those of the Cer ian i's, but th e Mar zocch i fo rk s still offer a high degr ee of co mp ressio n and rebound co n trol th rough th e use of fl o a t i n g w asher s . The fa ct th at Marzo cchi' s washe r sy stem is simpl er th an Ceri ani's precision drilled damping rings doesn 't mean that o ne is better o r worse than the o the r in action. T he M ar zocch i fo rks use a ligh t alumin um d am ping rod with a nyl on piston ring o n the damping pi ston . Th e fork cap s are vented with an intern al ball and sp ring. Th e tr iple clamps are magnesium or alum inum , dep ending o n which forks are o rde re d . All en head bolts are used in assem b ly. Both seal wiper co vers h ave steel clip s t o h old th e fron t brak e cable o r speedometer drive. L o w er slider tub e s se e m e x tremely sturdy , with oil drain screws situ at ed on the back of the tu bes for easy d rain ing. Ceriani T he damping sy st em in the Ceriani mag fo rks is well p roven , having bee n used last year with the in-line axle Ceriani for ks . The only change we cou ld see is th at the lea di ng axle u nits now h a ve a pl asti c p isto n ring o n th e damping ro d piston . Wit h its drilled washers, the Ceriani's damping system lo o ks to be a little more sop h isticated , Fork tube cap s are ventedwith a ball and spring syste m. T rip le clamps are also magnesium. O ne th ing th at impressed us with th e Ce rian is were the few ex t ra touches of w ell though t o u t engineerin g and qu al it y t h e y e x h ib i te d . U n li ke Marzocch i's alum inum damping rods, Cerian i m ak es th eir rods out o f steel . Th ey m ay be a few ounc es heavier, but it' s the damping rods wh ich h old th e fo rk s t o geth er. Machine work was be tter. w ith no b urrs or scraps left ins ide the p ar ts. Eac h low er slider tube has tw o alle n head pinch bol ts fo r th e fr o nt ax le. fou r in all. Th e Marzocch i s have o n ly o ne . The fork sea l wip er cover h as a m olded -in p iece to hold the front b rake cab le. The C erian is have a large cap wh ich un screws off the b ottom of th e slider tubes. We co uld n ' t figure out why it wa s th ere. becau se th er e are no removab le b ushings in eithe r model forks at this tim e. Carl suggested th at with both en ds of th e slide r tubes ope n , th e fo rks c o u ld b e h on ed inside to rem ove p ossible dents. Mo re th an likel y it's fo r t h e rem oval of bush ings if Ceriani so meday feel s th e forks need bushi ngs. Bot h the l\Iarz oc chi an d the Ceri ani fo r ks use 35mm diameter fo rk tubes. Th e am o un t o f fo rk travel listed o n the ch art includes top -out spring travel for b oth : 16mm on th e Ceri an i an d 8 mm o n th e Marzocch i. For ks m ay be o rde red th ro ugh all Pen ton an d Hi-Point Accesso ries dealers. Dealers co n tact : Hi-Point Accessori es. 3 709 West Erie Ave nue. Lorain, Oh io 44053 . Ph on e: (2 16)244 -4 10 1. • ( , Cer ian i' s extra thick triple clamp assembly offen support to the lo ng legged tubes and prevents flex. Total Travel 8 inch es (20Omm ) Complete Weight 21 Ibs. 8 ozs. Suggested Retail $170 approx. $140 less clamps Marzocchi in-line magnesium 8 inches (20 0 mm) 17 Ibs. 4 ozs. $220 approx. $170 less clamps Marzocchi lead ing axle aluminum 811 /16 inches (200mm) 22 Ibs. 8 ozs. $205 complete, w ith clamps, st em and axle if needed Marzocchi leading ax le magnesium 811/16 inch es (220mm) 211bs. $260 complete, with clamps, stem and axle if needed Cerinai in-line axle alum inum 81/2 inches (2 15mm) 19 1bs. $200 approx., complete with clamps and stem Cer ian i lead ing ax le magnesium 8 7/8 inches !225mm) 20 Ibs. $275 approx., complete with clamps and stem Marzocchi in-line axle aluminum ; i •• , • .. , 33 1 ;'

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