[CR]Re: Lambert-Viscount Death Fork... Urban Legend? (Ian Briggs)

(Example: Production Builders:LeJeune)

References: <MONKEYFOODzBxhJTANZ00000c51@monkeyfood.nt.phred.org>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:08:13 -0400
In-Reply-To:
From: <lemansgtman@aol.com>
Subject: [CR]Re: Lambert-Viscount Death Fork... Urban Legend? (Ian Briggs)

Alrighty - I suppose I have to accept that someone, somewhere, sometime?ended up wearing blacktop for a hat as a result of the 'death fork' syndrome...

I've just taken a look at the Lambert / Viscount CR pages again and see from the pix there that my example differs materially from the one illustrated.

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/British_isles/Lambert/Lambert_fork.html

On my fork the column is swaged?all the way through?the crown (and indeed is a solid billet at the base of the column). The only reinforcement seems to consist of a hollow steel pin driven through the brake drilling itself.

This is probably a rather more sound engineering principle than the arrangement shown, and almost certainly accounts for my continued longevity!

As I remember my 24" 'Aerospace' came to me new in 1977 and looked almost exactly like this:-

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/British_isles/Lambert/Lambert_Viscount.htm

except for the Tilist gearing I mentioned earlier, and mine was silver with blue contrasts and a lot 'taller' of course.

1977 was probably well after a few of the early spec' forks had snapped asunder, but Yamaha presumably later decided the basic solid alloy fork concept was flawed, and a marketing disaster in any event - and simply erred on the side of caution.

Have to say that I never got wind of any recall though...

Ian Briggs
LUTON, Bedfordshire, UK.