I have no idea what the "fork described" is, nor who made a steel-on-steel decision. I just saw that thread drawn out much longer than it should have taken, with no apparent resolution, so I dumped a load of bushing-material data the way you might dump powdered lime on a magnesium fire.
Yes about the '40s. Implementation mostly in the '50s.
-- Ed Huntress
It was about the springer forks on my '39 Harley WL . I'm reworking the rocker links at the bottom , they were bushed with steel , and use steel pivot studs . Hey , even aftermarket replacements are steel ...
Aha. Well, without looking it over, I dunno. They're probably steel because steel is cheap. Whether steel is the right material for the job is another question.
It sounds like strength, and the ability to handle high specific loads, is more important than actual bearing properties. Steel may be the right material but I wouldn't venture a guess without looking at it up close and getting a sense of the loads involved. I haven't seen a suspension like that for a lot of years.
-- Ed Huntress
It probably will help.
We're all very creative at coming up with such excuses. It seems to be one of our greater collective talents.
'Sounds good to me, but my wife recognizes transparent ploys at 50 paces...
-- Ed Huntress
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