1983 XC 250 Lowering Ride Height

Unwelded seam separation caused by a hit to the rim at that point. Rims are resistance welded and the weld is 50% of the length of the seam centered within the width of the rim. I have ridden on rims like that and never had the weld let go. I say safe to ride on unless the crack spreads.

Jim, thanks for the explanation. After a little more cleanup with the dremel wire brush, the split is a little longer than it appeared in the pics. So I did a little more searching of some past posts and saw where MikeDi had almost the same issue last year. If I understand correctly, the Nordisk rims were only welded in the center and the split on the shoulders has no bearing on the strength of the joint. However the fact that when unlaced these joints would separate does concern me. Would spot welding be an effective fix to prevent further splitting?

It is only a problem when the split impairs the weld. At that point I would either tig weld it or replace the rim. Spot welding is too fragile.

All rims are centerwelded , not just Nordisk

Appreciate the feedback Jim. Great to hear from fellow riders willing to share their knowledge and experience.

Every Nordisk rim I own has that crack. I consider mine safe to run with the usual surveillance.

Thanks for replies concerning the cracked rim.

Searching the forums I see that 450 cc of fork oil is pretty common for 40 mm forks. Fully compressed without springs, guys are recommending oil levels 6-8 inches from the top of the tubes. I put 450 cc of 15w in one fork and the oil level is 9.5 inches below the top of the tube. I had swapped the XC damper rods for the shorter WR dampers. Stands to reason this would displace less oil. Worked the fork leg up and down, still 9.5 inches fully compressed. Will I need to add more oil and try to get the level closer to the top of the tubes?

Yes add oil. The lowest I'd go is 6". 6.5" max. Any lower than that will be way too soft.

pretty common to see the 1 sided crack like that, shouldnt be an issue in my book

Been slow going on the restore, too many side projects and honey-doos. At any rate the bike is nearly complete. Right now the tank is down to bare aluminum but I will use it that way for the remainder of the summer before having it painted. Just need to add decals, install kickstand spring(it is a little beefy), install silencer and plastic and adjust suspension. Also need to jet carb to reduce spooge. The front forks only give about an inch with all my weight (220 lbs) and front brake applied. I drained out a little oil, not much difference. Any ideas on why? See previous post on amount of oil added. Thanks to all that have given advice on this project.

My first guess is that you have some binding in the fork, most commonly due to improper axle installation. It's not likely to be from running 6" or so oil level. Re-reading the thread, I see you went with WR damper rods (good move), but what did you end up doing for fork springs and preload setting?

I used the existing XC springs. When I installed the seals, and added the oil, the forks moved through their entire travel range. Once I added the springs and front wheel and tightened everything up, very little movement. Followed the manual for tightening the front axel. Tightened the left side axel clamp bolts, then tightened the axel bolt, then sat on bike with front brake engaged and tried to move the forks up and down before tightening the right side axel clamp bolts. Any thing I missed?

do the forks move normally not using the brake? they likely wont move much with the wheel locked.

Leave right side loose. Tighten everything toward the left side. Put bike on stand, roll wheel forward and backward (with right side still loose) and hit the brake. Do this several times, spin forward, tap brake, spin backward, tap brake. This will help the right side center itself. Then, while still on stand, tighten the 4 right side clamp bolts, being very careful to NOT move the fork on the axle when turning the wrench.

As for using the XC springs... weren't they too long? Did they stick up above the chrome tubes? I'd expect you had to push them down a good inch to get the caps threaded.

The springs seemed to have about the same tension with either set of damper rods. I used the original XC tubes and fork legs. This evening I will try the technique you mentioned above. Hopefully everything will work as it should afterwards. Thanks.

simply measure the distance btw the fork sliders at the top and the bottom..they must be parallel. also did you fully compress the sliders with no springs before doing the damper bolt up? this centres the damper rod in the bottom otherwise it can be off to one side and the fork leg starts to shave the rod on full compression..not ideal.

dynamite restoration ! looks awesome. good luck with it.

Yes, they will have the same installment with either damper rod. But I'm still curious how much preload there was. When you drop the springs in, with the fork fully extended, do the springs stick up above the chrome tubes?

About 3/16 of an inch.

Thank you. Down to just the minor stuff now.

I did compress the legs without no springs before tightening. One side would not fully compress afterwards so took the slider off, made sure the dampers were centered on the washer then re-tightened.