I am giving the Spada 3 an overhaul, one of the issues is clonky front forks. These have the adjustable Bitubo dampers and preload adjustment on the springs. With the legs removed from the bike, still assembled and on the bench it was clear that one of the dampers was not working correctly, it sometimes locks when depressing the stanchion, irrespective of the damper setting, which can be adjusted via the knob on top. I removed the stanchion top plugs with spring adjuster mechanism, and slid the double springs off. I then made a peg spanner tool to remove the end caps off the Bitubo damper cartidges. The damper rod can then be slid out of the tube.
The innards at the bottom of the Bitubo dampers won’t come out of the tubes. Any tips on removing these bits?
I’ve seen previous posts where the Bitubo dampers can be modified by drilling holes in them, in the right places of course!! and then they still act as hydraulic dampers but not sealed versions. Thoughts on this, any past experience?
FAC dampers seem to be recommended, but some views are not so positive. Also are the Wirth progressive springs necessary. The Spada 3 has two springs per leg and on my bike they measure the exact dimensions as shown in the service manual, so they appear to be good.
