Fork Tube Rechrome and Grinding

[dave55]

Has anyone ever had their front fork tubes ground down then rechromed at done with that bronze coloured plating , think its called Nitrade or something like that ? Is it expensive and who does that in the UK ?

[KiwiCol]

I've seen it done on here, I don't know who it was but reckon @seth will remember.  From what I recall reading about those gold coloured fork tubes they're Nickel plated, or is it Tin?  It was something along those lines.

[SpongeBob]

Has anyone ever had their front fork tubes ground down then rechromed at done with that bronze coloured plating , think its called Nitrade or something like that ? Is it expensive and who does that in the UK ?

Has anyone ever had their front fork tubes ground down then rechromed at done with that bronze coloured plating , think its called Nitrade or something like that ? Is it expensive and who does that in the UK ?

This is TiN coated (Titanium Nitride).
AllBike Engineering in the UK can sort that for you.
Actually new tubes (and Tin coated) from them may be less expensive than asking the grind and re-coat your tubes. The best is to ask them.

[SpongeBob]

This is what you are looking for?

[seth]

Titanium nitride .
Costs an extra £200 on a new set of fotk tubes from Brookes suspension

[dave55]

Yes thats the stuff , i have just done the seals for the mot and there was some small nicks and pit marks from stone chips on the tubes . If they leak again i will have that done over our winter period   Thanks for the replies i can look into this now 

[GSXKING]

A few years ago I investigated rechroming. It turned out to be cheaper to import new ones of better quality than genuine Suzuki ones. I bought a pair landed in Australia cheaper than buying 1 genuine 1 from my dealer. Not sure NiT would make any difference and just be a bit of bling. However if you've got 🤑🤑🤑 money to burn go for it 👍

[SpongeBob]

Not sure NiT would make any difference and just be a bit of bling. However if you've got 🤑🤑🤑 money to burn go for it 👍

I agree about the 'bling look', however:
TiN coating is said to be harder than chrome, more resilient. An engineer who work in a factory making dedicated precision parts for military planes and helicopters told me so as well.
I'm no specialist on that subject for sure, but my experience says that after approx 3-4 years and about 25K Km, still no stone chips nor any marks on the tubes, not even noticeable change on the surface aspect/brilliance where the seals 'travel' the most, as opposed to what can be seen on chromed tubes after a while, even without stone chips or long, thin, longitudinal marks...

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Agreed, the other one is "diamond like carbon" coatinga, or "DLC" which very hard like diamond yet flexible and amorphous (meaning it can be bonded to other materials.  DLC is used on F1, motoGP, superbike and other extreme applications like subsea drills, mining drill rigs, excavator cylinders etc.

[Andre]

Agreed, the other one is "diamond like carbon" coatinga, or "DLC" which very hard like diamond yet flexible and amorphous (meaning it can be bonded to other materials.  DLC is used on F1, motoGP, superbike and other extreme applications like ...

... like my front brake pistons.

Not cheap but a real bargain compared to oem.

By now there are variuos types of DLC for different applications.

[Bri1100]

Got these from Just Bandits ,you fit the base washer yourself then good to go you must ask for the correct oil hole for your model.

[BanditsHigh]

Got these from Just Bandits ,you fit the base washer yourself then good to go you must ask for the correct oil hole for your model.

Very nice, but a bit out of my price range I'm afraid at over £600  ... when I win the lottery maybe.

While I'm here, anybody tried these cheap forks from China and if so what did they think of them ... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313778025956?hash=item490ea0b5e4:g:r7EAAOSwfvNiBgk9&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwIRhHZjBkWcuHgUB9WArcAHW8UzG%2BC%2BCAJJzUScQaMYUxMVZerQ%2BMkGj3sm6ScvRnKylqkMfVZ8V4nKft0UhrrHMtAVvaAEmeOGBnaCPSNI7HPjN3LPsNfeXzjRApQRE83WRKQ4UadRO3yngGRHQ5VldC5ThQdWS3Dcsdfw5LTyRJgz%2B5Ou%2FxfIPXq7IbE5PO0zld2prkN68eIEKZ88ooLh7RgPq9wMuBIu38O608lqplDZyHPyam6ZkL8MquuIYPQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8KNlfnRYg

All the best ... Barry