Anti-dive block off plates and fork modification

[ncwoodsman]

Hello all! I thought I'd bring you guys along on an interesting fabrication adventure I embarked on the other day...

I needed to reseal my front end, so I decided to do a little modification to the fork lowers to remove and block off the anti-dive.
First I removed and completely disassembled the forks.
My first task was to mill a channel between the two anti-dive passages. I wanted a channel deep enough that the oil flow would not be restricted, but not deep enough to exceed the depth of the shallower hole. After removing as much material between the holes as I could with a drill bit, I set about making a mill out of my drill press for the rest of the job.
I used a regular 1/4" router plunge bit chucked into my drill press, which I had set on its fastest rpm. This setup worked well, the head speed was probably a little slow for milling, but moving the work slowly did the trick.
Clamping the lower in the drill press vice, I set about milling a channel. This was a little tricky to get the feel for because, like the router, your hold on the tool(in this case the work) can cause the bit to grab and run away. Shallow passes and patience are key here.
After the channels were completed, it was time to make some block off plates. I had a piece of relatively thick aluminum plate laying around which worked pretty well; higher tensile would have been preferable for sure, but I was using what I had. I cut a couple pieces, clamped one to the anti-dive's spot and using a sharp awl, traced out a block-off plate. Back to our mill to cut it out. Rinse and repeat for the other block-off plate. I used some fel-pro rubberized gasket paper for the gaskets. At the hardware store I was able to find some m6 hardened washers which, being a little thicker, worked well to keep the original anti-dive bolts from bottoming in their holes.
And there you have it! Put it all back together, wipe black fingerprints off of everything, test ride.
Very happy with the results.

[ncwoodsman]

Trying to upload non squashed pictures...

[fj1289]

Nicely done!  I like this straight forward approach