Marzocchi z1 bam lower legs interchangable?

[carter711]

Evening fellas,

I recently won some 1998 (stamp date, they were probably sold in 2000) 5" travel Z1 bams. I was very happy about this as I've been after a pair for a while.

When I inspected them I unfortunately discovered a hairline crack on the left leg above the caliper mount
So now I'm trying to sort it out with the seller, as they obviosly aren't worth the going rate that I paid for them if they are cracked.

Now I would like to keep forks and I'm hoping he's going to give me some money off.

Now that the background of the situation is out the way I'll get on with my query.


I also own a very good pair of classic 1998 Z1 bams (4inch) in v.good condition and a pait of 2000 Jnr T's in excellent condition.
I've stood all three next to each other and the lower legs appear to be identical, so would I be able to use a set of my good lower legs on the 5" bams?

Would it work?

 

[drystonepaul]

Sounds feasible. Have you looked here for the service manuals and parts lists> http://manualer.happymtb.org/marzocchi/

 

[carter711]

Thanks for the link, there's some good info there although it's still not clear.

The only thing that might differ between the models is the internal structure of the lower legs, I'm thinking maybe they aren't milled out enough in the 4inch versions so accept 5 inches of penetration, fnarr fnarr.

The oly way to find this out is to set a few hours aside and just try it, but I'd really appreciate it if there's someone out there that already knows this info!

The internet is a fantastic thing!

 

[big.eck]

i'd be pm-ing s8tom he used to build these for a living

 

[carter711]

Bump

 

[dyna-ti]

Yes ,kind of
For instance,you put a 5 inch fork in the 4 inch lower you still only get 4 inches.Put the 4 inch in the 5 inch lowers you get 3 inches
Simple
As long as it bolts together the same

 

[carter711]

Yes ,kind of
For instance,you put a 5 inch fork in the 4 inch lower you still only get 4 inches.Put the 4 inch in the 5 inch lowers you get 3 inches
Simple
As long as it bolts together the same

That's a bit confusing! Why would I only get 3in travel if you put the 4in forks in the 5in lowers? I would have thought I'd keep 4in.

Do you know if there is any internal difference between the 4in and 5in lower legs?

Also, what would I get if I put the 5in fork into some 6in Jnr T lower legs (they look identical to the 4in and 5in lower legs externally)?

I assume I would get 5 inches?

 

[andrewl]

No it won't work as the internal machining for the different travels is different.

The point at where they are machined will effect where they sit when static and the amount of travel.

You may be able to mix and match cartidges to get it to suit but you'd be better off waiting for a fork the smae as you want to fix with a short steerer to show up cheaply.