Manitou Sherman fork issues

[EZZA 84]

Hi guys, was hoping somebody could help me identify these forks for me. They were given to me by a friend and he said he thought they might be Marzocchi DJ3's.
The only number stamped on the for upper is 200231797
I'll be putting them on my old Giant STP2 to replace the tired and leaking MArzocchi EXR forks on there now.
Cheers, Eric

 

[EZZA 84]

 

[Ultra Lord]

it’s a manitou, no idea what model. Maybe a circus if ot came off a dj bike.

 

[EZZA 84]

Great thanks for pointing me in the right direction. He was given the forks as extras for a bike he bought so he has no idea what they came off. Was wondering what the blue knob at the bottom does, assuming rebound adjustment or something...
Sorry I'm a novice when it comes to mountain bike, my main hobby is endure dirtbikes

 

[frenchman]

Looks like a manitou Sherman. Blue knob is rebound. Top left is compression and the right side is the travel adjust.

 

[EZZA 84]

Great thanks guys, managed to find the manuals online for the shermans which look to be the same. Just gotta figure out exact model for oil level/volumes etc.

 

[pink poodle]

Looks like a manitou Sherman. Blue knob is rebound. Top left is compression and the right side is the travel adjust.

I was thinking perhaps something from the "black (or minute) era". What sort of size are those stanchions? How much travel?

 

[fatboyonabike]

Manitou Sherman Flick
looks to be missing the black dial on the LLeg
the flick is a travel adjust model from 160 to 130 from memory

 

[EZZA 84]

Yeah i think you’re on the money. Measured stanchions at 32dia. Not sure how to measure travel. Stanchion length is about 145mm. Only left lwg has oil in it, right side is coil spring only. Yes missing compression adjuster cap

 

[pink poodle]

right side is coil spring only.

I'm wrong.

 

[Ultra Lord]

Just incase you don’t know, the arch on these is backwards to normal forks.
The left/right confusion could come down to this.

 

[EZZA 84]

Yeah sorry left side is spring right side is oil haha

 

[safreek]

You scored friggen well, they are a great fork. I had a Sherman that didn't work, pulled it apart fucked around with it and "presto" it worked. And I'm fucked with mechanical things..
Have a look for user manuals on manitou site. If I remember correctly they have a year of make on the left leg

 

[EZZA 84]

Yeah 100%, pretty happy with them as a cheap upgrade on the Marzocchi EXR's.
Will have another go at them tonight and see if I can get the travel adjust assembly to work. Apparently according to the manual you have to twist the hex shaft in order to 'clock' the system to get the travel adjuster working.

 

[Scotty T]

110-130 adjustable travel, I have one on my Iron Horse SGS Expert, it is a very nice fork, just not enough travel for the 6 inch rear on that thing. And mine's a 1.5 straight steerer. And those shitty pinch bolts on the 20mm axle model. But it's a great fork

 

[EZZA 84]

So bit of an update on these. Had them apart last weekend and noticed a previous owner has cut the spring (which means you can't clock the travel adjustment mechanism anymore) and spaced out the inner travel mechanism with a 15-20mm piece of plastic tube. I removed the spacer tube which I believe keeps them in the longest travel permanently now but with a chopped spring there's a bit less preload in the forks. My other issue now is that the rebound adjuster just keeps spinning (talking 20-30 turns either way) without any noticeable change in damping so I'll have to pull that out and see what's wrong with it. The performance of the fork and c+r damping in general isn't too bad with the 10w Penrite fork oil I used (manual calls for 5w), I'm guessing that the cut spring and heavier oil even things out a bit?

BTW a bit of background info on me, my main hobby for the moment is enduro dirt bike riding so this bike for me is just used for a bit of cardio training on the trails I have close to home (Glenfurn reserve).

 

[pink poodle]

He really should have cut the other end. The more spaced coils are the soft part. Can you stack some spacers under your preload knob, thus sneaking some preload in before you start twitching?

 

[fatboyonabike]

for Cardio training, remove from bike and place them in a backpack
find steepest hill and proceed to walk to top..Repeat process until desired results achieved!

 

[fatboyonabike]

are you sure about the travel adjust mech not working, shouldn't the shorter spring just lower the forks and the sag will take up the space.
if the black plastic part now spins inside the spring, that should be an easy fix..get creative
check if the small wire with the loop on the end turns, this should allow the two small stoppers located about 1 inch down the shaft to fold in ( full travel mode) if it doesn't allow them to move or the looped wire doesn't twist you need to start there and repair that section, it should only turn about 90deg to disengage the travel adj
good luck

 

[Ultra Lord]

More importantly, what endurbro bike you running? Whereabouts you riding?
God I miss getting out on my bike.

Do you know anyone wanting a unrego’d 525exc with new tyres, and a 20hr old top end rebuild for $2k ahaha. Injury’s put a stop to my petrol powered exploits

We’ll get zaf along shortly to extoll the virtues of the gearbox ahaha