VARD Frontend Installation Sheets

Jeff Baer the magnificent Knuckle Buster was kind enough to send me these installation sheets from the 1940's, pretty cool and useful stuff... I had to work the sheets in Photoshop for a minute since they were a bit hard to read, and to make sure all you grumpy old men with various vision defects can parcitipate in this ancient pergament interpretation I also re-wrote the text below each instruction sheet.

Installation VARD FORKS Harley Models 61 or 74

(Triple clamp illustration)
Flanders type rubber mount

Headligh bracket
(Fork assembly illustration)

Oil filler caps, do not tighten excessively

Studs for stock Harley bars

Steering stops
(Axle illustration)

To remove wheel loosen this cap and unscrew axle counter clockwise to pull it

Brake rod

Brake Assembly

RH strut Vard adaptor nut

Axle Cap – tighten permanently

Harley sleeve

(Fender illustration)

Cut Cut

NOTE Check wheel position for being centered between struts

Do not lubricate brake rod or bushing - there’s no movement in the new position.

VARD TELESCOPIC FORKS

VARD TELESCOPIC FORKS are precision built to give long life, good riding, and steering qualities. Correct installation is of prime importance if you wish to get their full benefit. A few minutes spent reading these general instructions will pay ample dividends in riding comfort, pleasure, and FORK life.

 

GENERAL INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

1. Care should be taken that the correct fork combination has been purched for the make, year and model of machine on which the installation is to be made.

2. If there are no facilities for raising the front end of the machine off the ground, such as a hoist, use two wooden blocks about 9” long and 4” X 4” square, and place under the front footboard hinge on each side.

3. Remove front wheel and brake assembly.

4. Remove old forks. 

5. Break down the VARD FORK assembly.

6. Using an old knife blade, remove from Harley forks the small ring at the base of the head stem and install on the Vard stem.

7. Place on VARD stem the lower cone and steel balls held in position with a heavy grade of cup grease. Insert stem and adjust top cone with the VARD adjusting nut. Do not use dust cover from Harley adjusting nut, as VARD top bracket serves this purpose.

8. Place in position the top bracket, and lock with VARD nut (In Indian Chief installations, on motors older than 1940, lock screw down on top of head stem to prevent working off threads)

9. Mount handle bars as shown in pictorial instruction sheets and place control cables in approximate positions.

10. Place dust cover over the top and bottom brackets. Be sure that the covers rest on the top bracket and not the bottom. This will avoid breakage of cover when tightened.

11. Insert the assembled struts up through the dust cover and lower bracket.

12. Insert and temporarily tighten oil caps. Caps will start engagement of threads, easily if tapers are not driven home tightly, previous to insertion of caps.

13. Remove caps and pour in 6 ounces of No. 10 S.A.E oil each strut. Tighten with approximately 30 lbs. On 12” wrench. Heavier oil may be used if conditions of operation so dictate. Fully equipped motors, i.e, spot lights, windshields, crash bars, etc., add considerably to weight on the front wheel, and in some cases necessitates the use of additional booster springs, the installation of which is discussed in paragraph 21. Larger quantities of oil do not give more dampening, and anything in excess of 6 ounces may cause leakage at the top bearing and at breather hole in filler caps. The struts must be in alignment before tightening the Allen screws in lower bracket. To check this, stand off to one side and see if the struts are in the same transverse plane. If not, tap one end of either bracket until correct alignment (continued on next sheet)

(continued from previous sheet) is obtained and tighten Allen screws, NOTE: Sequence of tightening forks: Tighten filler caps first, then lower bracket Allen screws, and finally the axle caps.

14. Assemble brake on left hand strut or in wheel as shown on attached pictorial instruction sheet.

15. Mounting wheel and tightening caps. Make sure the wheel is centered between struts. Never tighten cups, etc, with weight on front wheel unless the machine is in a vertical position. Tighten brake side cap: hold machine vertical, and pump up and down a few times. This will relieve any side binding of the struts. Then tighten remaining cap. A difference of 1/8” in cenering is not unduly noticeable when riding.

16. Brake Rod, croat care should be taken in attaching brake rods. A minimum of misalignment is the ideal condition. To check alignment, bolt brake rod to strut anchor with sufficient tension so that the rod may be just rotated. Rotate brake rod into approximate position and bend rod to fit. Check opposite end of rod by bolting strut and repeat aligning process. If the rod is not aligned, the brake plate assembly will be cocked to one side and the shoes will consequently rub excessively with normal handle bar setting of brake lever.

17. Mount fender and headlights as shown in pictorial instruction sheets.

18. The machine should now be ready for the road.

19. In checking for overload springs, sit astride the machine and have someone mark strut with pencil, or chalk, at lower end of dust cover. Then raise front wheel off the ground, and with fork fully extended, check measurement from pencil mark to dust cover. This should measure approximately 1 to 1-3/4 inches. If greater than 1-3/4 inches, overload should be installed. If less than 1-3/4 inches, DO NOT install springs.

20. Change oil every 10.000 miles. Remove small drain screws at base of struts, pump forks up and down until oil flow ceases. Refill with 4-1/2 ounces No. 10 S.A.E oil. Due to internal construction, approximately 1-1/2 ounces remain in reservoir which cannot be removed without disassembling fork struts. Do not flush out with solvents, as this will fill reservoir and dilute oil changes.

21. Installation of overload springs. Remove struts and disassemble by unscrewing plastic bushing in counter clockwise direction. Pull out strut from casing. Insert a ¼” steel rod or pin-punch in large cross hole and wind spring back to relieve any load on lower bearing. Take a large screwdriver and remove cap screw from end of strut. REPLACE these steel spacer rings with overload springs, (purchase from factory or dealer). DO NOT USE BOTH. Then reassemble struts.

So there you have it, please click and save, they are pretty big scans, now let's keep those Vard Forks on the road!