Thanks to everyone who responded to me abut the brake guards on my Europa.
I had lots of useful input from folks from all three lists.
I guess the remark that made up my mind was Dave Van Horne's >
>That metal guard is a heat shield to protect the rubber boot on the
>upper ball joint from the heat of the brakes. Without it, the rubber
>will dry out and crack, exposing the ball joint to unpleasantness,
>although I couldn't say how long that will take; depends on how hard
>you drive it.
I never thought of that.
Although I probably won't drive it enough to cause new boots to go bad very
quickly, I am in this for the long haul. The upper ball joints that are there
now are completely bootless, so they obviously don't last forever, even if the
guards are there. I guess it would be silly of me to ignore the wisdom of
Triumph in putting the thing there in the first place (surely, Lotus just used
the stock Spitfire piece here).
On the other hand, what is supposed to protect the tie rod end, which fits into
a cutout in the guard (occupational hazard of putting the rack in front of the
axle centerline and still maintaining the Ackerman effect)?
Phil Ethier, THE RIGHT LINE, 672 Orleans Street, Saint Paul, MN 55107-2676
h (612) 224-3105 w (612) 298-5324 phile@pwcs.stpaul.gov
"The workingman's GT-40" - Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman
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