That Hot Tip on the forks is only designed for the original forks on the Ace 100 model B+, the Super Rat model 93A and 93B, the Wombat model 94 and 94A, the Combat Wombat model 95 and the Dirt Squirt model 96. As you can see from your photos, the damper rods are completely different from the 95 to the 97. The upper fork tubes are also different in the placement of the lower snap ring and the damper holes in the tube. I have attached a couple of photos showing the differences.
The model 97 forks work aw well as, if not slightly better that the earlier forks with the "Hot Tip" modification. If you are sticking with the original 30mm forks, I would stay with the stock 97 forks, and just try different oil viscosity and amounts.
The top photo is of the fork used on the Ace 100B+ up through the Dirt Squirt model 96. (this is the fork the Hot Tip was designed for).
The second photo is of the fork used on the Super Combat model 97. (Just a note here, this is practically the same fork that was used on the Super Rat model 98, the Road Toad model 99, the later Dirt Squirt model 01 and the Road Toad model 02. The only difference was the later models used a full length spring where the Super Combat used a slightly shorter spring with a short spring spacer).
The third photo is of the damper rods. Note the difference in length and the Super Combats damper rod didn't have a rebound spring on it. This is one of the changes made when converting the earlier forks to the Hot Tip configuration.
The last photo is of the upper (inner) fork tubes. Disregard the tube on the left as it is from an earlier fork design. The center tube is from the Ace 100B+ through the Dirt Squirt model 96 forks. Note the snap ring is near the bottom of the tube and there is only one damper hole, placed below the snap ring. The tube on the right is the type used in the Super Combat. Note the snap ring is a couple inches above the snap ring and there are 3 damper holes above the snap ring (like the change done to the earlier tubes for the Hot Tip).
If you have any further questions email me at
[email protected]