improvised fork seal / bush driver

[fastbob]

I've just replaced the fork seals and bushes on my ER5 and I thought I would share with you the way I did it without the luxury of a vice or a seal and bearing driver tool. Basically what I did was use the clamps on the bike's yoke as my vice . This technique is best suited to bikes with centre stands . So to separate the lower from the stanchion all I did was jack up the front of the bike,remove the wheel, caps , spacers , springs and fork seal clip . Remove the damper rod bolt and drain the oil / sludge. Then all you have to do is grasp the lower leg , push it right up and whack it downwards like a slide hammer a few times and out comes the seal and bush . To fit new bushes and seals I made a driver from an ABS pipe reducer , 89p from Wickes . I had to carve and sand it a bit to get a perfect fit . With the bush and my new driver in place ( flange upwards ) and the leg temporarily back in the bike but set much higher than usual , its just a case of grasping the lower leg and whacking it upwards against the bottom yoke to knock the bush in . Same technique with the seal but with the plastic tool the other way up , a few whacks and its in . Fork out , tool off , circlip in , don't forget the dust seal , fill and measure the oil , spring, spacer, cap back in . Job done . Hope this all makes sense.

[Fozzie]

Nice idea

I wrapped a big load of eleccy tape around the fork and used it in conjunction with the washer to seat the bush, and then just the tape to seat the seal. But unlike this you can't add it to your tool collection permanently

[fastbob]

Nice idea

I wrapped a big load of eleccy tape around the fork and used it in conjunction with the washer to seat the bush, and then just the tape to seat the seal. But unlike this you can't add it to your tool collection permanently

If it worked it worked but that was one well mannered fork seal

[Via]

How easy was it to get the end caps out? (The spring loaded ones) Handy tip for those if you ever struggle is leave it in yoke and use a 3 leg puller with legs over yoke and bolt pushing cap down you can then easily get clip out using both hands. (May have to move bars out of the way)

One of mine was missing a dust cap so end cap was totally corroded, even hitting it down with a punch wouldn't budge it, let alone be able to get clip out at same time, but that method shifted it quite easily.

[fastbob]

How easy was it to get the end caps out? (The spring loaded ones) Handy tip for those if you ever struggle is leave it in yoke and use a 3 leg puller with legs over yoke and bolt pushing cap down you can then easily get clip out using both hands. (May have to move bars out of the way)

One of mine was missing a dust cap so end cap was totally corroded, even hitting it down with a punch wouldn't budge it, let alone be able to get clip out at same time, but that method shifted it quite easily.

Nah! I did it in seconds flat , use a long Allen key and the handle bars as a fulcrum. Pick the clip out with a little screwdriver using the other hand .