Fork seals

[Luke12345]

Hello

Can anyone give me some advice on fork seals eg. What make’s to use?

My mate says the make all balls if anyone has heard of them I just don’t want to fit them and end up buying more

Thanks

[fastbob]

Hello

Can anyone give me some advice on fork seals eg. What make’s to use?

My mate says the make all balls if anyone has heard of them I just don’t want to fit them and end up buying more

Thanks

 

Well I've heard of them now ! Just looks like silly packaging to me . I can give you some advice though. Replace your bushes while you're at it .

[Guest Richzx6r]

Dont fork the seals man do you have no morals

[skyrider]

well perhaps that's what that certain product is a load of balls

[Snod Blatter]

I did read up a bit on those pink All Balls seals a while back, people reckon the 3 lips offer no benefit over 2 lips and only add more "stiction" but no reports from people who'd actually used them.

Personally I only fit NOK seals, they are what the Big Four in Japan all seem to use and are utterly brilliant/resilient. NAK are supposed to be good too, I have heard good reports (but not long term reports!) of SKF seals also, Nikone and Athena are to be avoided as are any other single lipped seals.

[Fozzie]

All balls - Always been fine, the full kit with bushings was always the one I opted for.

Pyramid parts - Always been fine

Those are the two I usually use, usually just due to the convenience of the kits they come in.

Just make sure when you fit the new seals you get them the right way up, look at the orientation of the inner lips of the seals you take off. Make sure you lube up the top of the fork and the new seal so it slips on with no nicks. Otherwise you will have a leak.

[Luke12345]

Ok thanks for the replies

I will have a go at them on the weekend

What is meant by replacing the bushes?

What sort of things go wrong with them wear... ect?

[skyrider]

when you put on the new seals place a small jiffy bag over both forks and you will find the seals slip on easier

[Rabbitwar222]

On the subject of fork seals, I noticed this week I have oil on the right leg, can't afford a trip to the shop to have them replaced just now so thought I'd give the 'Sealmate' tool a try.

€8 well spent, I cleaned out all the crud under the dust cover and spent 30 mins going round the seal again and again. Half a dozen bounces to reseat the seal and not a drop of oil on the leg. Had a 20 mile spin, checked again and total success!

Money well spent

[TimR]

On the subject of fork seals, I noticed this week I have oil on the right leg, can't afford a trip to the shop to have them replaced just now so thought I'd give the 'Sealmate' tool a try.

€8 well spent, I cleaned out all the crud under the dust cover and spent 30 mins going round the seal again and again. Half a dozen bounces to reseat the seal and not a drop of oil on the leg. Had a 20 mile spin, checked again and total success!

Money well spent

 

But have you considered how much oil has been lost ... is the leg empty hence why no more oil ..when you get chance i would suggest checking the level .

[Rabbitwar222]

On the subject of fork seals, I noticed this week I have oil on the right leg, can't afford a trip to the shop to have them replaced just now so thought I'd give the 'Sealmate' tool a try.

€8 well spent, I cleaned out all the crud under the dust cover and spent 30 mins going round the seal again and again. Half a dozen bounces to reseat the seal and not a drop of oil on the leg. Had a 20 mile spin, checked again and total success!

Money well spent

 

But have you considered how much oil has been lost ... is the leg empty hence why no more oil ..when you get chance i would suggest checking the level .

 

Will check tomorrow, is it ok to be a little bit low? Can you top up or just refill entirely?

[Snod Blatter]

Will check tomorrow, is it ok to be a little bit low? Can you top up or just refill entirely?

You can run it a little low, you certainly wouldn't be the first person to have ever done that. You can also top it up, if you know what the "air gap" should be then this is easy - collapse the fork as much as you can and measure the distance from the top of the stanchion down to where the oil is, and fill it until you have the correct distance. If you don't know what the air gap should be then you're stuffed, maybe just put a few slugs of oil in and see how it goes or empty it completely and refill with the correct amount.

[fastbob]

Will check tomorrow, is it ok to be a little bit low? Can you top up or just refill entirely?

You can run it a little low, you certainly wouldn't be the first person to have ever done that. You can also top it up, if you know what the "air gap" should be then this is easy - collapse the fork as much as you can and measure the distance from the top of the stanchion down to where the oil is, and fill it until you have the correct distance. If you don't know what the air gap should be then you're stuffed, maybe just put a few slugs of oil in and see how it goes or empty it completely and refill with the correct amount.

 

And do the other one .

[onesea]

Will check tomorrow, is it ok to be a little bit low? Can you top up or just refill entirely?

You can run it a little low, you certainly wouldn't be the first person to have ever done that. You can also top it up, if you know what the "air gap" should be then this is easy - collapse the fork as much as you can and measure the distance from the top of the stanchion down to where the oil is, and fill it until you have the correct distance. If you don't know what the air gap should be then you're stuffed, maybe just put a few slugs of oil in and see how it goes or empty it completely and refill with the correct amount.

 

My question is how do you measure down from top? Because I might be tempted to do this with non leaking fort to match with leaking fork.

How do you get your little it of oil in?

[Mickly]

Will check tomorrow, is it ok to be a little bit low? Can you top up or just refill entirely?

You can run it a little low, you certainly wouldn't be the first person to have ever done that. You can also top it up, if you know what the "air gap" should be then this is easy - collapse the fork as much as you can and measure the distance from the top of the stanchion down to where the oil is, and fill it until you have the correct distance. If you don't know what the air gap should be then you're stuffed, maybe just put a few slugs of oil in and see how it goes or empty it completely and refill with the correct amount.

 

My question is how do you measure down from top? Because I might be tempted to do this with non leaking fort to match with leaking fork.

How do you get your little it of oil in?

 

Use a piece of wooden dowel as a dip stick, the oil will leave a witness mark.

Remove the fork caps to do this.

[onesea]

Use a piece of wooden dowel as a dip stick, the oil will leave a witness mark.

Remove the fork caps to do this.

THat makes sense, just seen your bikes this is all for a year 2000 - 1200 trophy.

[Snod Blatter]

Use a piece of wooden dowel as a dip stick, the oil will leave a witness mark.

I use a strip of paper and fold it at the right measurement, keep dipping until it touches oil

If you keep the forks in the yokes then you also know they're both at the same angle, I find this easier than having them loose and faffing about trying to hold them upright.

[Marino]

Did anyone ever worked on semi active and active suspension. Not that I need it but would like to know for the future.

[Mickly]

Use a piece of wooden dowel as a dip stick, the oil will leave a witness mark.

Remove the fork caps to do this.

THat makes sense, just seen your bikes this is all for a year 2000 - 1200 trophy.

 

[mention]onesea[/mention] Here you go, this is the relevant page from the Haynes manual, should cover yours