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Posted

Hi, I need to replace the seals on my front forks and i had a couple of questions to ask before i do anything.

 

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How bad are they? do they need to be changed soon or is it something to put on my do do list for the next 2 weeks :wink: ? Am i better takin it to a garage and get some one else to do it (mainly coz i dont have any tools :crybaby: !)


I was also thinkin that if i need to take off the front forks maybe now would be a good time to change the indicators i wanted to go for a few weeks ago but didnt coz of needin to take the forks off!

:cheers:

Posted
Hi, I need to replace the seals on my front forks and i had a couple of questions to ask before i do anything.



How bad are they? do they need to be changed soon or is it something to put on my do do list for the next 2 weeks :wink: ? Am i better takin it to a garage and get some one else to do it (mainly coz i dont have any tools :crybaby: !)

fitting new seals isn't that hard.


how long has it taken for the buildup shown in the photos to appear? that'll give us a clue as to how bad it is. i'd wipe the oil off and go for a decent run. if there are signs of significant weepage after that then you'll need to change the oil seals. the first photo looks like there is some light pitting of the chrome. you need to check the whole fork surface corrosion as that is what can damage the seals in the first place.


if the pitting isn't too bad you might get away with just swapping the seals (might last a year or so). as for special tools, there are ways around this :wink: i used an old golf club handle to jam the damper in place while i removed the retaining bolt on a similar fork type to yours. just done my upside down forks and made the 'specialist' tool from an old piece of copper pipe and wheel nut for a push bike (£1.50 in halfords)... where theres a will theres a way :lol:

Posted

If you do get it done on a garage, be aware that it may cost you a bit in labour. The parts are dead cheap, but it's a slightly time consuming job. If you can do it yourself, it will be cheaper...and probably quicker..I swear some garages add at least an hour onto thier labour charges...

Posted

from a dealer your looking about £100... but get a quote..


parts and oil come to about £20.. from wemoto.. use a heavier oil than spec.. (I use 20w, as I found 10w too bouncy)


but i would get someone who know what there doing to help, especially if you've not done anything like it before..


you'll need to prop the bike up with the front wheel in the air, remove the brake , drop the wheel and mudguard.... before you get to the forks..


Workshop manual (Haynes?) is a must....

Posted
If you do get it done on a garage, be aware that it may cost you a bit in labour. The parts are dead cheap, but it's a slightly time consuming job. If you can do it yourself, it will be cheaper...and probably quicker..I swear some garages add at least an hour onto thier labour charges...

Garages have an hours book, if it says it takes 3 hours, you pay 3 hours, it may take the mechanic less, if they're any good.. you still pay book hours..

Posted

I don't have a haynes but my manual does tell me how to do it! its taken about 80 miles for that build up I had noticed it last week and gave then a clean! I think ill probably go to a garage and see how much they want!


thanks for the help!

Posted

Just called Bill SMiths in chester and they said about £150 but they cant do it untill the 16th, I'm goin away for a week next wednesday for a week so the wait isnt too bad. Is that a reasonable price? Tried the Honda centre but suprisingly they wont do a Suzuki, I also tried the place on Brooke street Sportster Motorcycles if anyone has hear of them but there was no answer ( I tried calling a few times!)


Does anyone know of any where else in Chester i can get it done?

Posted (edited)
Just called Bill SMiths in chester and they said about £150 but they cant do it untill the 16th, I'm goin away for a week next wednesday for a week so the wait isnt too bad. Is that a reasonable price? Tried the Honda centre but suprisingly they wont do a Suzuki, I also tried the place on Brooke street Sportster Motorcycles if anyone has hear of them but there was no answer ( I tried calling a few times!)


Does anyone know of any where else in Chester i can get it done?

Nigel Rowe Motorcycles Motorcycle Repairs & Services

Tel: 01829 741805| Unit 13, Barrowmore Enterprise Estate, Barnhouse Lane, Great Barrow, Chester, Cheshire CH3 7JA


Bretton Motorcycles Ltd Motorcycle & Scooter Dealers

Tel: 01244 660774| Unit 10, Broughton Industrial Estate, Broughton Mills Rd, Bretton, Chester, Cheshire CH4 0BY

Edited by Anonymous
Posted

Thanks Frankie, Will give them a call now and see. Just called a place in neston (only about 20 min ride) and they quoted me £60, no contest between them and bill smiths i think. ill keep you posted!


EDIT: called the place you said Frankie and there was no answer there either,I think they must be at lunch so ill try later!

Posted
Thanks Frankie, Will give them a call now and see. Just called a place in neston (only about 20 min ride) and they quoted me £60, no contest between them and bill smiths i think. ill keep you posted!


EDIT: called the place you said Frankie and there was no answer there either,I think they must be at lunch so ill try later!

about £100 is reasonable..

Posted

Got a mobile phone number for Nigel Rowe Motorcycles, the guy said that he could do it for £50 gettin cheaper all the time!! Just booked it in for tuesday evening and will pick it up when i get back from the festival the following tuesday! Bonza

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Not been on for about a week now so i thought id let you know how i got on, Took it to Nigel Rowe and he did the fork seals, new front brake lever, oil change and greased up the front head stock all for £55 :shock: . Bill Smith's wanted £150 just to do the forks. He was a nice guy too, had a good chat with him about his old racing days and he gave me some good advice on general care of the bike in general. In short im gonna go to him for all work that ever needs doin in the future!!

Posted
Not been on for about a week now so i thought id let you know how i got on, Took it to Nigel Rowe and he did the fork seals, new front brake lever, oil change and greased up the front head stock all for £55 :shock: . Bill Smith's wanted £150 just to do the forks. He was a nice guy too, had a good chat with him about his old racing days and he gave me some good advice on general care of the bike in general. In short im gonna go to him for all work that ever needs doin in the future!!

good customer service is hard to find, but try some jobs yourself, youll be amazed at the satisfaction of knowing that you fixed something..

Posted

Will definatley have a go at doin some of the smaller jobs myself. The forks were slightly pitted as you said you thought they were in the first pic, the guy said because the pitting was at the very top he just put a little extra oil in the suspesion so they wont go down far enough for the oil to seep through!! Is there anything i can do about the pitting? Or is it a case of takin em off an gettin em lathed down smooth again?


Cheers.

Posted
Will definatley have a go at doin some of the smaller jobs myself. The forks were slightly pitted as you said you thought they were in the first pic, the guy said because the pitting was at the very top he just put a little extra oil in the suspesion so they wont go down far enough for the oil to seep through!! Is there anything i can do about the pitting? Or is it a case of takin em off an gettin em lathed down smooth again?


Cheers.

just keep them clean to stop them getting worse..

you can fill them with epoxy (hard glue) but i wouldn't bother, so no need to get them rechromed..

Posted

Some polish and lacquer the stanchion but it's only a temporary solution.


The higher price you were quoted may have included a re chrome, which is the only long term solution.


Wipe the stanchion every time you leave the bike. A squished fly's guts will digest the chrome and they are surprisingly sharp when dried on and can damage the seal as they pass through it. 8-)

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