Has anybody ever changed fork seals? I need them done and i was wondering if its worth it to try to do them myself or just let a shop do it and not have to deal with the hassle. I have a good mechanical knowledge cuz i grew up at my dads garage and work there now ive just heard stories of people having a hard time doing it and even after all the work they still leaked. Any helpful hints or tips would be great.

thanks

 

What is the shop going to charge you?
I took apart gsx-r forks to do that and was in for some surprises.
You need to compress the fork spring inorder to remove the damping adjustment on the top fork cap.... then there are clips under the dust cap infront of the for seal that hold the leg into the upper tube.... if you go to this section at the top there is a post for downloading the factory service manual.. its got a step by step with and example of the "special" dealer tools, that if need be you can fab up....


Have fun...
cheers!

 

Well actually its my buddies bike and it is a GSXR. So when you did yours was it worth the trouble? Or did you wish you had just brought it do the dealer? And did you have any trouble with them leaking after you did them?

 

They are sitting in a box, in pieces!! Haha they were a set my buddy bought, i took them apart to see how hard it would be to replace the leaking seals, one apart i found that some one had tried in the past and the damper adj cap where it threads onto the damper rod was buggered bad.. but i say with some patients and creativity you can do it. I dont know what the dealer charges but i would do it myself...

 

If you can get your hands on a fork spring compressor then it wont be so bad. If not take it somewhere that does. I highly recommend honda dust & oil seals. I have seen too many aftermarket seals leak & end up replacing them with factory replacements. Have an oil level guage handy when doing it yourself.

We charge $160.00 + tax & oil as a reference.
That is if you bring them in off the bike.

 

when i did mines, they were really easy... my only problem was getting the fork's main bolt that screws under the fork. It was a PITA but i took it to a shop to get out and they did it for free, after that, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there.

I did mines twice already and it was rediculously easy. The only thing your gonna have to invest in is a triple tree stand which i borrowed from a friend

 

Sounds like a plan guys. Thanks for the advice! ill let you know how it goes

 

i have a good set of forks off a 2000-03 600/750 if needed
look at a good schematic and take your time they are not that hard to do. non inverted are the easiest. (imo)