| Author | Message | ||
     Tginnh |
Returned from a long day of riding to find a puddle of ? where I park the Uly. Hoping it was water I knew before I stuck my finger in it that it was oil. 11k miles and the left fork seal is blown - and the weather is just getting nice around here. Oh well, something had to go wrong. So... New oil seals. New dust seals - is this necessary? 07 progressive springs (the bike is an 06). Is the part # J0113.2AK ? Anything else to do while the front-end is torn down? (Message edited by tginnh on August 30, 2009) | ||
| Dr_greg |
How many miles? When I replaced the seals I also replaced all the bushings. --Doc | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
While you have it apart, I'd replace all the wear items I could. You'll like the progressive springs. It's weird, some people can go 30,000 miles without a fork service others MUST follow the service interval or suffer failure. Wonder what the difference is. | ||
| Maximum |
Replace all the stuff...but don't forget that the oil level spec is different if you upgrade to the 2007 springs. | ||
| Tootal |
Might throw the 08 trees on while your at it, it's worth it IMO. | ||
| Xbimmer |
Have you tried slipping a piece of thin material like camera film (remember that stuff?) around the tube between the seal? That was suggested to me by Al @ American Sport Bike, apparently sometimes the teflon bushing material flakes off and sticks in the seal allowing a leak. When I replaced the seals I also replaced all the bushings. While you have it apart, I'd replace all the wear items I could. Replace all the stuff...but don't forget that the oil level spec is different if you upgrade to the 2007 springs. Yep, yep, and yep. The parts are ridiculously cheap. If you're doing a teardown then you might want to go with Moose Racing Fork Skins like I did:   Big improvement in fork tube protection.  | ||
| Tginnh |
Doc - only 11k total miles on the bike. I know, I need to ride more, but life keeps getting in the way. All the wear items - ok. Thanks. Tootal - what is gained by changing out the triple trees? Xbimmer - I have not tried what you suggest and think I read it in an earlier thread. I'm not sure I understand how this would help. Is the technique to clear the sealing area? If so, wouldn't you still have to tear down the forks to replace the oil? Also, I saw the gaiters on a prior thread as well. Thanks for the reminder. What size did you get? I found the following size at motorcycle-superstore.com for $19.99: 32mm-43mm x 5" My revised list: New oil seals. New dust seals. 07 progressive springs. New bushings. Fork skins. Triple trees (possibly?). Anything else? Thanks. | ||
| Svh |
08 triples give you a tighter turning circle by allowing more sweep. There was a thread sometime ago where the poster had swapped them and measured the difference in circumference and I think it was near 3ft. | ||
| Someday |
Do you mean "diameter"? | ||
| Xbimmer |
Is the technique to clear the sealing area? If so, wouldn't you still have to tear down the forks to replace the oil? Yes and yes, but if you were on the road it could reduce the leak until you could fix it properly. About the Fork Skins, I bought the 44-50mm Long type. I cut each one in half and they fit snugly around my X's 43mm tubes, from the top where you see them all the way down to the brake/axle casting. Cut in half I still have a spare set! My leaking seal problem turned out to be some pitting at the bottom of the right tube that cut the seal. I did brakes and tires recently and pulled up the boots, everything still looks good under there. | ||
| Thesmaz |
What did you guys use as the fork seal driver? It seem crazy to me that I have to spend $50 & up to get a tool that I'll used maybe once every 18mos.... | ||
| Arcticktm |
Xbimmer is talking about taking a thin, flexible, soft item (like old time camera film) and sliding it between the fork leg and oil seal. The idea is to dislodge any debris/dirt that is caught between them and making a leak path. This is a pretty common old school dirt bike guy trick, and I have seen it work, though it sounds pretty hack. It's easy and free to try, and won't hurt you if you were planning to take the fork apart to replace the seals anyway. It usually just buys you some time, though, not a permanent fix. For fork drivers on the cheap, I have seen or used the following: Home made drivers from someone with a lathe. Drivers made from pipe (metal or plastic). I am a little leery of the plastic, though, as I have not used or seen one used myself. | ||
| Maximum |
I tried some make shift fork seal drivers...then it seemed like the $50 for the real deal was a great investment! | ||
| Xbimmer |
+1. I bit the bullet and bought the Race Tech compressor and Motion Pro driver and leveler, makes the job actually fun. When you collapse the fork and measure off the oil, whatever you do, do NOT let go of the bottom tube to answer the phone before you've put the top cap back on...  |
