| Author | Message | ||
     Hippyjoe |
Who here has lost tuber fork seals, what mileage did they go at, was it due to abuse like scratches or landing wheelies/stoppies? I'm wondering about this... do inverted fork seals give out before the Cyclone style.... | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
the manual recommends changing fork oil at 20k I think, but mine are showing no signs of needing it at 25k. No idea how the inverted measure up against standard forks.. | ||
| Oz666 |
Inverted forks oil change interval is 10K miles. DO IT! It makes a HUGE difference. Inverted fork seals last about 20-30K miles (for me, YMMV), no scratches, stoppies or wheelies - well, ok, maybe a few, but only by accident, officer   Oz "Nobody gets in to see the Wizard. Not nobody, not no how." | ||
| Buellsnbeer |
G'day Hippyjoe, Sorry to hear about your fork seals. Now, I don't know if you have m2 or x1 style forks, but this info is for m2 style forks. Not sure about this info for the USD/x1 type forks. Mate, I can't tell you when my seals went because they are still the originals and after 40,000km there are no leaks so far. Now it just maybe because I installed a pair of fork gaiters/boots nearly 4 years. See my first pic under m2 fatbars post if you want. Those gaiters have repelled stones, dirt and grime which we have plenty of here in Oz. I'm sure there's plenty of that in the USA too.LOL!! So, if you have non-USD style forks and after you've replaced your seals and oil etc..., maybe a pair of fork gaiters might be something worth looking at. I was a bit unsure at first how they might look, but now I'm a disciple. Perhaps it was because I once owned a beautiful Norton Commando that had fork gaiters. Now you may not believe it, but those gaiters on my m2 are off.... you guessed it a Norton Commando!!! LOL!!! Now not everybody will like gaiters on their front forks. It's a personal preference and that's cool. However, in my observation over the years, it appears that those riders that have those dang gaiters seem to get a longer life outta their seals and fork tubes. I'm not saying always because there'll always be exceptions. But as they say, prevention will always be better than cure. Just my .02c worth of food (or beer) for thought. Cheers everybody.  | ||
| Firstbuell |
my 50k miles '99 M2 repeatedly eats the brake-side seal this despite 'super-polishing' the leg & even replacing it [thanx, Modesto Buell] I've long believed the root cause is brake dust our Aussie pal is correctamundo about the classic, proven solution - I just don't like the looks, so I suffer the consequences! | ||
| Bluzm2 |
I have about 45K on my M2, I'm on my second set of seals. sort of.. I had a problem with the left leg weeping. I did the seal 2 more times on that leg. Still leaked. I also tried "micro polishing" the leg. It didn't help. I finally replaced the fork leg. It was less than $50 for the part. With new seal, it hasn't leaked since. Make sure you replace the fork slider bushings too. They are cheap and will help suspension performance and seal life. If memory serves, the upper and lower bushings/bearings are less than $10 per leg. Brad | ||
| Bhillberg |
mind posting pics of your gaitors? | ||
| Buellsnbeer |
Hey Bhilberg, Here's a couple of pics of the gaitors as requested. Now, as I have said previously, I have never replaced the seals or nothing with the forks on me m2 since I've owned it from approx 4 years ago. It's now just clockin 40,000k. When I first got the bike, I realised pretty quickly that when in close combat formation with other bikes, stones flicked from today's sticky tyres, can really do some bullsh#t damage to your front end, especially those dang fork tubes, sliders, headlight...etc. So, I did a bit of research and found the most suitable gaitors for my forks here, were for a norton commando. Perhaps these gaitors are generic and may fit other bikes. Not sure. Now if anyone does go down this path, there is a little glitch, but I've found it to be no big deal. The glitch is that I had to cut the straight piece of tube rubber off the bottom of the gaitor. (See last pic) WHY? 1. Because there ain't much meat to zip tie it to the top of the fork slider in the first place. 2. The main PITA, is the close fit of the fork brace. If you can fit a decent zip tie there then good luck to you. Please let me know!! You maybe able to use thin wire. ...Hmmm....Maybe ok!! For me, it was easier to just cut the bottom section off. So once you've neatly cut the straight bottom bit off, the gaitor-ery part of the rubber will now sit nicely over/ on top of the dust seal when forks are under sag. However, if you ever jack the front end you will expose the fork tube as you've taken the sag off. So, unless you're doing a permanent wheelie everywhere I can't see too many problems from stone damage with your forks always up in the air. Show-off!!! LOL!! Finally, the top of the gaitor can be easily zipped tied once the forks are relocated back onto the bike. This easy mod should provide better protection and longer life to the fork tube than the alternative. Hope this info helps. Mmmm....I'm off for a cold one. Cheers    | ||
| Buellsnbeer |
Hey fellas, If ya read my last post, where I say to look at the (last pic) regarding the cutting of the bottom straight rubber tube. Wrong!!  Please look at the middle or 2nd pic instead. Sorry!! It's getting late here. Cheers. | ||
| Maxbuell |
There is actually 2 seals a dust seal and then a fork seal I had 1 bad on my 02 M2 when I bought it in 05 easy fix parts are cheap do it ur self mine was do to being outside in the weather every day in florida lots of rain and sun | ||
| 5liter |
Probably going to jinx myself, but 41,000 miles and no leaks.  | ||
| Hippyjoe |
Probably going to jinx myself, but 41,000 miles and no leaks. Yeah me too, except I'm at 16k. I was just wondering if I could pat myself on the back for having "right-side up" forks... tho if you got 41k on your S3 then it's probably all good. To the beer guy with the gaiter pics... is that a low? | ||
| Buellsnbeer |
No hippyjoe, apparently she's a standard m2. Fourth digit on VIN is the letter K and has the standard seat height. I'm over 6ft, so the bike is a good fit. |
