Forkin' A!

[Danny]

Everyone wish me luck...going to tackle my front fork seals myself. Been looking at searched posts all day and think this is within my realm of possibility. I found a list of parts however the list was quite extensive. I am a minimalistic kind of guy not looking to switch out springs of the such just stop the leak. The film trick did not work. The stealer quote was close to 400.00 and that is a no go in my book. Where should I be looking for the best price for the seals and bushings? Going to remove the tubes and preform as a table top repair. Kinda weird but I am looking forward to this repair just to get it over and done with. Anything will help thanks.

Danny

[Steve K (IA)]

HDL would be a good source for the parts.
http://www.hdlparts.com/fiche_select1.asp?cat=Motorcycles&mfg=Honda

Order 2 of each part #

SEAL SET, FR. FORK
51490-MW0-003
$21.17

BUSH, GUIDE
51414-MT7-003
$13.89

BUSH, SLIDER
51415-MCH-003
$6.52

[fordmano]

$400.xx from the stealer?

Well, last year I spent a LOT closer to a GRAND to have the stealer rebuild mine and this was me deliverying the forks off the bike. But they did the entire custom setup and used RaceTeck with Gold valves setup for my weight and riding style and supposedly there is some nifty trick to step them down for 1-up riding only if I need to and it supposedly only takes 30-45 minutes at home??? Not needed to change anything yet so I haven't investigated what they tried to tell me. ???


Good luck with your project.

[BonS]

$400.xx from the stealer?

Well, last year I spent a LOT closer to a GRAND to have the stealer rebuild mine and this was me deliverying the forks off the bike. But they did the entire custom setup and used RaceTeck with Gold valves setup for my weight and riding style and supposedly there is some nifty trick to step them down for 1-up riding only if I need to and it supposedly only takes 30-45 minutes at home??? Not needed to change anything yet so I haven't investigated what they tried to tell me. ???


Good luck with your project.

RaceTech springs, bushings, gold valves, dust seals and oil for our Valkyries are $500+ just for parts with no additional profit for the dealer yet. The gold valves are $270 by themselves. Then there's a very detailed assembly process. Pretty good reason for the $1K shop cost in my opinion. I don't know what the "nifty trick" is but I'd like to.

[larswlvs]

I used a thing called seal mate 500 miles ago and still have no leaks,it's similar to using the film trick but has a little hook on it. When you used the film trick did you remove the dust seals? (maybe you did not get the film in far enough)

[Danny]

I did remove the boots and got the film in there good. Just old seals I'm afraid. Its a 2002 std with 60k on it.

[art]

I just did my seals and guide bushings a month ago .I followed the instructions in the video an it worked great ,no leaks.I also replaced the steering head bearings while I had everything apart,easy job.Save your money for something else.I did not replace the springs just the seals ,bushings and dust seals.I used transmission fluid

[sandy]

PM sent Danny

[Danny]

Tried the film trick again but used a old xray film I had lying around intread of a photo negative. Went out  for a 10 mile round trip and let her sit for a few hours and so far there is no puddle where there would have been before. I did notice my right hand turns feel awkward almost like the wheel wants to buckle under load. I have not checked the fluid level on the shock I am sure it is going to be really low. I figure the low fluid would cause the odd steering issue but I'm not sure and figure I would ask y'all....will the fluid level effect steering in turns?

Thx
Danny

[Daniel Meyer]

I did remove the boots and got the film in there good. Just old seals I'm afraid. Its a 2002 std with 60k on it.

In my experience...that's about all they are good for (about 50,000 miles and they are done). I ride hard though...

Tried the film trick again but used a old xray film I had lying around intread of a photo negative. Went out  for a 10 mile round trip and let her sit for a few hours and so far there is no puddle where there would have been before. I did notice my right hand turns feel awkward almost like the wheel wants to buckle under load. I have not checked the fluid level on the shock I am sure it is going to be really low. I figure the low fluid would cause the odd steering issue but I'm not sure and figure I would ask y'all....will the fluid level effect steering in turns?

Thx
Danny

They hold pretty near a quart...you would have an enormous puddle if you'd lost enough to matter.

Shouldn't cause a feeling like you describe...and certainly not just in one direction...no oil would result in loss of dampening. One fork dampens on compression, one on rebound (right fork on rebound I'm pretty sure).

With the axle in and pinched, that is one unit.

[Danny]

Hmm....well my bike has been sitting for awhile because of this leak.  It would leave a coffe cup ring size puddle after every ride. Still in amazement that the film thing worked....if the photo negs don't work try a xray film, a little bigger. Easier to hold on to and does not break as easy.