By popular request, a detailed video on how to replace the fork seals on regular type motorcycle forks.
By popular request, a detailed video on how to replace the fork seals on regular type motorcycle forks.
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the only thing not cleared out is how to tighten the bottom bolt to torque
after assembling the fork!!! but really nice vid in general, helped me
clarify what happens. i am preparing to do the job on my bike soon!!!
Amazing.
Thank you
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I’d read repair manuals on
this procedure, but watching your video made it all so very clear. I
usually do my own wrenching, but had never tackled this particular job
before. You took the mystery out of fork seals. You’re the best!
Awesome video. I was so apprehensive to do it myself. Worked a treat.
Followed your instructions step by step and the bike feels like new. I also
loved the video on tyre pressures 🙂 Fantastic people like you restores
faith in humanity. Thank you. From Australia (Down Under)
Well done mate, good on yer… it’s not a difficult job, it’s just about
knowing the bits and bobs that live inside… good luck with it, Cheers Del
An absolutely excellent video, thanks for that bloke and thank you to Pen
for being such a good camerawoman, I’ve been very apprehensive about
attempting my FJ1200 fork seals but you’ve inspired me to give it a go,
much appreciated.
Hi mate, all that’s pretty much correct….and in an ideal world you could
bathe them in a caustic solution like you do to clean silver…..but in the
real world that crud is welded on hard and only an abrasive cleaner will
shift it….also the pistons are ‘Hard Chrome’ lie your fork sliders…so a
little clean with regular autosol once or twice in their life wont hurt
them at all… the salt crud from the roads will do them far more damage
mate… thanks for watching…. Del
Wonderful tips such as the homemade allen key, excellent video thanks! I’m
told you should not clean chrome with with solvol autosol as it’s highly
abrasive unless you are specifically using their chrome polish? I gently
use aluminium kitchen foil and a mild phosphoric acid solution (such as in
chrome wheel cleaner which stops and seals rust unlike other acids) failing
that coca cola, the aluminium foil is much softer than both the chrome and
steel wool.
You are most welcome mate, as always, it’s just anatomy eh? Knowing where
the bits go, you sound like a competent mechanic, there aren’t so many men
that would dive in to a gearbox, pleasure to be of help to you fella,
cheers Del
nah, not hard at all. i have rebuilt my engine due to worn gearbox dogs,
modded my exhaust and bodywork etc. the last part of bikes i had to learn
was the forks and “the fear of the unknown” was present. mostly due to the
fact i knew i had to make tools to do the job. then in searching i found
you and your lessons. everything then fell into place. thanks for sharing
Delboy =)
Cheers mate, I’m glad you liked it, it’s not a hard job, eh? Once you know
the internal parts and how to deal with them… thanks for you support and
ride safe mate, cheers Del
Thank You very much Delboy! your tool tips made my day =) great attitude
too. no more fear about changing my fork seals.. the plastic seal driver
you made works great! all the best mate.
Well done Steve, top marks to you mate, fork seals are a job that many
bikers won’t even attempt and it’s through nothing more than fear of the
unknown, once you become aware of the simple anatomy inside the hydraulic
fork leg, it’s child’s play, give yourself a pat on the back, well done, Del
This is a superb video. I replaced one of the seals on my Sportster
yesterday and the job went like a dream. I would definitely have been in
trouble driving the seal in place without your tip about the plastic pipe.
Many thanks!
Hi Tim…..that’s the spirit mate….but before you rip the legs apart,
just check for availability of parts, things like bushes and seals, as that
may be the reason the tell you they can be rebuilt……other then that,
get stuck in mate and good luck.. Del.
great video man…I have an 84 Yamaha it 200 and I want to rebuilt the
front suspension on it and told it was impossible…I looked through the
manual and its similar to what you did so I am going to go for it thanks
for the help.
Well done mate, glad to know you got is sorted out, good work and good
money saving… hope you spent the money on Mrs Gord lol! Thanks for
letting me know, Del
Great tips, changed the seals in my gilera coguar, had to use the sharpened
broom handle on both forks to unscrew the bottom bolts, this video saved me
£100 thanks 🙂
Hi Mate, the Jubilee clips are fine if the seals pop in easy, but can move
a bit of they are tight…that’s why i switched over to the exhaust
clamps….the pipe is pennies so no bother is it gets mullahd….
Your diy seal driver is great. Certainly better than the £50 a time drivers
(or the £350 that Suzuki want for genuine workshop tools). Do you think
that Jubilee clips will hold the pieces of pvc pipe tightly enough to work
the driver tool or are the U-bolts a necessity
Sorry to hear that martin….I would say that about half the forks I have
ever done are stuck like that….the best long term tool to have if you
plan to do any again is a 2ft length of half inch square bar, grind the end
into a point about an inch long and it jams perfectly in the dimple on top
of the damper rods….just clamp the bar in the vice, and slide the fork
over it till it bites in the hole…couple of taps, and the bolt will come
out….glad you got it sorted mate.. cheers Del.
Just rebuilt my Bandit front forks, your vid was a great help BUT they had
never been done since new, 1996 and there was no way they were coming out
easy, you said a rapid sharp twist on the lower fork bolt would undo it,
yeah right!!! took me 2 days to make an extractor with a 40mm bolt ground
down to size, sorry mate but none of the bikes I have done before or since
have come apart easy, guess you were just lucky!
No money for dealer to do this job so going to have a go now I have seen
this on my 1994 ZX600R – C7 which blew the seals on Sunday spin. A very
good vid thanks.
Thank you kindly Sir… i appreciate you watching and taking the time to
comment… cheers, Del.
Now that is an excellent example of a proper video. Top shelf work.
Thanks for your kind comment….glad you liked it, and good to hear from
you all the way over in Spain… regards, Del.
great video!! regards from spain!!
Good news, I managed to grind the outside of a socket so that it fitted
into the top of the damper rod. Connected to TWO socket bars onto a socket
wrench, allen key in the bottom of the fork and HEY PRESTO it came undone!!!
Excellent video..
Great vid! Thanks!
Great vid! Thanks!
How do I undo the allen bolt on the bottom of the fork leg. Ive tried
knocking the allen key as you did in your video but still will not release,
how can I undo these bolts
Thanks for your response. I think the nylon bushing rod guide is binding or
something. It won’t allow the tube to slide up the damper rod.
Hi Chad. If the anatomy of your forks is the same as the one in this video,
then it will almost certainly be an assembly issue, its impossible to tell
whats up once they are rebuilt, the only course of action is to rip them
apart again and start from scratch….something will be jammed or caught,
its just a case of going back to the start in most cases it goes right
second time… sorry i cant diagnose it for you mate, id just do it again
and pay attention to each stage..good luck, De.
Great video. Ride a Yamaha V-Star 1100. Followed the video to change seals.
Encountered one problem: when I put the damper bolt back in the forks
appear stuck and will not slide. My thought is either I created a vacuum or
they’re stuck on the nylon damper guide. Any thoughts?