Leaking front forks

[Wbroad]

Hello all again:

I have a new question now about my 78 XS1100E

The front forks are leaking bad both of them right from the top where the rubber cover is, they look like they leaked bad for sometime the previous owner did little work on this bike it seems, the question i have is can i get some new seals and do this myself or should i remove the front shocks and have the local bike shop do them? I dont have bike manual so i havent had a chance to look it up as to how big this task will be.

Also the last owner chopped the pipes just past the back rider foot pegs and installed wanna-be Harley pipes, this bike sounds way too loud what is a good replacement slip on pipe for this kind of bike that will get it back to almost the OEM sound I look at my bike shop and OEM pipes are out of this world in price any ideas i would love to hear.


William Broad
1978 XS 1100E
1981 CB900 F

[xssiveone]

Check this page out for a quick how-to on fork seal replacement.

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcnuts/forkseal.html

No, it's not an XS, but they are all very similar so you should be able to figure it out. The most diffcult thing will be to get the cap screws loose on the bottom of the fork lowers. Easy if you have an impact gun. If not, then you will either have to use a long bolt with a nut welded on it to or a wooden dowl (I think 3/4") with a slight bevel on the end of it to fit into the cavity to hold the damper rod while you loosen the cap screw.

As for the lack of manual, get one. Either watch Ebay for the real thing, or email Rob Mills at rockjok@imt.net to see about purchasing the CD compilation he has. Cost is next to nothing for it, and the information (parts fiche, middle gear box diagrams, wiring, etc) is invaluable.

[uk1.1s]

Fork rebuild

Not long finished my rebuild of the forks.

As an aside - the cap screws on the bottom of the fork legs were a breeze for me, no idea why, but with the right side hex socket I just 'shocked' it a little (just a blow with the palm of my hand rather than steady increasing pressure) and hey presto.

Any other bike I've done this job on (including a relatively new XJ600S) has needed the 'long bolt' tool. For me this is a length of studding bar, about 2 foot long, with two nuts locked together at either end (so 4 in total).

It's worth replacing the fork springs while you are at it as this is simple and can make a a lot of difference.

Careful where you source the new seals from - I bought a pattern set from a well known mail order company in the UK (with the letters 'M' and 'P' in the name....) and they were just too big. I spent an unhappy afternoon in the garage trying to make them fit before giving up and getting the more expensive Yam ones. They went straight in with no difficulty - so it pays not to buy the cheapest.

[Dennyz]

Removing the bottom bolt first, with the spring still inside greatly increases the possibility of a successful removal by hand.

[laidbackjj]

front forks

i jus removed my forks, was an 8mm allen on the bottom, bought a 2ft 3/8 extension, 19 mm 6 point socket and a 19 mm allen, cut the allen, taped it in the socket and fits the inside attachment perfectly

hope this helps

john