Changing front fork seals (with a few qustions)

[Lucien Harpress]

Right now I'm in the middle of my last (hopefully) major repair on my XS11, that is, replacing the front fork seals.

I've gotten as far as separating the fork tube from the slider. My question is this: if I'm only replacing the fork seals, do I need to disassemble the fork tube any more (take out the damping rod, etc.)? Or is what I have right now adequate? For that matter, what would I accomplish if I DID disassemble it, other than to clean it out?

Thanks for the help.

[Incubus]

If your forks worked well before, except for oil leaks, I'm not sure I can see much advantage to taking them apart. There is not much maintenance you can do beyond what you already are doing.

Patrick

[tinman905]

There is no big deal to taking the damping rods out tip the tube upside down and they slide out. You can clean everything while you have the forks apart maybe give the tubes a good polishing too.

[tinman905]

Sorry I was assuming you have the top fork cap also. It's a good idea to take the forks completely apart when changing seals so you can inspect and clean everything.

[bikerphil]

You will find it very difficult to remove your fork seals with the upper stancions still in. With the right tools, the damper rods come out easily. Here's the tools...

Bolt, 19MM head on it, use a long extension and socket...


Seal puller for cars...


You'll also need an 8MM Allen wrench or socket you can get some leverage on.

[petejw]

Wouldnt hurt to pull them all apart to clean
and inspect and as stated will make it much easier
to remove the seals.
Id crack the bottom allen bolt first
while the springs are in the forks, if you have removed the spring
use the tool that phil has shown.

[Lucien Harpress]

Okay, to clarify- the two main parts of the shock (the lower, outer piece that connects to the front wheel and the upper piece that slides into it and is connected to the handlebars) are apart. I'm pretty sure I can see the fork seal, sitting about 1/4" below the top of the lower tube.

However, there's still a bunch of "stuff" in the upper tube. If the thing I'm replacing is in the lower tube, and I can get to them, is there any reason to mess with anything more in the upper tube?

[newc4]

Lessons learned

It must be the season for seal repair. I replaced those on my X11SF last weekend. If you’ve a standard it may have a slightly different break down.

A few lessons learned.

Use a heavy rag or similar item to keep nicking the in edge of the lower fork tube.

Heat the fork tube for easier seal removal, I used a propane torch.

Use a seal remover similar to bikerphil’s example. Set the wider curved prong under the seal then set the bottom of the fork tube and end of the handle on the work bench and force down. I gave myself tennis elbow trying to pry the seal out on the first one with it upright. Take care not to goober up inner fork tube with the prong end as you pry. I did a number on my fork tube and had to dremel out the dings.

Darrell

[MindWebs]

That 18mm tool must be for the standards...

my sf didn't have any nut to grab that way.
it also just unscrewed nicely with an allen wrench. ???

i opened up a XJ750mf maxim and it did use(and Required the 18mm tool).
impact wrench also helped ALOT.. (it also wrecked 1 cap too..)

WD40 is the best defence against damage, let the parts soak overnight, then hit'em with a propane (Blue flame wrench) to work the WD in before hitting dificult parts.

Happy Wrenching..

[bikerphil]

Yep, the Special forks don't require holding the damping rod with the 19MM tool. A 6MM Allen alone will break those bottom bolts loose. They also use different seals, different everything, as compared to the Standard forks.