Fork Seal and Maybe Downtube Replacement

[buickyouth]

So far I have the bike jacked up outside.
I have the springs and forks dripping into buckets overnight. Now I have some questions for you all.

1. What is the concensus on getting the bottom alan bolt out of the slider?

2. It says in the manual to clean all the parts with 'solvent' before putting it all back together. Is this some kind of magical solvent that I'll need to go visit a wizard for or does someone actually know what it is. Or more importantly what works without damaging anything?

3. I won an auction on eBay from a guy who said he had forks and NOS downtubes as a lot. I told him to keep the forks as I just wanted the NOS downtubes (mine are pitted enough that I think they are the cause of my need to replace the seals). When I got them, they were sealed in clear plastic. I figured, why open them up and get em scratched before I plan on doing the job. Upon opening the planstic and inspecting them, They appear to have dried fork oil inside them. Am I confused or does NOS stand for 'New Old Stock,' and therefore should have never been used? Have I been shnukkered? Can I just clean them?

4. What actually makes the forks straight? The sliders, downtubes or something else? I saw something about a damper rod and how to inspect it for straightness, but how about us with minimal tools and equipment? Is there any good way to figure this out?

I'm sure I'll post more later about this. It's supposed to be a rainy day and I don't have to work... ...other than on the forks.

[xssiveone]

Check here for a how-to on changing fork seals. It's not an XS11, but they are all very similar. Fork seal replacement

1)
As for removing the allan screw, it's easiest done with an air impact wrench, with the fork springs and cap bolt still in place. If that's not an option, then you can use a wooden dowel to stop things from turning. Remove the cap bolt, and then wedge the dowel into the top of the damper rod. I tapered the end of mine to make it fit better. You can also use a long bolt with a nut welded on the bottom (15mm??) to hold the damper rod.

2)
Are you using the Haynes manual by chance? "Solvent" equals "parts cleaner"

3)
NOS does indeed mean "New Old Stock" and I would think the oil residue you see was put there to prevent rusting in the package.

4)
There are bushings in the fork lowers that aid in keeping the forks straight.