Fork Seal Question

[xanthras]

I have bad fork seals.  So i am having the stealership install new ones because i am sortof a noob and dont feel like trying to do it on my own here. (unless one of you lives in CNY and wants to help)

Anyways. They want $24 for the pair of seals. I see them online for much less (~$7). The guy on the phone told me that the ones online are junk and would blow in a very short amount of time. Is there any gounds for this? I am too new to know any better.

I am also having them throw in progressive springs ($80) since its no any additional labor.  Any gotchas for this i should be aware of?

[intergalactic]

I have heard the same about the fork seals elsewhere so I spent the big bux on them too...

[The Buddha]

Oh yea ... inline ones are junk ... so how about you ask them to warranty their "factory seals".
OK the online seals are softer if you  buy soft compound, and the same as factory when you buy the regular.

The softer ones actually work better if your forks are a little undersized from wear.
The hard crap is bad in all cases except if you're ham fistd when installing it, that way you tear the soft ones.

So the factory ones and the hard aftermarket ones compensate for gross incompetence and negligence.

The softies compensate for slight and I mean very very slight wear and very very very very small imperfections in the tubes.

And more than likely they die from the pityful sliders and the rust, dents, and wear on them in the first 20 miles of riding.

Whatever crap you buy ... same result ...  I'd buy cheaper ... but they'd tear em going in so well ... you're screwed. Buy soft ones, clean everythign and install yourself.

If you send em to me, I'd do em for 150 and I have one guy who can sprinkle mystery magic potion on them so they may hold up a bit better ... still cant cover rust spots and dings in it though. Just wear I would say a bit better than even the softer seals.

Cool.
Buddha.

[xanthras]

Funny actually. I asked them about a warranty after he told me that they were sooo much better. Of course there is NO warranty. Dang that works great for them! The bike only has 2700 miles on it and the tubes are pretty much like new. I guess I am just gonna take it up the tailpipe on this one. Maybe I will do my own next time.

Thanks guys.

[commuterdude]

I did it myself using our fabulous wiki.   My GS is so old no dealer will touch it which is fine with me.   The seals took me about 1.5 hrs to install the first time.   I had to re do one that i put in upside down.   Now i've ridden them 1500 miles or so w/ no leaking.   Not hard to do.

[xanthras]

Next time i will do them. Being such a new rider all i want to do right now is ride. Of course i appreciate the feedback. Sounds like it is something i should be able to tackle. What manual did you use?

[The Buddha]

2 points to remember -
1. You could be doing it a lot sooner than you think ...
2. You could be waiting for a lot longer than you think ...
Cool.
Buddha.

[xanthras]

Dang, how long do they last? I hope a few years at least!

[The Buddha]

I have 1 set that was leaking the instant it was put it.
Low miles helps, but whatmade it leak at 2700 ... if there is a blemish in the tube, or it has wear (almost any wear is too much for that location) it will be very very shortlived and it will never improve on subsequent changes. However if they screw up at install and damage the seal, it may just need a re do. And you'd never know which it is ...

And finally ... if its all good, and they dont rip the seal going in, you would easily get 3-5 years before it leaks again. And if its sitting etc, it will leak sooner than if it was used.

Cool.
Buddha.

[DoD#i]

2700 miles and old, old, old - it sat for a long time, which will kill all sorts of rubber parts. It helps if you put this info in your signature so folks don't have to go looking at your old posts to see what it is - looks like a 1994.

I used to be in CNY and would help if I had time to get over there, but am now 5 minutes east beyond the eastern border, up around Albany/Troy level.

[The Buddha]

Oh ... 94 ... OK forget wear, rust and pits ... and the smaller possibility of dings in the tube.
Cool.
Buddha.

[xanthras]

yea they are original. bike sat for 6 years or so before i got it...