Things to replace with fork seals?

[CraiGDaniel]

Basically, mechanic just quoted me £150 to fit new fork seals. **** that.


I am a budding bike fiddler (sounds so wrong  ). How difficult are the seals to replace for someone who can just about change sprockets and remove wheels etc?

Also while i am changing the seals, what else should i be changing?? Just the fork oil???

Thanks

[jacob_ns]

Seals aren't hard but you'll need a tool to get the fork apart, what tool you need depends on the year of your bike. 2004 and onward use a proprietary tool you'll need from Suzuki. 1989 - 2003 use a homemade tool made from threaded rod and a 15/16th nut on the end of it.  It's not a tough job, but can be moderately difficult the first time you do it.

Also, buy some progressive springs to stick in there if you're going to have them apart. It'll improve your bike substantially. You'll need new fork seals, dust seals, maybe copper washers and a bottle of fork oil.

[justafifteen]

I just bought my first motorcycle about a month-ish ago, and just changed the fork seals on it this last weekend. It took me four days, but that's because I was unprepared.

The job itself is rather easy, nothing too difficult.

Like Jacob said, if you have a 2003 or older , you can make a homemade tool for about $10. I did this, just to find out that since mine is a 2005, that tool was of no use to me. For a 2004+, what you need is a bit that costs $30 OR do what I did, and take your forks to the dealership and have them use their bit to remove a bolt. It only took the guy a few minutes and didn't charge me anything.

You'll need one liter of fork oil, the right sockets, a piece of 1.5" ID PVC pipe, and your new seals. There are several good threads on here that tell you how to take the forks apart and give a good rundown of the process.

I'll tell you right now that you can easily do it.

[BaltimoreGS]

Not hard just messy.  I've had older bikes that the snap rings over the seals were rusted to the point they were not reusable so you may need them.  And it doesn't hurt to replace the dust caps if yoursare in poor shape.  Good luck   

-Jessie

[4strings]

For the record, I have a 93, and I used a broomstick handle for that bolt.