Question with fork seals

[junk301]

My left fork is leaking oil.  Is it wise to only do the left fork or should i do both at the same time???  Issue is I'm going to a mechanic to get the left fork done but i can do the right fork by myself this winter....Also I know that there is a dust seal and a fork seal for each fork...Do i need to get both replaced? I'm pretty sure that the oil is leaking through the dust seal...

any helps appreciated!

[gsJack]

One of the fork seals started leaking on my current 02 GS and I bought a pair of Suzuki seals online for about $30.  Replaced the leaking one at 69k miles and was lucky to get the allen head on the bottom loose with the fork tube still in the triples and the spring still inside holding the damper part.  Then took the fork off, replaced the seal only, and used the old wiper.  I don't have a workbench or vice so it was easier to leave the fork tube in the triples while I pounded the seal out by pounding the slider up and down.  Never got around to putting the other seal in so at 95k miles I still have a spare seal if I need it.   

[007brendan]

Unless your dust covers are totally jacked, there's really no need to replace them, its the seals that really matter.  I had a seal begin to leak on me about 2.5 years ago, and since I was taking the fork apart anyway, I upgraded to a set of sonic springs and switched to heavier fork oil while I was at it, so I ended up replacing both at once. 

I also took some emory cloth (more like an emory sponge really) and polish to my forks while I had them apart.  It appeared that the reason my seals failed was some light surface rust on the forks that over time had scratched the seals to the point that they leaked.  Just something to look out for.

[RichDesmond]

...I also took some emory cloth (more like an emory sponge really) and polish to my forks while I had them apart.  It appeared that the reason my seals failed was some light surface rust on the forks that over time had scratched the seals to the point that they leaked.  Just something to look out for.

Very good point. And it's not just rust, there are generally tiny nicks and dings in the leading edge of the tubes, from sand and gravel kicked up by cars ahead of you. Smooth those out periodically, every oil change is a good time to inspect the tubes.
I use extra fine steel wool, just buff carefully so you don't go through the chrome. The idea is to just knock the sharp edges off. If you do this your seals will last a lot longer.