hi everybody, i am in the middle of changing my fork seals and was wondering if it was possible to change the fork seals while the actual forks are on the bike.  mine seem to have seized in the lower yokes and i can't get them out.  i don't have a vice or locking grip either.  what are my options?  thanks guys and gals!

~facio

yeah with conventional forks some folks suggest it...only problem you'll have is draining and cleaning all the old oil and stuff out.

so if i have everything off the forks so far and have the top bolts loosened, should i go ahead and try and remove the damper rod bolt while forks are still on bike?

~facio

Top bolts?  You mean teh clamp bolts on the upper triple?  Go ahead.  Make sure it's clamped down really well if you're going to do it still in the clamps.  It won't hyrt anything to do it all just the same as a regular seal replacement, you'll just find yourself bent over awkwardly from time to time trying to line stuff up.

ok i got the forks out by gently hammering them out  anyway, does the left side fork not have a damper rod bolt?  all i see is the place for the bolt that hold the front wheel axle in place.  am i just not seeing this? also is there any easy way to separate the two fork halves? i've been doing the slide hammer motion forever!

~facio

it should have a damping rod...I mean it's been about 5 years since I tore one apart but still...

Keep doing the slide hammer thing.  This is when you need a vice.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=16318.0

check that out.  i still havent been able to get to the new write up. sold my extra set of forks but need to redo the Caliper side.   i will see about setting asside the time this thursday or Friday to either Video tape it or snap a few pix. 

Have you removed the wire clip between the dust seal and the fork seal? If you dont remove it you can slide-hammer all day and get nowhere>