okay guys, i have no idea how to do a search on this board so sorry mods. anyways, i just bought my fork seals from the dealership and i wanted to know how hard it would be to change them myself. and also what size socker/wrench do i use on the left side of the front wheels since i dont have a toolkit , 16mm? out of all my tools i dont have a thing to fit. any info would be greatly appreciated.

I happened to just run into a guy last weekend that completed the task you are asking about.

His handle is LAB RAT. Perhaps he is listening? HEllo, Lab Rat!! V-Strom rider here!!

IF I were you I would definately get a manual for this job. I believe you are going to need a healthy allen wrench socket to take the fork tubes apart. That allen bolt is in the end of the fork tube on the bottom.

I've only changed fork seals once before and it was a bear getting enough torque to loosen that bolt. Tricky part is keeping the fork tube from turning and not scratching it.

Maybe someone else knows but would it be possible to replace the fork seal without taking them apart?

Good Luck.
Dana out.

I just finished changing out the front forks on my gs.

the seals are really no problem.  but definitely get a manual if you don't already have one.  it makes things much simpler.

and as far as the allen bolt in the bottom, yeah, that one can be pretty tricky.

what we ended up doing was welding the head off of a 15/16ths bolt onto a long 1/2 inch drive socket extension, then inserted that into the upper end of the fork tube to hold the damper rod in place.  Then the allen bolt in the bottom spins right out.


as far as the front wheels go, I'm not exactly sure which nut/bolt you're talking about.  i assume you mean the axl itself and the bolt that holds in on since the only other bolts are on the right side.
the axl has a 19mm head.  try a creasent wrench if you don't have a box end that big.

(and as far as I know, no you can't replace the seals with out taking the forks apart.)

ive used a 7/8" socket on mine. worked fairly well, even though gs is metric. (p.s. i believe 7/8" was the size)

Theoretically, one could replace fork seals w/o disassembling the forks. You'd have to come up with some way to dig the old seals out of their seats w/o garring up the tubes or the sliders. However, by the time you're done fiddle-farting around with one seal you could have disassembled both fork assemblies and gotten one back together w/ a new seal. The bolt size you'd be looking for to make a tool would be 5/8". These have a 15/16" head. A metric bolt w/ a 25mm head will also work, (that is likely the exact size of the 12 point socket in the top of the damper rod - 15/16" just happens to be close enough). I've read on the Concours board, (the Concours has the same size socket in the damper rods), of folks using the blunt end of an old broomstick and just jamming it into the socket. I've not tried this myself and I'd want to make sure that everything was cleaned up thoroughly afterwards to make sure I didn't "splinter" a damping orifice, or worse, one of those spanking new fork seals.

thanks for all the great info guys but i still dont know what size i would need to take the wheel of with. for some reason i had 16mm set in my head . i went to the flea market and bought a long socket , a short, and a wrench . got home and it wa the wrong size. can anyone help me with that

19mm

as long as you're talking about the axl.

I don't know what other bolts you would be talking about, unless you mean the two brake caliper mounting bolts which are 14mm.

but I don't think so, since the tool kit has a 14mm box end.

I'm assuming you mean the axl which, as I stated above and in an earlier post, has a 19mm bolt head.

So.... are you trying to say the front alxe has a 19mm nut on it and it requires a 19mm wrench or socket....or big cresent wrench!!!!

i was talking about the left side, not the side with the cotter pin. the reason i thought it was a 16 was because i put a 17 on and it fit but not like it should

I just went out to the shed and checked.

FRONT AXLE
Nut on cotter pin end: 19mm
Bolt head on other end: 17mm

REAR AXLE
Nut on cotter pin end: 21mm
Bolt head on other end: 17mm

My Craftsman 17mm open end wrench does "wiggle" a little on the bolt heads, but that's the closest you're going to get without the crescent wrench.  I take that back; one of my 17mm sockets seemed to fit slightly more snugly.

I've only removed the front axle a couple of times, so I can't remember for sure ... but with the rear axle I have never needed to apply a wrench or socket to the bolt end, either to remove or tighten the axle nut.  Are you getting different results?

a gs can be taken apart ALMOST completely with a 8,10,12,14,17,19mm wrench/socket and a couple of screwdrivers.
it would be hard to find a 16mm on a GS

Quote from: werase643So.... are you trying to say the front alxe has a 19mm nut on it and it requires a 19mm wrench or socket....or big cresent wrench!!!!

yes.  good to see someone got it.

I too made the long extension handle/bolt welded thing to reach down inside the forks and hold the bolt while loosening it from under the fork.  I told a guy about it on a Monday and he said "stoooopid, why didn't you just loosen that one first while the fork spring caps were still installed".

I went home and tried it and it worked....would've saved me loads of effort.  I used an impact and the springs (being preloaded) held the bolt just fine.

thanks kerry. thats what i needed to hear.  hopefully, i can get it off but the 17 was slipping abit and i definetly dont want to strip the head on it.

Its actually easiest (usually) if you loosen that allen bolt at the bottom before doing ANYTHING to the fork, including removing them from the bike. The triple will hold the fork tube quite well as thats what its designed to do.  

even if you loosen the allen bolt first, the damper rod can still manage to spin.  trust me, I took four of them apart, and only one time, did loosening the allen bolt first, allow for easy disassembly.  every other time I had to use the special tool we had made.

I have never in my life needed such a tool to do any style of fork. I break the allen bolt loose first thing, disassemble and drain the fork, reinstall the main spring, invert the fork and push down on the whole thing with the spring sitting on the bench/floor/whatever and then back the damping rod bolt out.

YMMV, but this has worked without fail for me each and every time.

I have disassembled dozens of motorcycle forks and never had any give me the trouble that the GS500 ones did. Obviously, the preferred method would be to loosen the bolts first or at any time during the process when there's pressure from the spring present to help keep the rod from turning. That's the way I've always done it. But, and it's a big but, once in awhile that just may not be enough. I figure there's a reason they put the 12-point socket in the top of the damper rod.

Never seen this long a thread on seals...You could have take it apart in the time it took to type all this. But Here is another twist...The seal will come out (I think ) if you took off the dust cover, the circlip and compressed and quickly extended the forks a few times...cos it I believe has more travel in the damper rod than in the fork bushing on the top side. It works on other bikes. Just not sure on the GS. Then you can pour in whatever you want like gasoline etc to clean it by shaking it and then new seals and dust covers.
Cool.
Srinath.

i fitted new fork seals a week ago. easy enough!!!
one week later i've has to strip them both again. they are absolutlry piffing out. the stantions seem ok. Do i try again with genuine suzuki parts??? or get the stantions re chromed?