Just wrote another howto: HOW TO REPLACE FORK SEALS.  

Plenty of Photos. With sizes in metric and imperial. Step by step. Quite a job!

See the prototype at: http://k.udg.edu/~m/reparacioGS500/forkseals/index.html

English is not my natural spoken language so I'm sure there are a lot of mistakes. Corrections and improvements are welcome.

Soon after polishing the howto, I'll ask Annie to include it in the Howto Section. You can place it in the wiki too  

It lacks the "thanks to" section. I found loads of info on the board, but It would be quite a job searching for it again. Thanks to all that posted info on this topic.

Marc.

1st!

Can't believe this has no replies yet.  The DIY is great! thanks.

Now let's hope the pics don't disappear on this write up too

I can't speak to the content but check through your text...there are a bunch of Typos and grammatical errors.

Quote from: marc on July 13, 2010, 02:16:00 PM
Just wrote another howto: HOW TO REPLACE FORK SEALS.  

Plenty of Photos. With sizes in metric and imperial. Step by step. Quite a job!

See the prototype at: http://k.udg.edu/~m/reparacioGS500/forkseals/index.html

English is not my natural spoken language so I'm sure there are a lot of mistakes. Corrections and improvements are welcome.

Soon after polishing the howto, I'll ask Annie to include it in the Howto Section. You can place it in the wiki too  

It lacks the "thanks to" section. I found loads of info on the board, but It would be quite a job searching for it again. Thanks to all that posted info on this topic.

Marc.

Quote from: offcamber on July 16, 2010, 11:41:44 AM
I can't speak to the content but check through your text...there are a bunch of Typos and grammatical errors.

camber: i think he knows that already =P

Great writeup.  Great pictures.  Thorough and detailed.  I learned a lot.  Thank you.

Tx Marc. Great post. You taught me a lot.

Quote from: nhanxsolo on July 16, 2010, 06:49:58 AM
1st!

Can't believe this has no replies yet.  The DIY is great! thanks.

Thanks.
It was quite a job to take photos while replacing the seals.
It was difficult too to write it in english and convert each size to imperial.
Hope this is of use for you.

Glad you liked it.

Quote from: Deros514 on July 16, 2010, 09:23:45 AM
Now let's hope the pics don't disappear on this write up too

I wrote more howtos some time ago. See the "mods section" and the "howto section" at the GStwins page.

I sent the webpage to Annie and she hosted it at GStwins.com, so that images do not disappear.
I'll do the same this time, but I'd prefer to get the text corrected first.

Quote from: offcamber on July 16, 2010, 11:41:44 AM
I can't speak to the content but check through your text...there are a bunch of Typos and grammatical errors.

I'd be very happy to get some help correcting it.

I would place a note saying: you can take the old fork seal, slice it open and remove a 1/4 inch section and turn it  upside down and you can use that as a seal driver with a mallet.

This is awesome!  I just replaced my fork seals, fork oil, and switched to sonic springs today and this how-to made it waaaaaaaayyyyyy easier.  Thanks!

I need to get this done my GS too and only with 7800 miles on her.    Does anyone have a good source online for the parts?

Thanks!

what parts do you need?  I got the seals from bikebandit.  Springs and oil came from Sonic springs.  The "monster" allen wrench I made with stuff from home depot.  Crush washers and cotter pins from local automotive store.

Thank you!

The walk-through looks very good. A couple of notes based on my experience:

1. IMO, a torque wrench is not optional for this job. Pinch bolts should be torqued to spec.
2. I'd recommend adding the torque values for the upper tripple, the lower tripple, and the piston retainer bolt.
3. I believe that the factory requires lock-tight on the piston retainer bolt. I never use it though.
4. I'd recommend also inspecting the fork brushings at this stage. If they are badly scarred, they should also be replaced.
5. Instead of using lockwashers on a bar, I found a 2' long 5/8ths inch bolt, and held it in place with a pair of vice grips. Worked well, but might not be secure enough to get the piston retaining bolt out. I initially loosened the bolt with an impact gun.

Again... Great write-up! I don't mean to sound like an ass with this feedback, and really do appreciate the walk-through you provided!

UPDATED

appears that section of the university website is down?

Just did the left fork seal today, and have a couple things to add. Unless the motorcycle gods decide it is you lucky day you need the custom tool. Just spend the $10-20 for it and locktite for the convenience. For the 5/8 bolt the important thing to ensure is that it has a 15/16 HEAD.

Push the spring and the washer that sits on top of it into the tube to ensure the washer is properly positioned( ie do not drop it in). If it does not compress after placing the tube above this, tap the tube a couple of times.

if using pvc, beware you may get pvc shavings on your oil seal...

Do not use harbor freight measuring cups. no clue how you make a crap measuring / pouring cup but HF did.
leave time to bleed your front brake if you should get air in the line.... 5hours in  ..... Or put something to prevent the brake lever moving you will bump it...
Have a dremel cutting tool, or an easy out incase you strip out the fork brace allen holes. not sure  how that happened.


some handy links(since i cant post in some of these):

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=25706
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=16318
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=7084            -->pictures of two custom tools


PS. 20W> all, although i havent had a chance to ride due to no front brake

Quoteappears that section of the university website is down?

crap, we really need to move that onto the wiki, it's a great walkthrough.

Quoteif using pvc, do not slam or you may get pvc shavings on your oil seal

Not sure what you're talking about, I used pvc and a hammer to set my seals, worked great, I guess just make sure there's no shavings on the pvc.

QuoteDo not use harbor freight measuring cups. no clue how you make a crap measuring / pouring cup but HF did.

The OP's recommendation of using a cheap baby bottle for the measuring cup works pretty well. 

Quoteleave time to bleed your front brake if you should get air in the line

Or, after you remove the front caliper, just don't touch the front brake lever, no need to bleed.  Service manual recommends placing something in the caliper, like a piece of wood, so in case you accidentally hit the brake lever, the pistons won't come out.

QuoteHave a dremel cutting tool, or an easy out incase you strip out the fork brace allen holes.

Were you using the correct size METRIC allen wrenches? 

NOTE: I have not tried this myself.

stolen from: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252988&page=33

Originally Posted by dorkpunch

Quote
Posted this in the mcgyver thread, but I think its so cool I'll post it here too!

I am a freaking genius.  You know when you have those eureka moments, and its like whooolly cow!?  Well heres mine from today.

Was working on some fork seals and was having a tough time getting the seal in. Thought it would be nice to have some type of seal drive that fit around the lower tube. Glancing around my shop I was thinkin maybe an old license plate, or what about a cardboard roll from a roll of paper towels, or the inside of a roll of electric tape, or, wait.... Electric tape!!! (lightbulb over smiley face smiley here)

Wrapped the lower tube in electric tape with about 1/8" thick, used the tube and tape to pop the seal right in! <br />


Heres what I mean.  Fork Seal Installation with Electrical Tape:
Clean the oil of the tube, wrap a buncha tape around it.

Slide the tube down so the ring of tape pushes the seal in:

And Walla:

Seal installed!  Grab the end of the tape and yank- it just spins right off!

I made a tool out of 2 cheap 1/2" extensions and some round bar. Cut the top off one, the bottom off the other and extended it by welding them together with the round bar in the middle. Look carefully and you will see the joints  In the photo the top extension is a standard 10" one and the bottom one is my home brewed one thats about 36" long and has more than enough length to reach inside the fork.

A 24mm hex-bit, (shown in the pic with some 16 point sockets) is a nice snug fit inside the damper rod. I locked the bottom bolt with a hex-key held in a vice.........simples