Like many others on here, I found myself with a leaking fork seal.  For the record, I have a 2006, so the forks are inherently harder to tear down (as I later found out) due to the fact that getting the damper rod bolt out of the bottom is such a PITA with the 2004 and up fork models.   Read all about how to perform everything I needed to do on here and in my Haynes manual.  I couldn't get the damper rod bolt loose (even with an impact wrench) after trying all of the suggested tips that have been offered on here.  So, I succumbed to the fact that I was going to have to take it to a MC mechanic to get this fixed.  All I needed to do was get the old fork seals out so that I could replace them with new ones.  Over the phone, the mechanic suggested that I simply poke a hole in the top of the seal and pry it out.  I figured it was worth a try and would save me $60 instead of taking it to him.  I took an awl, rapped it a few times with a hammer to puncture the top of the seal and then pried up....it came right on out with no issue whatsoever.  What could have involved the disassembly of the entire fork was now not necessary.  I upgraded to stiffer Sonic Springs, so yes, I did change the fork oil and flush out all of the old oil while I was at it, but I didn't have to disassemble the entire shock to do all of this.  Anyway, just wanted to share the tip of how easy it was to pry out the fork seal in the event that anyone else was having difficulty with disassembly.

That's a good tip, provided you are very careful and don't damage the inner tube while prying around.

Someone also recommended leaving the top caps on, and using an impact wrench on the damper bolt. Sometimes the added pressure of a put-together shock will help break the bolt loose.

Quote from: Dizzledan on September 21, 2012, 02:04:13 PM
That's a good tip, provided you are very careful and don't damage the inner tube while prying around.

when you said that, I read it a few times, and kept thinking.. "wait..... it's like a bicycle tire??"

Quote from: Phil B on September 21, 2012, 02:39:54 PM
when you said that, I read it a few times, and kept thinking.. "wait..... it's like a bicycle tire??"

Haha true. Its better than what I put before though, 'be careful not to damage the outer surface of the inner tube'

Quote from: Dizzledan on September 21, 2012, 02:04:13 PM
Someone also recommended leaving the top caps on, and using an impact wrench on the damper bolt. Sometimes the added pressure of a put-together shock will help break the bolt loose.

This is how I do it.