front fork seals

[statz]

I do a lot of off road riding,and have the same kind of front forks on my wr 426,as the s10.This might save some trouble for someone . These seals can leak. This is what I found helps a lot, keep the the fork slider clean. If I run through a wet or muddy section when I stop for a break, I will clean the slider just under the dust cap and work my way down getting the dirt and dry mud that can get stuck in between the seals and the slider.The dry mud will damage the seals. I keep an old sock as a rag for this, loop it around the slider and go back and forth. If I did any offroading and dont plan on a wash, still get the slider clean before the next ride because that first bump with dry dirt will hit the seals. Even moving it by hand and hitting the front break can make the forks compress enough to hit that dry dirt. Also tying down in a pickup truck can be hard on the forks. They sell a plastic stopper so you can get it tight without damaging the seals. Something I do with my dirt bike that I might not do on the s10 is pack grease on the dust seal and slide it back in place.

 

[Koinz]

Good maintenance information. Thanks.

Another little bit that I sometimes do. Spray the slider lightly with some silicon spray to shed any water off keep the slider from pitting which would also cause the seal to leak.

 

[Combo]

IAlso tying down in a pickup truck can be hard on the forks. They sell a plastic stopper so you can get it tight without damaging the seals.

Good stuff, Thanks!

For the stopper you can also cut a 2" PVC pipe that will do the same thing and save a few bucks.

 

[ptfjjj]

Thanks for posting guys. Good info. I wonder if that anti corosion spray, acf-50 would help shed water?

 

[statz]

Good idea about the pvc thanks

 

[Koinz]

I've never done the PVC, but it sounds like a good idea. Do you still compress the spring a little until it bottoms on the stopper? Do you have a sample pic?

 

[2XADV]

Never thought of the PVC pipe idea before. Thank you for the tip!

 

[colorider]

Good input on keeping the sliders clean. Even dried on bugs from a days ride are hard on the seals - best to clean them off daily when on an extended trip.

 

[justbob]

Anybody else ever tried the SealSavers ?
I put some on my V-strom before my trip up the haul road and when I got back home I had to change wheel bearings,seals and brake pads which were all embedded with crud from the Haul Rd but I had absolutely no problems with the fork seals.
I had removed the rear axle several times for tire changes and routine maintenance, it always slid right out without any effort but after arriving home from Alaska I had to drive the axle out with a hammer, due to the Haul Rd crud.
The SealSavers were still on the bike along with the original fork seals when I sold the bike with 60,000 miles on it.

http://www.sealsavers.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

 

[Combo]

I've never done the PVC, but it sounds like a good idea. Do you still compress the spring a little until it bottoms on the stopper? Do you have a sample pic?

We have used PVC for years on our racing dirt bikes but between the tire and tall fender. We cut the PVC about 3-4" short on a 11-12" travel fork. Works very good.

With the low fender on the XT this is not possible. I was thinking that with the right sized PVC one could cut the PVC in such a way (split) it could be installed on the bottom fork tubes as long as they mated against the flanges and not the fork seal wipers. Not sure if this could be done safely for loaded travel or even practical for the XT12. :question:

Another cheap route!

http://www.jawfish.net/wp/archives/187

For folks who have an extra $300.00
http://www.shop4motorcycletrailers.com/product/SA001

 

[stevepsd]

Anybody else ever tried the SealSavers ?

http://www.sealsavers.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

I use these, or actually the full-length version (covers all of the chrome inner tube) that KTM sells....and they work great. My KTM sees almost no pavement, almost entirely single-track here in the dusty, sandy, rocky Mojave desert. A couple of thousand miles of this environment and no leaks or weeping, plus the tubes are in perfect shape - which is another benefit of these that cover the entire slider - help prevent damage to the exposed tube from rocks (and roost - if you are slow like me ).

On my XR600R with regular fork boots, dirt would get in the weep holes on the bottom of the fork boots and I would end up having to replace fork seals about every year.

I'm sold on these and plan on getting these: http://www.sealsavers.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

-steve

 

[2XADV]

Thanks for the heads-up on these Sealsavers. Wish I knew about them sooner.
Are the KTM ones any different? Or are they just relabeled the same thing?

 

[stevepsd]

Thanks for the heads-up on these Sealsavers. Wish I knew about them sooner.
Are the KTM ones any different? Or are they just relabeled the same thing?

I don't know if the KTM ones are made by Sealsaver or not...but they are pretty much the same. The KTM ones just have 'KTM' embossed on them.

 

[markjenn]

Personally, I think blown seals due to tyeing down is mostly urban legend. I also believe that you're very unlikely to damage seals due to bugs or simple dirt. That being said, cleaner certainly doesn't hurt. But cleaning the tubes daily sounds a little over the top to me.

What does kill seals very quickly are nicks in your tubes. Following closely behind another rider is the biggest killer of fork seals.

- Mark