fork seals

[jakebass12]

i need help on replacing my fork seals. im just not sure how to take them off and putting new ones on. i already took off the forks off of the tripple clamps. another thing it was very difficult to take the forks off is that normal. any help is appreciated.
P.S (i can post picks if you need to see them.)
 

[Bob_Roller]

It's pretty normal to not have the fork tubes come out of the triple clamps .

A wedge shaped piece of hardwood tapped into the gap in the clamps can open them up enough to get the forks out easily .

To get the forks a part, I put them in a vise with a piece of wood on each side to keep from gouging them .

First thing you need to do, is remove the dust cap on top of the fork tube, if it still has one .

You need to depress the cap you see about half inch or so to expose the wire circlip that keeps things held into place, then remove the wire clip, you'll need something like a scribe  awl, or other poity tool you have around to get the clip out .

The spring is now free to come out, so be ready for it .

[Barry]

It isn't really necessary to remove the stanchions from the triple clamps to change the seals. You can just drop the lower fork sliders off and doing it this way helps retain good fork alignment.


Here's a previous thread that might help.

http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290745869/1#1

and another one

http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1207694197/7#0


Once you have the sliders off lever out the old seal taking special care not to damage the slider recess. To install the new seal they go in easier if you warm the slider top with a hot air gun. They should be gently tapped in until flush with the top of the slider.

[montmil]

I would suggest flushing out the fork sliders while the legs are off the bike. Mineral Spirits would be a good choice. You might find a bit of sludge from a dissolved rubber bumper ring.

Note that there are two fork fluid replacement volumes listed in the manuals; one for a simple on-bike drain and the other for a rebuild... that's yours.

As long as you're in there, may as well replace the felt wipers inside the fork boot caps.