Right Leg Fork Seal - small leak

[yellowcarbon]

I used my home made Sealmate made from a plastic milk jug. It worked well and fixed the leak for several months. But eventually it came back and I replaced the seal. It did allow me to order the parts (some of which were back ordered), seal driver, research how to do it and then pick a convenient time to do it.

[Cooter]

I never got a seal driver either. I always need different sizes, so I hit up The Home Depot and get PVC tubing the right size because I'm old, and cheap.

[Silverrider]

I am worse than that, I use hammer and a flat nose punch and tap in a rotation till it bottoms out. Old school but its what I have done and it works. I wont tell you how long I been doing this . LOL

[yellowcarbon]

It was the first time I did it, so I figured for $40 I may as well try the correct tool. You can definitely get away without using one, but it does make it a very simple install with.

I figure the tool is like have a spare part ready. You won't need it as long as you have it. Once I put it into storage or move, I'll have another leaking seal.

Believe it or not, I have been through a dozen bikes over 20 years and never had a permanent fork leak until my Buell. The home made Sealmate always fixed it when I got on it right away. And I only bought 1 bike brand new (2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200). Knock on wood, I've only had a single flat and I had a tire warranty at the time, so I got a replacement for the cost of remounting the tire only. Hell, I took a 4200 ride up the Pacific Coast Highway and back several years ago. The only place I got rained on was in Palm Springs, CA.

[njloco]

Rain in Palm Springs, that's kind of weird.

[Cooter]

And it's no where near the coast! Haha.

[BuellDawg]

hey just caught the end of your guys conversation and just wanted to weigh in an say I liteally just had a fork bust a leak over the last couple weeks. I had my uly down to remove the throttLe body for full intake cleaning and decarbonization. over that week while she was resting the clutch side started to drip pretty good. I read about running the film past the seal awhile back to clean out possible stuck debris that might have gotten in and decided I'd use a piece of plastic packaging from my new welding hood since it was a pretty sizeable package. I used a straight edge and razor to layout a rectangle about 5" x 2" and some scissors to slightly round over the edge I was going to use. after removing the wiper I slid it down n wrapped the plastic aound the slider tube angling upward toward the seal. after gently twisting the plastic up into the seal, I carefully worked it around the circumference a couple times allowing a tiny bit of fork oil down to kinda wash the seal as I twisted. I wiped up the mess n put the wiper back. it's been over a month of riding everyday n it's still holding . I did order some outlaw tripple lip seals, wipers n 10w oil while it was apart for intake work but have yet to feel the need to tear it them down for the rebuild. if I do I'd like to do the bushings too. either way that's my experience. hope it helps. by the way, anyone know where to find the showa 43mm slide and guide bushing ??

[user_deleted]

by the way, anyone know where to find the showa 43mm slide and guide bushing ??

orient express and race-tech to mention a few. comparable pricing, speedy shipping, showa specialists.
http://www.orientexpress.com/c-455-f...-bushings.aspx

inn-teck also excellent though haven't dealt with them in sometime.
http://www.innteck-usa.com/products/fork_bushing/

don't bitch at me about expensive shipping. that's the game they all play these days.

[njloco]

Yeah, I guess you have also noticed the artificially heightened shipping prices, it's really bad on flea bay.

[BuellDawg]

Hey thanks for that lunaticfringe ! Just finished reading through the "parts cross reference" and saw you had participated there; What a killer list to have! Do you have any idea what year bikes member "anrkizm95's" parts cross-reference list pertains to ? I tried his profile but he doesn't seem to make mention. I'm fairly new and the navigation of this and most vehicle forums is such that I probably just missed it. Thanks again for your help