Front fork seal replacement

[MikeGraziosi]

I'm considering helping out a friend and change the front fork seals on his '01 busa. He lives a few hundred miles away so I'd be taking on the project myself. Can anyone comment on the difficulty and amount of time this would take? I replaced fork seals on my '78 GS750 but the busa seems like it's much more involved.

 

[HayaWakened]

The following threads can give you an idea. You can use the site's SEARCH function to find plenty of threads for this topic. Looks like there once was a posted tutorial, but I couldn't find it now. Anyway, hope this points you in the right direction

• Fork seals | Gen II Busa Information
• And Post #7 from this thread has a cool help tip: Fork seal replacement | General Bike Related Topics
• Replacing your leaking fork seals | General Bike Related Topics
• FORK SEAL REPLACEMENT | Maintenance and Do-It-Yourself
• Another Run at Fork Seals | Gen II Busa Information and

[EDIT] Here's what I was looking for: Front fork Oil and dust seal replacement (leaking) | Maintenance and Do-It-Yourself

 

[Berlin Germany]

@MikeGraziosi

in addition to the "links" above by @HayaWakened

the entire job, if you have the right tools available, needs ~4 h

the job at a gen1 itself i described and pictured here at my homepage at "point" Dismantling the fork & maintenance (2nd "table")

for the pics of the entire job see also here

btw. - the job for gen2 is for 99.5% the same like for the gen1

 

[GIXERHP]

There are special tools needed for Cartridge forks.

 

[202mphbusa]

There are special tools needed for Cartridge forks.

Oh what the hell do you know. Hammer fixes everything

 

[Dennis]

Right or wrong, I've done plenty without any disassembly of the cartridge. Once the Allen head bolt on the bottom is loose it's pretty straight forward. Takes about 30 min per fork not including R&R from the bike.

 

[Berlin Germany]

@Dennis

wrong! 100% sure

not
- to pull the legs into their pieces
- to clean the lower pipes from the buckets full of black mud out of the "fork-fists" (wheel axle holders),
- to dry all pieces again properly
- and refill with oil only after all that
comes, in my view, very close to the term "damn botch".

what depends your live on?
- good working chassis bearings
- tires / rims / wheels
- damping devices - rear AND front and a fork is the frontpart what keeps you on the road / track.

only fumbling around at the fork a bit is, in my view, one of the biggest faults ever can be done.

the biker who relies on such work, as you @Dennis describe, will be one of the poorest biker at all,
in my view - again.

sorry in advance for my possibly politically incorrect writing,
but i "say" what i think all my life long.
i never was politically correct when it came / comes to technical matters.

 

[Dennis]

@Dennis

wrong! 100% sure

not
- to pull the legs into their pieces
- to clean the lower pipes from the buckets full of black mud out of the "fork-fists" (wheel axle holders),
- to dry all pieces again properly
- and refill with oil only after all that
comes, in my view, very close to the term "damn botch".

what depends your live on?
- good working chassis bearings
- tires / rims / wheels
- damping devices - rear AND front and a fork is the frontpart what keeps you on the road / track.

only fumbling around at the fork a bit is, in my view, one of the biggest faults ever can be done.

the biker who relies on such work, as you @Dennis describe, will be one of the poorest biker at all,
in my view - again.

sorry in advance for my possibly politically incorrect writing,
but i "say" what i think all my life long.
i never was politically correct when it came / comes to technical matters.

With the cartridge out you can clean the tubes completely.
If you are going to be "sorry in advance" you should really put it at the beginning of the post ....

 

[MikeGraziosi]

Thanks for the links and comments. The bike is now warm and cozy in my basement. Starting to figure out how to secure the bike and realize I need to start with purchasing a rear stand. Just wish Suzuki put a center stand on these damn things...nothing like my '78 GS750...the glory (but slow) days!

 

[Berlin Germany]

(...)Just wish Suzuki put a center stand on these damn things...nothing like my '78 GS750...the glory (but slow) days!

the center stand you can buy originally at suzuki for all gen1 so for that ´01 too.
to mount the cs you will need ca. 1.5 h.

only the gen2 has no points at all at the frame to mount a center stand.

or you look at this, my, center stand - it´s fitting for ALL bikes with a with a hollow swing arm axis

mine is built for an inner dia of 16.4 mm (or more).

 

[busafan08]

Yeah half the battle is getting the bike stable if you have a centre stand it defiantly helps

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Funny you should mention fork seals, I’m just doing some on a triumph speed triple at the present moment.
Here’s the method I use to support and stabilise the bike while working on it.
If you use a rear stand you can use a jack under the motor.

 

[GIXERHP]

With the cartridge out you can clean the tubes completely.
If you are going to be "sorry in advance" you should really put it at the beginning of the post ....

Well when you do the job half way, you can usually assume you will doing it again a second time. If the cartridge is not bled correctly you end up with too much fork oil, in the fork, then bye new seal!

 

[Bumblebee]

Funny you should mention fork seals, I’m just doing some on a triumph speed triple at the present moment.
Here’s the method I use to support and stabilise the bike while working on it.
If you use a rear stand you can use a jack under the motor.

View attachment 1630422

View attachment 1630423

I've suspended the front of the bike using a ceiling mounted block and tackle hooked to the front frame with the rear suspended using a stand...I'd always be worried the jack would slip.

I've not had to do this with the Busa yet...thankfully....

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I've suspended the front of the bike using a ceiling mounted block and tackle hooked to the front frame with the rear suspended using a stand...I'd always be worried the jack would slip.

I've not had to do this with the Busa yet...thankfully....

Yeah well, I’m fortunate enough to have a lift with a wheel vice, and I’ve never had one slip yet.... but even with a paddock stand and a jack under the engine, it’s stable.... providing no one bumps the bike or no earth quakes take place!
Do you guys in Canada have earthquakes?

 

[Bumblebee]

Yeah well, I’m fortunate enough to have a lift with a wheel vice, and I’ve never had one slip yet.... but even with a paddock stand and a jack under the engine, it’s stable.... providing no one bumps the bike or no earth quakes take place!
Do you guys in Canada have earthquakes?

I'd always be worried the bike would fall...

As for earthquakes, we do have them indeed, BC has quite a few...and fairly significant ones too. Our country is so vast, I believe you could fit New Zealand into Canada approx 37 times according to Google.

We have them around where I live from time to time, but not often. We live not too far from an army base and sometimes it feels like an artillery barrage only a real short one.

 

[Dennis]

Well when you do the job half way, you can usually assume you will doing it again a second time. If the cartridge is not bled correctly you end up with too much fork oil, in the fork, then bye new seal!

I've done it successfully both ways. I've followed instructions as such. Exercising the fork and measuring the oil per Suzuki manual is always a good idea.

Link