Fork seal shot and the Busa Bash is in 4 days!!!

[KvHotDog4]

Just got back from the Rod Run in Pigeon Forge and saw this!!! The bad part is I am leaving for the Busa Bash in 4 days!!! I will be making my first attempt at fork seals tomorrow night. Too bad there is not a shop around here that can work on a motorcycle, I have read the DIY threads on here are there any more tips I need to know about for a Gen 1 Busa?

 

[Big E]

If you can make it to the bash, Im pretty sure John(gixerhp) can take care of you for a fee.

 

[Trout]

I recently did seals. It took me about 4 hours to do both. Next time... I can do it in an hour. The biggest shortcut I discovered was that only one piece of plastic needs to come off: The black chin piece under the nose. With the wheel and fender removed, you can easily torque the lower triple clamp bolts with only that one piece removed. Another tip: the front fender won't come off until the wheel is removed, and even then it's like a puzzle... has to be twisted just right.

Put the rear on a stand, lift the front on the exhaust, remove the plastic chin piece, remove the calipers, wheel, and fender. After that, it's 3 bolts and the fork falls out.

 

[RussellJ]

I am trying to get a second set of forks. I am pretty excited to do my own fork seals. I am going to a do-it-yourself motorcycle hobbyshop for help the first time

 

[98crewcab]

was a cake walk, made my own tools (parts) to disassemble.....I'm sure you've already come across that one thread on here from that one guy who did them on the set of that one bike?! lol

was a lot easier than it looked in the thread. and I went OEM, as the first set of balls? seals I got was crap a day after installing them.......OEM has been fine for about a year now

 

[N2DEEP]

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[karnage]

I did mine in like an hour.Its real easy, just messy.I used an engine hoist to hold the frontend up off the ground.Bust all the bolts loose before lifting.Loosen the top caps and you will need a 10mm long allen to reach the drain/bolt that holds the inner spring cartidge.Real easy.

 

[The Big Red One]

Or you can wait till after the bash to fix it, instead of a last minute cram job on something you've never done before When I was younger and didn't care as much I rode many bikes with leaking seals for many miles with no probs. You won't even notice a diff in handling until you lose quite a bit of oil. Just clean around the seal really good with wd40 to get any grit out, then wipe off once in a while on the trip and you'll be fine. Don't miss the bash over a leaky seal....heck maybe even have gixxerhp fix them while you're there Just pick up the seals before you go.
And even tho its just one leaking do them both

 

[RYC1966]

from what i have read and word of mouth is stick to oem parts...i swapped springs and replaced seals with oem and still have a leaker...i tried my best but should have waited for a pro...you might be better of having a bash member doing the surger...getting the legs out is no big task 20 minutes at most...you just needs parts + oil / tools

 

[karnage]

You can get Kayaba seals.Thats who makes them for suzuki from what I was told by the suspension guy close to me.OEM is fine.Dust seals should be fine unless they are ripped but they pop right out.Thing is doing it at home is best so you can check everything.That oil leaks all over the wheel, brake pads and rotors.Everything will need to be cleaned.Mine leaked badly and it was on everything.

 

[KvHotDog4]

Well after I posted this I went and started working on it. So far so good. I have the forks out and I have one apart, figured I should leave one together just incase something goes wrong I have something to go by. I have to say for 60,000 miles everything still looks good inside, thanks to this website I am saving a lot of money by doing this myself so thank you again .org I would have went broke many many miles ago with out you lol.

Here is where I am at after about 2 hours






I know I didn't have to take all the plastics off but I figured while I was working on it I may as well go ahead and service it while its down, its early but saves time later. Plus incase the motor hoist holding up the bike leaks down it won't bust the plastic
Now I just have to hope that one of the shops around here have the seals in stock. lease:

 

[Highliner]

Careful using concrete blocks as support! While this doesn't look too bad I'm told they can crumble very easily if spot loaded. They are stronger if you flip them with the holes facing up. I have heard stories of people being trapped under cars, etc after concrete blocks crumbled..

Good luck getting seals

 

[skydivr]

Kev, if you can't find a seal call Justin, I suspect he can have you new ones by tomorrow...

 

[KvHotDog4]

Careful using concrete blocks as support! While this doesn't look too bad I'm told they can crumble very easily if spot loaded. They are stronger if you flip them with the holes facing up. I have heard stories of people being trapped under cars, etc after concrete blocks crumbled..

Good luck getting seals

Oh yeah I did not think about this happening, the block is just a saftey you can't see the motor hoist in the picture it has most of the weight, the block is just incase the hoist leaks down it won't tilt off the rear stand.

Thanks Skydivr, so far all the shops have had the oil seal and dust seal but no one has the drain plug seal or the top o-ring seal. I will probably use the original seals on these 2 if I can't find them. The shops have told me the never replace those unless they are torn. Mine still look new but after 60k miles I would like to replace if I can find them.

Oh and I have your grab bar packed and ready to come back home lol