Fork seals

[bigmac0331]

OK guys I want your opinions.....I need to replace the fork seals on the wifes Busa....I have heard a couple of different answers from a couple of different ppl. She has 7k miles on her stock seals and they are leaking...if stock ones only last 7k miles then I don't want to replace with O.E.M.........what do you guys reccomend? Please give me your

 

[Tufbusa]

Nothing wrong with OEM seals.

 

[bigmac0331]

There may be nothing wrong with oem seals.....but when I have a friend that does wheelies on his busa and his seal have lasted him almost 20k miles...and my 140lb wife's goes out after 7k miles...I have a problem with that.

 

[onedownfiveup]

There may be nothing wrong with oem seals.....but when I have a friend that does wheelies on his busa and his seal have lasted him almost 20k miles...and my 140lb wife's goes out after 7k miles...I have a problem with that.

Life on parts aren't always going to be the same, just like same engines making different power.

I've had fork seals last 10k miles and some last less than 1000.

OEM

 

[roadthing]

I would stay with stockers. I'm surprised you only got 7K out of them.

If you get a buildup of road crap on your sliders, it will accelerate wear on the seals. A tiny little burr from a rock hitting your slider will also destroy your seals. Improper oil levels (too much) will also help to add stress to a seal, as will a fork oil that is too heavy, and creates lots of "stiction"(sticking and friction). Bottoming out frequently creates hydraulic shock that can cause failures, as can defective valving. Sometimes seals just are not installed 100% right, and they fail prematurely.

I would stay away from the so-called "Leak-Proof Seals", as I have encountered a few failures of the garter springs.

One thing that I have noticed is that Showa forks use beefy, double-lip seals, sometimes with additional wipers, and Kayaba uses a smaller seal. Ohlins are in a league of their own.