Fork seals

[esiemers]

I just got my 08 505xc-f out of winter storage. I have fork oil on the right side of the rim. I'm looking at some new fork seals. Can someone give me an idea how tough this is? I'm a decent mechanic but don't have specialized tools. Should I just pull the forks and have the dealer do them? Thanks

[Mike in Fresno]

try cleaning them first, hardly ever is the seal bad unless there is a nick in the tube. Look up the "film" method of cleaning the seals.

[cacka_lacka]

Recently I replaced the fork seals on my '07 505. While the film method had worked in the past, it no longer helped as both seals were leaking pretty bad. The old oil that I poured out of the forks was also fairly dirty. I'm a "decent" mechanic and feel comfortable turning wrenches on a bike. It wasn't too hard of a task to replace the seals. The only specialized tools I used was a fork cap wrench (a large crescent would also work), fork seal driver (made out of pvc pipe), and a torque wrench of course. The most difficult part was trying to pop the new seals in. It required significant force, but I imagine if I'd used an actual seal driver it would have been easier. I was also on the fence about taking the forks to a dealer or doing it myself, but I'm glad I did it myself as I saved about $150 and, well, who doesn't enjoy wrenching on their bike?

PM me your email and I can send you a .pdf manual.

[esiemers]

Did you use the kit or film negatives?

[esiemers]

edwardsiemers@yahoo.com thanks

[Mike in Fresno]

I use a piece of a soda bottle and cut a 1/4 to 3/8 radius on a corner. I tried the commercial one made by motion pro and it was too flimsy and folded up first use.