Fork Seals-86" VFR DIY or pay???

[wastedincome420]

Well I need to do new fork seals on my VFR 700 since one is leaking pretty bad.
I'm still on the fence on whether to do it my self or pay to have it done at a shop. I cant even start to imagine how fucking much they would charge .
I have never attempted to do fork work before but cant really see what the big deal would be!?!?! Suspension is reall the only thing that I've really tried.
If compared to rebuilding the carbs......Is it harder or easier????
Mark

[Matt K]

I just did fork seals on my dirtbike, and they weren't really hard at all. Provided yours aren't radically different for some reason, (I don't imagine they are) I think you can probably handle it

[NHViffer]

Not too bad of a job, at all. Your forks are damper-rod type. I would call it about equal difficulty to the carbs rebuild (except more messy). You will need a good secure way to hold the front end of the bike off the ground while the forks are off, whether a jack, or strap from an overhead beam or joist. Just make sure that the bike is nice and stable. I also found that my bench vise and some non-marring (wood or ruber) covers for the jaws were helpful for holding the shock tubes while I did my work on them.

Keep track of the order of components taken out (obviously). I would also recommend keeping left & right parts in separate bins. Clean everything off really good - there will probably be an amazing amount of grey sludge (metal bits) in there, if it has never been done before.

Do some research on what weight fluid that you want to put back in. This is one of the few cheap mods you can do to improve handling that does not cost too much. I think that the 86 that I did I put 15W back in (don't quote me on this, as I am working from memory). It did firm up the front a bit.

I used the old seals as bushings when I seated (read: hammered) the new seals into place. I know that some people have had success using pieces of PVC pipe that fit over the tube, but have a small enough OD to fit into where the seals go. Oh yeah - the snap rings suck! I have some small snap-ring pliers that were just not strong enough to squeeze the rings together for taking out & reinstall. There is no room to reach in with needle nose pliers. I got through this part, but it had me cussing!

I had a little difficulty coming up with a way to measure the fluid height when I refilled the tubes. There is a tool for doing this, but I just used a metal 6" machining type scale - and was careful not to drop it into the fork tube. Go slowly when filling because it goes fast and is very easy to over fill. I think that I went with a little more fluid than the stock amount, again to firm up the front some. Less air space = Firmer ride (less compression space).

Also, pay attention to which side of the seal is up. There is a top and a bottom. Look at how the ones that you take out are oriented. Don't ask how I know this detail.