RNW Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Hello all, Been lurking for a while and learning, but I'm kind of at the end of my rope with this fork seal job. I have a 2006 non-abs model with stock suspension/forks. 23k on the bike. I've got the forks off the bike, and MOST of the internals removed. I have pulled the cartridges, the dust seals and the oil seal retaining clips. I was able to use the "slide-hammer" method mentioned in the manual to remove the oil seals and the washers that sit below them. I expected the whole fork stanchion to come out of the fork leg along with the top and bottom bushings, but this did not happen on either fork. On the right fork (the one that was leaking and started this whole fiasco), the fork tube slides in and out of the fork leg smoothly. I'm tempted with this fork to put the washer back in, drift the new seal into place, and put it back together. The left fork leg (the one which still had a functioning seal), however, is not like this. Again, only the oil seal and the washer below it came out. The fork tube is still in the fork leg. The slide action on this one is all wonky. From full compression, there is a fair bit of resistance when extending the fork leg, until about 4 inches from full extension, at which point, it eases up until it hits a stop, and then it will sort of "stick" there, and I'll have to tap the fork leg on the floor (on a towel of course) to get it to free up and compress again. Any ideas on what I did wrong? Where to go from here ? Thanks in advance for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted April 21, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted April 21, 2015 Email Jamie. http://www.daughertymotorsports.com/ He is a member here and is always willing to help out . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MadScientist Posted April 21, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted April 21, 2015 Nothing wrong yet. Keep going, you have to pop the slider bushing out also. Three pieces are removed by tapping the slide out the top - the oil seal, the washer, and finally the slider bushing. Below the slider bushing on the fork tube is the fork tube bushing that is the "hammer" in all of this. I'm guessing that the slide hammering process has cocked the position of the slider bushing on the sticky fork leg. My bushings were pretty well worn at 24k when I opened the forks the first time, so you will probably want to at least inspect them. I replaced mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNW Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks for the input. I'll give the forks some more slide-hammering and see if I can get them all the way apart to inspect/replace the bushings. I found this Video, which I thought seemed pretty helpful in this instance. The forks are off an ST, not a VFR, but they look quite similar. Any thoughts on his method of replacing the bushings? Seems pretty clever and doesn't require buying a seal driver. Starts talking about that part at about 16 minutes in. Again, I appreciate the input. I've only replaced fork seals in one other bike, and it was an old school GS1100. Pretty easy. None of the cartridge/bushing stuff. I truly love my VFR, but this fork seal job has kinda made me wish I would have just taken it into a shop. It is rewarding to fix your own stuff and save some money, but it's even more rewarding to be able to ride my bike on a nice day. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MadScientist Posted April 21, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted April 21, 2015 You must have been tapping very slow and carefully to only get the top two pieces out. I usually give it a pretty good pull and all the parts pop out at once like in the video. The very first time I did this job (many years ago), I also used a piece of pvc but slightly different from the video. I used a piece of pvc longer than the fork tube and a mallet to drive the seals in. You still need a piece that is filed/ground down a lot to drive the seal though. Since then I purchased a seal driver set which is very convenient, but expensive. I'll rebuild forks for my friends for pizza and beer though. You can get a single seal driver for $35-40, but I would advise you not to get the "adjustable" style drivers. Mainly because the construction is quite poor and they are far less durable than the two piece or ring style drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNW Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 Thanks for the help, MadScientist. I got her back together and made it through a successful shakedown run. Taking her out with another couple VFRs in a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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