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Fork Seal Driver -correct size-

SlowNsteady

SlowNsteady

New member
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Location
Hayward, CA
Moto(s)
2018 CB1000R
Name
Mike
Does anyone know of a sizing chart for fork seal drivers or where to find exact sizes of fork tubes? Searched on BARF and other forums... Google and Yahoo. The closest I could come up with is a size chart for aftermarket clip-ons which doesn't help with my particular case. I'm swapping the forks/triple from my gsxr600 for a set from a gsxr750 and want to replace the fork oil while they're off the bike. Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks
Mike
 
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You can replace the fork oil without needing to replace the fork seals. Just loosen the top caps before you remove them from the triple and then upend 'em and pour the oil out.
As far as drivers, using the old seal is usually the easiest and most size correct method for driving a new seal. :thumbup
 
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Stormdragon said:
You can replace the fork oil without needing to replace the fork seals. Just loosen the top caps before you remove them from the triple and then upend 'em and pour the oil out.
As far as drivers, using the old seal is usually the easiest and most size correct method for driving a new seal. :thumbup
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Sorry. That is not the correct way to change oil on a cartridge fork. Pull the forks, compress the spring with a compressor, remove the cap, spring, and dump the old oil. put in some fresh oil and work the rebound rod up and down several times to flush out old oil. dump again, put in fresh oil Work rod to get air out of cartridge, and fill to the correct height measured by air gap on the inner tube.
 
Stormdragon said:
Sorry Ernie. Just doing it the way Dave Moss showed me. :teeth
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Dave Moss did it so it must be right. :) Dave is a great guy, and a good suspension tuner, but please don't assume what he did at the track is the only way or best way.

Ok. First, if you don't remove the old oil and flush, you don't get the mung out. Second. If you don't measure the air gap, you will NEVER get an established baseline. On a GSXR 10 mm can be the difference between bottoming out and not bottoming out. That is close to 10CC or a couple tablespoons of oil.
Third. I assume Dave did that at the track. In the shop I am sure CRS does EXACTLY what I described. If they don't I would be astounded. I set my forks at 90 mm. If I measure it, I know they are at 90mm.

It is common AT THE TRACK to do a quick and dirty oil change. It takes a LOT longer to pull the fork cap.

And I would have to have seen what Dave did before I can comment further.

That is not an attack on Dave, he is a valuable resource. That is a comment on your lack of knowledge.
 
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afm199 said:
That is not an attack on Dave, he is a valuable resource. That is a comment on your lack of knowledge.
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Gosh. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

The reason I didn't go into details, compression of forks, disassembly of forks, fork oil level, seal replacement, expensive tools needed, etc... Is because the OP seemed a bit confused/unclear on what was going to be accomplished. I think you'll agree (even with me) that a seal driver isn't needed when changing fork oil. If he'd asked about seal replacement, or oil levels, I might have gone into more detail. Maybe. Or I would have just closed the thread assuming someone else would type in multiple paragraphs because I hate getting flamed for leaving 1 step out of a 47 step process.

Getting back to the Original Posters question... What are you trying to do? Replace seals, or change your fork oil? There. Better Ernie? :p
 
Stormdragon: When you said pop the fork caps and add oil, it sounded simple. Yes, you are right, no fork seal replacement needed. Might be a good idea on high mileage bike if you are taking the forks down, but I usually replace seals when they leak..
 
Thanks for the replies.

I recently purchased the 750 forks and in addition to changing the oil I want to break them down to inspect the internals and replace the consumables. Thanks for clarifying that you don't need to change the seals but I'd like to do so while they're off the bike.

I've read various other ways of installing the seals (PVC pipe, hammer/punch, etc.) but I'd rather use the correct size driver. Anyone know what size driver is needed?

Thanks again
-Mike
 
Well, if Ernie and I can finish with the face slapping, :laughing I think we'll both agree that a seal replacement is a bit of work. You're going to need a fork compressor so that you can get the caps unscrewed so you can get the forks apart, and you'll need to be careful about noting how things came apart on the disassembly. If you're going to the trouble of taking things apart, I'd (because I'm almost as picky as Ernie) clean everything with a toothbrush and some sort of solvent while you're in there.

I don't know what size seal driver you need, but if you have the spare seals, you can measure them. Plus, if you pick up a seal driver kit from the local Sears/Harbor Freight/Ace Hardware you'll probably find the right size driver in there. Or, as I said before, I find that the old seals work nicely for driving the new seals in. :thumbup


Orrrr, you could just drop them off with a suspension specialist like Dave Moss, Jim Lindeman, or Evolution Suspension save yourself the fuss, and tool purchases and know a pro did 'em up right for you.
 
Stormdragon said:
Well, if Ernie and I can finish with the face slapping, :laughing I think we'll both agree that a seal replacement is a bit of work. You're going to need a fork compressor so that you can get the caps unscrewed so you can get the forks apart, and you'll need to be careful about noting how things came apart on the disassembly. If you're going to the trouble of taking things apart, I'd (because I'm almost as picky as Ernie) clean everything with a toothbrush and some sort of solvent while you're in there.

I don't know what size seal driver you need, but if you have the spare seals, you can measure them. Plus, if you pick up a seal driver kit from the local Sears/Harbor Freight/Ace Hardware you'll probably find the right size driver in there. Or, as I said before, I find that the old seals work nicely for driving the new seals in. :thumbup


Orrrr, you could just drop them off with a suspension specialist like Dave Moss, Jim Lindeman, or Evolution Suspension save yourself the fuss, and tool purchases and know a pro did 'em up right for you.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I'll look around for an affordable complete driver kit. It would be nice to have a driver for each bike/set of forks.

I considered having a shop do the work, especially since the 750 forks are supposedly LE re-worked, but I prefer to develop the skills to maintain/repair my own bikes/cars.
 
Just be careful. Taking apart forks can get tricky. It's fairly easy to remove fork caps and springs. You start having problems when you remove the cartridge holder ( the bolt at the bottom can spin) and disassembling the cartridge holder. (If the end is loctited you need to heat it prior to removal or you will permanently fuxor the holder). Also resist the temptation to disassemble the rebound and compression valves unless you have a reason.
 
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