Failed the blue slip ... leaking fork seal... slightly pitted sliders

Question:

• Anyone got some decent forks to sell?
  
• Or should I just replace the seals with new and get it through rego and tend to it later...
  
• Or take it to another place and hope they miss it (I can wipe it down in the car park).
  

Seals are too hard to allow one of those thin little plastic cleaners.
Could increase the thickness of the oil from 5W to ... well what do you recommend?

While I've got the front end off... 

Anyone recommend a specific progressive fork spring that is not too exxy?
Wheel bearings and steering bearings to be replaced. I'm assuming motobins or motoworks.
Fork gaiters / rubber covers - any recommendations?

Just need to get it on the road. My mate's whining like a stuck pig - he sent his 2001 Ducati off to the shop and got worked for $900. 

regards

Guy

Hello!

A good tip I got was to use A tool which you use to adjust the velvets. Leaf-type feeler gauges, 0,15mm should be fine.
Go a few times around the seals with the feeler gauges and get out any dirt and small stones. This helped me repair my leaking seals.


If it doesn't help you will have to change the seals.

http://k-technik.pytalhost.com/pdf/gabeloel_federn.pdf

Cheers

Fit gaiters for now......

I'm confused...

"A tool" ... was thinking you were going to tell me it was for fixing the A hole. And "the velvets" - my bike is too early for that.

I'm sure the seals are past massaging back into life. But will try the feeler gauges.

Gaitors- might have to buy locally and get an inspection at a second location. In fact, I might have to have a day off work to get there before they close shop for the day. 

Things are looking up already!

So... seals and gaitors asap.

Thanks

Are the stanchions scored or just pitted? If they're scored you can expect the leg to be knackered too, as there are no steel bushes and the stanchions just slide up and down on the aluminium surface of the leg.. Until the aluminium galls. I knew a bloke who was fed up with his forks leaking and spent £££ on new stanchions, only for the forks to carry on leaking just like they did. Pointless.

Mine were leaking like a good 'un with 60K miles on them, now with 72K they barely hold oil and the stanchions have deep(er) grooves in them. Gaiters get it through the roadworthiness tests (turning up in the rain really helps hide the wetness of the fork oil leaking out the bottom of the gaiters!) but the only real fix is surely to fit the Showa forks that were on later K75s. Or go the whole way and fit a 16v/1100 fork/yoke combo, then you get real brakes into the bargain but have difficulty with the master cylinder/throttle dealie that is suddenly the wrong size and the later ones aren't quite interchangeable and aarrrggghhhh

Toilet paper under the dust caps, perhaps? What do you mean by pitting, exactly? New seals aren't going to help if the stanchions don't fit them..

Motorworks sell their progressive for cca 50 GBP I think. I didnt try their progressive, but german Wurth from Ebay which was very good.

You can buy bearings anywhere by number on it. No need to order from G. Britain.

I removed seals with bigger screwdriver with wider blade. Push the blade under seal push down to move it.

Best regards

Thanks for the replies. Looks like a weekend job.

The surface of the slider has the fine dots of rust and then on closer look by the inspector... some sort of fine cracks in the chrome.

Will replace seals (have some in the garage) and wipe down before inspection - one place only does cars and didn't pick it up while the other was a dedicated bike shop (he had the microscope out)

Interested to see responders' locations:

Snod: have you finished cheering after coming EPL success. Good luck to you - better to share the success rather than the big 5 dominating all the time.

Nino: I have fond memories of Dubrovnik and what was Yugoslavia. My favourite country when hitch hiking around Europe in 1990. Was heading for Italy and ended up above Yugoslavia and decided WTF... and walked across the border. Had done no research, knew very little and had the best time. Beautiful country. Slovenia, Croatia,  Bosnia, Kosova, Macedonia... Was expecting to sleep under a bridge north of Dubrovnik just on dark and got a ride with a photographer in a Renault 16 who swerved his way at high speed south telling me "Life can be so interesting if you just let it". Shit yeah. Met two British soccer hooligans in Dubrovnik - both had been pickpocketed, were on the run from the English police and were heading for Canada! 

Gotta love travel.

GF Wollongong wrote:While I've got the front end off... 

Anyone recommend a specific progressive fork spring that is not too exxy?
Wheel bearings and steering bearings to be replaced. I'm assuming motobins or motoworks.
Fork gaiters / rubber covers - any recommendations?

Progressive springs are available from motorworks in the UK. Takes about a week. They've also got the correct gaiters as well.

Wheel bearings you can pick up at your local bearing shop.
47 x 25 x 12 mm
SKF 6005 2RSH

Steering head bearings local as well
28 x 52 x 16 tapered roller bearing. They'llknow what yyou need.

Progressive springs change bike handling totally.Heavy old dog suddenly become driveable. Maybe you can find that some workshop in Australia producing it. You were in ex Yugoslavia 1990. last normal year. At 1991. war canibals appeared. For that longitudinal trip you have to cros seven borders now.
Best regards

For the purposes of an update:

RT forks too pitted

Bought some K100RS forks from Floyd QLD... 
replaced seals, installed progressive springs, didn't replace damper piston ring, installed gaitors, new fluid. 
Steering head bearings dry but reusable... regreased and back on. 
New wheel bearings installed

Bike awaiting more shed time to re-install all other bits.

Not long now...


Regards

Guy