1 Fork seal is leaking… Thu Oct 16, 2014 6:54 pm
Oliveri
Silver member
I’m aware that this is nothing new and there are plenty of threads about this. However, I need to put this experience behind me and the only way is to ‘vent’.
As this is a project ‘K’ I have been taking my time with various things but since one of the fork seals is leaking and my wheels are freshly powder coated (sitting in the corner) I thought the time has come to do the seals. No big deal, have done this before on different bikes. As always I did a bit of research beforehand to avoid surprises.
Ok, drained the fork tubes (overnight, to get all the oil out) and removed them from the triple tree. By looking at the smelly muck that came out of the fork I might be in for a treat.
Clamped the first one into my vice (with some aluminium angle & a rag for protection) and had a closer look at the retaining bolt. I have heard that they can be a bit of an issue at times. Gave it a bit of a wack to loosen it and sprayed some wd40. The bolt showed some sign of wear but let’s see. Hmmm, not happy stripped the first one. I believe ‘The Hulk’ must have installed this set. Let’s try #2, great same thing, stripped also.
Let’s not get upset its only 9am. I dug up my set of ezy- outs and ‘Snap’. It broke. Now it appears that the fairly easy task of replacing the fork seals is turning into a mission. I stated to use large drill bit to take some of the head. Then used a small bit and drilled 4 holes in a cross pattern.
Then used a steel punch on an angle (through the axle hole) to loosen and eventually rotate to bolt. EXCELENT, one down, one to go.
I was in two minds about trying another ezy-out or simply repeat the mentioned process. But what are the chances of snapping two ezy-outs in a row? Apparently pretty high, snapped the second one as well. It is almost lunch time and my blood pressure is rising. Ok, same process as before, drilled the holes and used a steel punch. OUT. I’ve never been happier to see two totally mangled bolts, ever.
Time for a beer or two.
As this is a project ‘K’ I have been taking my time with various things but since one of the fork seals is leaking and my wheels are freshly powder coated (sitting in the corner) I thought the time has come to do the seals. No big deal, have done this before on different bikes. As always I did a bit of research beforehand to avoid surprises.
Ok, drained the fork tubes (overnight, to get all the oil out) and removed them from the triple tree. By looking at the smelly muck that came out of the fork I might be in for a treat.
Clamped the first one into my vice (with some aluminium angle & a rag for protection) and had a closer look at the retaining bolt. I have heard that they can be a bit of an issue at times. Gave it a bit of a wack to loosen it and sprayed some wd40. The bolt showed some sign of wear but let’s see. Hmmm, not happy stripped the first one. I believe ‘The Hulk’ must have installed this set. Let’s try #2, great same thing, stripped also.
Let’s not get upset its only 9am. I dug up my set of ezy- outs and ‘Snap’. It broke. Now it appears that the fairly easy task of replacing the fork seals is turning into a mission. I stated to use large drill bit to take some of the head. Then used a small bit and drilled 4 holes in a cross pattern.
Then used a steel punch on an angle (through the axle hole) to loosen and eventually rotate to bolt. EXCELENT, one down, one to go.
I was in two minds about trying another ezy-out or simply repeat the mentioned process. But what are the chances of snapping two ezy-outs in a row? Apparently pretty high, snapped the second one as well. It is almost lunch time and my blood pressure is rising. Ok, same process as before, drilled the holes and used a steel punch. OUT. I’ve never been happier to see two totally mangled bolts, ever.
Time for a beer or two.
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"Keep the paint up, and the rubber down
1988 K100RT...#0096960 ..."Heisenberg"...Status: Work in progress