Fookin Forks!!!

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Falco Frank
SuperSport Racer
SuperSport Racer
Posts: 429
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 8:48 am
Location: Hartlepool, UK

Fookin Forks!!!

#1 Post by Falco Frank » Fri Jul 12, 2024 7:03 pm

I'm afraid this isn't a happy tale but hopefully will have a happy ending...

On my 2nd rideout this year I discovered a few drops of oil on the garage floor and quickly determined a fork seal was leaking.
I tried a seal-cleaning blade that I made myself from a plastic carton (good old YouTube) but, no difference after a few days.

So, decision made; fork seals, oil and some adjustable fork lock stops were ordered from the Brill team at AP.

I already had a fork (dis-)assembly kit from a few years ago when I bit the bullet trying differing springs on another bike so, fitting the seals myself was a bit of a formality; once I managed to find the damn kit!

Let down No1:
After removing and stripping down one fork went very well, I was gutted to find that the fork seals sent from AP turned out to be Pyramid brand rather than the OEM mentioned on their website. I removed NOK seals from my radial forks (which came from an RSV-R). I have had Pyramid seals fail within a year, previously on other forks, to explain my disappointment.
AP however were excellent and issued an immediate refund once I'd returned the unwanted ones.

As luck would have it, I revisited a Fork service video (good old YouTube) from a very trusted tech who mentioned that he now trusts SKF fork seals so, the hunt was on...

The very helpful SKF distributor I found for the UK only deals wholesale but, maybe someone can use them:

https://www.twsgb.co.uk/All-Suspension-Parts

Thankfully, they have a preferred motorcycle outlet - dirt bike based but the owner was very knowledgeable and answered all my questions easily AND sent the parts quickly and free of charge 🙂
It appears that to Joe Public, only the full 2-part kits are available of scraper and main seal, together.

https://dirthut.co.uk/fork-seals-988-c.asp

*KITG-43S for 43mm forks are listed, as an example for a Honda CR125 (1987)

Let Down No2!
The new seal was quite a tight fit inside the fork and I wasn't happy with the previous method I used of cutting and re-using the old seal so, some dedicated eBay browsing paid dividends in that adjustable fork seal drivers are now available to cover a range of fork diameters. Sadly, the idiot seller I chose, let me down in every way possible not in the least, with no reply in any way at all to all my messages. Thankfully eBay refunded me the day after I reported the seller.

Thankfully for me - Machine Mart sell a Laser Tools seal driver for only a few quid more than I paid so, I'm waiting on that before I complete the forks.

Finally, here is a link to the excellent YT video that started the ball rolling:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-S8e-cuj-A[/youtube]
01 Hyper Falco / 93 - 900ss Ducati (944cc)

My Ducati Alter-ego = Iconic944ss

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