Hello chaps…
I’m fairly sure I need to change the front fork seals on my 1984 VF1000Fe to get through the MOT.
I’ve got workshop manuals, but any practical “tips” from anyone that’s done it would be appreciated.
Regards
Alex
Pay some one,In my opinion its the worst job ever to do on any bike,Just done my VF500 ones and you need so many special tools to them properly.Horrible to do.
Just my thoughts,other people might like doing them,i dont.
Cheers Crooky, although as you can imagine, that’s not quite what I wanted to hear. Even so, I’ll probably do it myself as I’m an engineer in the servo hydraulics industry… Being soaked in oil and unable to get seals back in is the norm.
hi alex… just done one of my fe fork seals tonight, having messed around for the best part of 20 years without a fork seal driver, the best advice i could give you is BUY OR BORROW ONE, just bought mine today, so much easier, three taps and the seal slips in perfectly square… took 3 hours from start to finish…
another tip would be, always slacken the large nut at the top of the fork leg off (the one that holds the fork spring in place) before you undo the pinch bolts on the yolks and remove the leg, this will save you time as you wont have to put your fork tube in a soft jawed vice to slacken the nut later…
i also think its best to buy genuine seals, david silvers has them at about £5 plus vat and post, so a little expensive but better than buying ebay cheapo’s (i once bought some from ebay and they would not fit).
Pete, thanks for the advice, that’s most encouraging. I agree about getting the OEM seals from David Silver. I think I can borrow a seal driver, but not sure it’s the correct size. If not I’ll buy one.
It’s a quite straightforward job,I’ve done it on all my VF using either original or asian cheapies without problem! I just machined a tool to refit the new fork seals from a piece of tube.
Are these very different from FF fork seals ? Im thinking they must be coz Ive just done mine and it was a doddle ?
Martin
Thanks all for the info. I’ll let you know how I get on. Alex
MOT passed today with just an advisory on the fork seals. I’ll replace the fork seals anyway as the old ones are on there way out, but at least I can do it when I feel like it. Considering all I’ve done to get it back on the road is change the engine oil and filter and charge the battery, I’m very pleased. ‘[:)]’
Both front fork oil seals done with no major problems. One piston tube rotated when trying to remove bottom bolt even with the spring in place, but I found a plain wooden broom handle (about 28mm diameter) gently tapped in held it with no risk of damage. Everything inside the forks is still in very good nick so well worth doing.