Reply With QuoteFork seal itself is easy to replace but removing the fork is where the work is at.
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One of my 03 vstar 1100 forks leaking oil. How hard it is to service. I suspect oil seal? Bike has only 14,k. I called Cycle world & Snow city but they charge about $300. Reading the manual, it looks doable. I'll appreciate any any advice. Thanks.
Fork seal itself is easy to replace but removing the fork is where the work is at.
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Doable and not difficult. It's a dirty job though. Ted at RoseyToes will also do it for about $300.
Here's how to do it on a 'Wing. Your Star should be similar.
I found OEM seals were much more expensive than aftermarket, so I went aftermarket. Honda seals for my bike were $82/side for seals and dust covers. I bought a pair of seals for $16. You'll need a pair of circlip pliers. Try Princess Auto.
do both sides at once, get factory parts and take your time. it isnt that dirty of a job and it is not that hard. on cruiser bikes the forks are very simple and straightforward. you shoudl look around on the net for an owners group and a step by step with the tools needed list as well. you will need a bike lift of some sort or some help from a friend. best of luck! it really isnt that hard and you will feel a great sense of accomplishment having done it yourself!
it's hard out here for a pimp
2000 valkyrie interstate
great hair
Good advice re: owners forum. I'd guess those are damper rod type forks. Sometimes it can be a bit of a bother getting the damper rod to not spin when taking the bottom allan bolt out (w/o air tool). Someone on the owners forum probably knows a trick. For example on my forks the head of a 3/4" bolt will fit nicely into the top of the damper rod. So it's bolt, threaded rod connecter, short piece of threaded rod.
Plus 1 on everything said.There is certainly enough information all over the Internet and as the guys mention a bike specific forum is an excellent resource but if you can't find one for your specific bike, look at this:
http://www.mtsac.edu/%7Ecliff/storage/gs/fork_seal_replacement_by_matchless.pdf
Standard forks are all fairly much the same. The most difficult part as Inreb says is holding the damper rod while spining the bolt out of the bottom of the fork. For suzuki dampers and Yamaha dampers you can make a tool using threaded rod and nuts jammed together as shown in Matchless's tutorial. In the case of the Suzuki tool, a piece of 1/2" threaded rod and two nuts locked together at one end will do the job. The flats on the nuts measure 19mm across which fits the depression in the top of the damper rod. In the case of Yamahas, You need nuts that are 17mm across. The tools I make are from a piece of 36" rod. I chop off about 8" and weld it to one end to form a T.
When removing the damper, I insert the tool ( after of course removing the fork caps...carefully...they are under spring pressure, any spacers, springs and old oil) and invert the fork so that I stand on the T and using a pneumatic driver and appropriate Allen head socket spin out the bolt. Be aware that the bolt is locktited in so it won't break free unless the damper is held immobile.
Careful when allowing the rod to come out as there will be other parts on the bottom of it that might go missing. In order to know what goes in there and how it goes back together you should refer to your manual. If you don't have one you can look up the appropriate parts schematic on sites like BikeBandit.
The other thing you need to know is the weight and amount of fork oil to put in as this is critical to getting proper performance out of the fork. that also will be covered in the manual or someone on the bike specific forum will be able to advise you.
This is not hard, just a little time consuming & dirty.
Give it a go and let us know how it works for you.
Cheers,
Spyug
Last edited by Spyug; 02-24-2010 at 02:39 PM.
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+1 to Spyug. And as others have already mentioned, get the service manual for your bike. It will include all the proper torque specs for:
damper rod allen bolt, fork caps, upper and lower triple clamp bolts, axle, axle pinch bolt(s), and brake caliper bolts. It's handy to have this info on a single reference sheet while you're doing the job. And use a torque wrench!
If you don't already have the manual and tools, doing this one job yourself instead of bringing it to a dealer will more than cover the expense.
Also, aftermarket seals are cheaper but OEM seals tend to last longer and be more durable. I've tried aftermarket seals, and replacement turned into a twice-annual chore.
Thanks all for the good advice. Now my other concern is that jacking it up. I have a CT jack but the highest I jacked it up before was about a few inches from the ground. In order to pull the fork down thru the tin cylinder(lower) cover of the forks, I need to jack it up much higher. Wouldn't the weight shift to the rear of the bike when I start disassembling the front tires, brake calipers, etc? Also the Clymer's manual says to dismantle the handlebar assembly including the top bridge before removing the top tin(cover). Is there any other tips to do this easier. Yamaha really had complicated such design eh? Thanks again guys.
Originally Posted by buchacoy
Put wooden blocks (2 by lumber or whatever) under the back wheel. Also make sure to use some kind of tie-down methed from the bike to the jack. It will want to move when you're razzling with the front end.
I'm not familiar with the covers......I'm going to look at exploded view, back in a jiff.
It looks like the lower triple clamp fork pinch bolts are covered by the chrome cover. If not, the bike would have to be tilted way back to clear the lower chrome covers when sliding the fork out. Probably, Clymer has this covered. Follow their advice
Last edited by inreb; 02-27-2010 at 04:22 PM.
I'm going to chime in here because i am a destroyer of fork seals.
Aside from all the work required to replace it, there is one factor that is absolutely crucial. (i speak from experience)
A very, very, close inspection of the inside surface of the slider.
3 main reasons i've seen fork seals fail.
1> Simply age and mileage.
2> Damage to the rubber seal from dirt or contaminated/dirty fork oil
3> Very small burrs or surface damage to the inside of the slider (most likely caused by sand/dirt etc..)
So i replaced my seals only to have one fail within 5k, i hadn't inspected the insides well enough. I had a couple rough spots.
Also, i should have done a better job keeping all the parts ultra clean during re-assembly.
It's amazing how an 03 bike with less than 15k, driven mostly on flat concrete(I'm very particular avoiding rough roads), had the fork seal busted. I had a 95 Vulcan 1500 I sold before I bought this Vstar and that one was bulletproof I tell ya. I really dont understand how the seal got busted so soon. Sometime in the fall, first time I tried to lift it with the Ct jack cause I was thinking of lifting the tires off concrete during winter storage.(CT jack been sitting in my garage, never been used). Do you think adjusting the jack up and down with bike front tire hitting the garage floor hard when releasing the jack could have caused the seals to dislodge, out of position or something? That's when I first noticed red oil on the side of the forks down the tire rims few days after. Oh well, I might just end up getting Snow City to service it, we'll see. Thanks again guys.
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