fork seal problems on a mark 2

[carl]

I have been changing the seals this week and have had a nightmare time! Afer getting them in and adding correct amount of 10 weight oil,(which took me the best part of 6 hours for the first leg and 1 hour for the second) i now find that the forks seem very stiff when re assembled in the bike. They feel nice when out but as soon as they are bolted in to the yokes they feel like they are sticking. have checked the air gap, have left axle clamp bolt loose pumped forks up/down, have slackened top yoke in case of out of alignment, spun outer legs in case they are bent like i have had on conventional forks. But they still feel reluctant to compress. is it just that they are maybe stiffer than they where due to oil thickness? I have another mark two in the workshop belonging a mate and they dive at the lightest hint of front brake where as mine seem to prefer to flex the fork leg in preference to compressing. Any help/ advice will be most appreciated cos i am about ready for paying pete to laugh at me while i spend an obscene amount of wonga on a job i know ican do myself. Ta ta

[SteveCRM]

When I first done my seals they too were very stiff. so before I took bike back for MOT I took it for a long ride down a very bumpy track called The Ridgeway, that seemed to bed them in well. When I had first done them I was worried that I had done something wrong beacuse when you pushed the suspension down it would not return but that sorted itself after a while.

One other thing to check is that you havant bent the copper looking rings cos if they are out of shape that could be a problem I did have to sand mine down with some very fine emery cloth. also check the fabric stuff on the inside of these rings if a bit of that is folded back it would make your suspension stiff. Unfortunatly it means pulling them apart again to check this.

I personally would take it for a long ride first to see if it sorts itself out. but its up to you. let me know how you get on.

SteveCRM

[BOOMA]

Hi from your post you have replaced the fork seals on a MK2 . I am in the process of doing the same ..however i'm stuck ! i've removed the cartridge, spring.. in fact every thing except the upper outer tube ,the lower inner tube and the fork seal assembley. I expected the lower leg to pull straight off now . it doesn't , do i have to remove the seal assembley and how do i remove it ,is it screwed onto the upper tube ,if so how do i unscrew it without damaging it ? i would really appreciate guidence !!!!!!!!!

[rikkster]

gidday booma, when you dissassembled the forks did you undo the the soft/ hard adjuster form the bottom of the fork leg. ( it,s usually easier if you use an air gun/ rattle gun) after this bolt is removed, it,s usually as simple as slightly sliding the shaft into the body & while gripping the upper fork casing in a soft jawed vise, slide the shaft out quickly & repeatedly, \"slide hammer the seal & bushes out of the housing. also another tip is to linish the surface of the hard chromed fork shaft with 600 grade wet & dry sand paper.( i personally used a stip of wet & dry sand paper & a shoe lace. wrap the shoe lace around the strip of paper around the shaft & see saw the ends of the lace back & foward) this takes the glaze off the surface of the shaft. also use a lubricant (wd 40 or similar) on the sandpaper. also assemble bushes & seals with snow white petroleum jelly. also from past experience, coat the outer edge of the bush with petroleum jelly for ease of fitting. hope this helps. had to find out the hard way myself. cheers rikkster.
\"ride it like ya stole it.\"

[BOOMA]

Big thanks to Rikkster.. the bushes came out ...if just a bit of a knock ..1 hr later both legs done ..2 hrs later all complete .No stiffness with me or the front forks..sound !! next project fork seals on the GIXER..