fork seal saver?

[scorch]

Anyone have a fork seal saver? like this so you dont get fork legs leaking? Another question is how successful have you been with the plstic slide in to clean the seals and hopefully fix the leaking?


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was considering this to see i can fix my seal leak

 

[Tenman]

They both work. Get the xtra long fork covers. I've had the short ones. They aren't as good.

 

[RCinNC]

I've had Seal Savers on my bike for 86,000 miles now, on everything from sand to concrete. I don't have any experience with the Seal Mate type devices , mainly because my fork seals have never leaked. I know they do work to fix seal leaks when the leak is being caused by dirt or grit trapped in between the fork seal and fork tube. Cleaning the seal with one of those would always be my first step with a leaking seal, before I started diving deeper.

 

[lund]

Its all relative, on highway or tarmac bikes will have little to no issues with fork leakage. While offroad usage will require more preventative measures and even more so for extreme use.
Similarly, Yamaha recommends you replace your air filter element every 37000km/24000mil. *UNDER IDEA CONDITIONS*
Any type of NON idea condition will off set this.
On my bike I use both the sock and fork protector because of how I use the bike. But it just doesn't end there, I still need to maintain the protection by removing the guard and removing the sock, washing the sock, then drying. Finally assembling back together.
There is NO SUCH THING AS PERMANENT NO MAINTENANCE fix solution. The more dirty your environment is the more you need to look after it.

 

[tntmo]

I got a leaky fork seal on a big ride to Alaska, as did my buddy on his Africa Twin. I used an old business card to clean out the fork seals, it's what I had. His seals leaked again after a few thousand miles and mine were still holding. We used another business card on his, and that fixed them up and he's never had another issue.

Mine started leaking again after the trip, I tried to clean them and they got worse. I changed the seals and installed the seal savers. I had some noticeable wear on the fork bushings and really need to do another service on them and replace the bushings. If you're doing the seals, just order the bushings as well!

 

[scorch]

I got a leaky fork seal on a big ride to Alaska, as did my buddy on his Africa Twin. I used an old business card to clean out the fork seals, it's what I had. His seals leaked again after a few thousand miles and mine were still holding. We used another business card on his, and that fixed them up and he's never had another issue.

Mine started leaking again after the trip, I tried to clean them and they got worse. I changed the seals and installed the seal savers. I had some noticeable wear on the fork bushings and really need to do another service on them and replace the bushings. If you're doing the seals, just order the bushings as well!

thats a good hack. Did you have to cut the card to a specific shape?

 

[Tenman]

Shape it like the seal saver and make sure there is no sharp edges. It doesn't take much to ruin a seal.

 

[tntmo]

thats a good hack. Did you have to cut the card to a specific shape?

I just round it out around the fork leg so it fits closely to the contour, pull the exterior dust seal down a few inches so you can access the seal, slowly work a corner of the card under the fork seal and then work it around the diameter of the fork leg.

 

[scorch]

I cut a piece of plastic and slid it up under the seal and managed to stop the leak. Need to order these fork savers so this does not happen again

 

[moto.monk]

Per a mechanic at racetech don't use these socks as it will be like sand paper. I took mine off and threw them in the trash. However I've had issue with racetech in the past. I would say if professionals don't use them then...

 

[Don T]

I have been using fork "socks" on my adventure bikes for years with no issues and have never experienced a leaking fork seal.
For the last 7 years I've used the short Kriega option.

 

[Cycledude]

Both fork seals on my 2013 started leaking bad at about 13,000 miles on very dirty Alaska trip with no socks, replaced seals and bushings with All Balls and socks at about 18,000 miles and never had another leak. At 50,000 miles I traded for a new 2018 mostly to get cruise control, transferred the socks to the new bike and after 30,000 miles fortunately still no leaking fork seals, I do remove them occasionally to give the socks a good wash and dry.

 

[sky4]

ive got some mid length ones. i think i want to get some kind of hard covers.

I pulled the neoprene covers off on a trip to washington (from CO) and around yellowstone my right fork leg was leaking all over my goddamn brake. ended up changing the seal in that side in my friend's boat. (good sized boat) it was quite the adventure, but i won't run USD forks without some kind of guard ever again. To be fair I think those seals were 3-4 years old with probably 30k miles on them.

I threw a set of SKS seals and wipers in both sides with new oil last winter. I'll likely go through them again next winter. new oil and seals every 2 years seems like a good idea. I average about 14k miles a year.

 

[jrusell]

If your seal gets nicked or you have a sharp burr on a fork tube from a rock hit cleaning the seal will obviously not fix a leak. But most of the time a little bit of grit or dirt will get under the fork seal and allow oil to escape through the gap it creates.

For the older crowd who might have an old photo album around, a film negative strip works perfect to clean a seal.
Pry the fork wiper out and push it to the bottom of the leg so you can see the fork seal itself.

Insert the film and slowly work it up/down and around the tube. Some oil will leak, but that is good as the oil helps flush the dirt out of the seal lips.

Clean it up and pump the forks a few times, clean again and hopefully you will be good to go.

I am a big fan of brand Shock Sox fork covers, but you can't just install them and forget about them.
I like the velcro because I can quickly take them off and wash them out in soapy water, dry them and then reinstall.

Letting them get dirty and start holding sand/debris is a good way to get scratches and damage your tubes, so keep them clean and they will greatly extend the like of your fork seals IMO.

 

[SuckSqueezeBangBlow]

I have some Moose Racing Shock Socks on the forks. Been through tonnes of dirt, mud and rain and never had a problem with them.

 

[okiegtrider]

Have had good luck with the socks, in spite of receiving the same admonition someone else posted from my favorite mechanic type. Never used the tool, but fashioned one from some plastic packaging and remedied a seeping seal. I say go for the socks for sure.

 

[spudleydoright]

I am a big fan of brand Shock Sox fork covers, but you can't just install them and forget about them.
I like the velcro because I can quickly take them off and wash them out in soapy water, dry them and then reinstall.

I'm going to order a set of the Shock Sox for my S10. What size did you find works best? I was going to order the 6" for 37 to 50mm size. My bike is currently 1k miles away so I can't look at it for reference.

 

[tntmo]

I have a bunch of homemade seal cleaner tools here that I make out of gallon milk jugs. I give them to people who bring their bikes by, always good to have one in your tool pack.

 

[Cycledude]

I'm going to order a set of the Shock Sox for my S10. What size did you find works best? I was going to order the 6" for 37 to 50mm size. My bike is currently 1k miles away so I can't look at it for reference.

My Shock Sox happen to be 6 inch, have no idea if there the ideal size but been using them without any leaks for about 64,000 miles. I do take them off a couple times per year for a good wash and dry.

 

[jrusell]

I'm going to order a set of the Shock Sox for my S10. What size did you find works best? I was going to order the 6" for 37 to 50mm size. My bike is currently 1k miles away so I can't look at it for reference.

Those are the one I use. (6 " U street shock sox)