Replacing Fork Seals and rebuild of front forks - xs650 ???

[SloKrt]

Ok, stupid question of the day here.

My fork seals are crap and leaking. add to that that the front end is very mushy and i have decided one of the first things i need to do on my project is to take apart my front shocks and re-build.

Since im new to working on bikes (beyond general maintenance) i thought id ask for some pointers before diving in. keep in mind that im building a cafe/tracker hybrid and i want to improve the handling

What things should i look out for?

Is it necessary to replace the springs inside?

What fork oil should i use?

Where can i get a good fork seal re-build kit?

also ive seen that guys put a section of PVC in the bottom of the lowers to increase pre-load and thus stiffening the ride and say it improves handling? is this true?

any other tips or pointers or general information would be helpful too...

Thanks in advance!

 

[hillsy]

You should be able to find fork seals on eBay or MikesXS. I've heard of people having bad luck with cheap seals, but I've tried all types over the years and haven't found much difference.


If your springs are sagged, you can put a spacer up the TOP of your forks to increase the pre-load, but it's not the "best" fix. New springs are the best (Progressive, etc) but come at a cost. Still, a spacer will probably be better than what you have right now....


Fork oil? Probably 15 or 20 wt for a bike of that vintage. People sometimes use transmission oil, but really, fork oil is cheap and you can choose the right viscosity easily.


Easiest way to disassemble the forks is with an air impact gun on the damper bolt. Otherwise you need a tool to put down inside the fork to stop the damper rod from spinning.


And refer to the manual to ensure you have all the wave washers and springs the right way round (and that you have the same of everything in both forks).

 

[Captmilk76]

You should probably get new springs and seals , I lowered my xs650 and found ou the hard way that 30 year old springs go bad.. I also got new for cap orings.
http://www.mikesxs.net/products-19.html#products
Get a lowering kit here
http://hughshandbuilt.blogspot.com/p/xs650-lowering-kits.html?m=1
Also i shaved and polished my own fork legs and triple tree top...turned out great

 

[hillsy]

"Lowering Kit"?

Wow - $45 for 2 bits of tube :

 

[SloKrt]

Great info guys! this deffinately helps.

I wasnt sure about the seal kit from mikes.... ive heard mixed reviews. I guess its like any other aftermarket parts, they will all work, some just better than others.

I like the idea of lowering the front a bit. but how much??? CaptMilk... Got any pics of yours lowered and how much?

so, if im reading the suggestions correctly, i should be replacing my springs too? the bike has about 13k on the clock.... would it be safe to assume that the mushy front end is a result of leaking fluid thus less pressure and and fluid for the dampening?

Any suggestions on budget friendly springs? since seal kits dont seem to be too expensive, could i get away with a seal replacement and upgrade springs later? my plan as of now is to make this thing safe for this riding season and enjoy it a bit then tear down during the winter months and re-build.

any input?

 

[hillsy]

New seals and the correct amount of oil will more than likely improve things dramatically.

See how much pre-load is in the springs when you remove the fork caps. If there's none, put an appropriately sized spacer in there for now until you can get new springs.

The caps should take a reasonable amount of force to push back down, but not too much that it's impossible to do by hand.

I've used coins in the past to shim fork springs - they're easy to come by and they can be cheap ;D