| Author | Message | ||
     Dart |
One of my wifes fork seals is leaking on her 2000 Blast. My dealership told her it would be 2 hours labor plus parts ($300.00/fork seal), and that she should have both seals done at the same time. I'm not home yet from being mobilized (Navy Seabee Reservist). I agree that both should be replaced at the same time, but have any of you heard of a fork seal costing $300.00 (per seal)? My wife might have mis-understood what the dealer said, also, I have to consider this also a possibility  . | ||
| Jprovo |
Dart, $300 for the whole job seems more like it. It's like $20-40 for the seals, and you practically have the job done if you do one side, so I can't see it as $300 per seal. James (Thank you James - Moderator) edited by ezblast on August 05, 2003 | ||
| Newt |
I think I would ask what the factory flat rate time is on that job. And what is the shops labor rate? I've done more fork seal changes than I can remember, none on the Blast though, but jeez, the job is very simple. If they want that kind of money find a reputable independent shop, that's waaayyy too much! Reasonable would be $40 or $50 a tube plus parts. No way that job on this bike should be more than $150.00 and even that seems a bit high to me. If the tech knows what he's doing he'll get the front end off the ground, pull the caliper, move the dust seals up off the sliders, remove the retaining rings over the fork seals (if there are any),remove the bottoming cone retaining bolts and pull the sliders off together with the entire wheel assembly. Change the seals and re-install all above. Open the top caps, fill with the required amount of fluid, drop her down and test ride. Maybe we should do a search for a Buell flat rate manual and post it here. I can't believe the prices for some of the service work I've been seeing. Sorry for ramblin but I've done this for a living and know what is involved, on both sides of the service order. And I tend to get, lets just say distressed, when it comes to cost of service. | ||
| Xgecko |
I did springs, bushings, and seals on both legs for about $30 in parts (not including the springs) and once I figured out the clip removal it took me less than an hour for both tubes...they are milking the job and/or are likely using HD/big Buell hours for the estimate...or both. I realize that Motorcycle service labor rates are about twice that of cars but HD dealers seem to stiff people more than usual | ||
| Ldbandit |
Newt, Awesome procedure. Can it be used to change springs too? "HD dealers seem to stiff people more than usual" Yup. But they have a great buying experience!  | ||
| Dart |
Thanks for the info, I may just tell my wife to wait until I get demobilized from active duty and sent home. Then just do the job myself, it sounds like a fairly simple procedure. Should I be changing to a different weight fork oil at this time also, for better handling and ride? | ||
| Jprovo |
If the tech knows what he's doing Sadly, the case with many HD dealerships is that they don't seem to know what their doing, and labor rates are like $100/hour. That's why a lot of Buell owners end up using Independent shops or doing their own work. Newt, it's kind of like you describe it, except you have to drain the forks from the fork caps (no oil drain holes), the fork caps are not threaded, and are held in with retaining rings(which is no big deal really, just a pain in the ass), and you have to remove the front wheel/axle to remove bolt holding the sliders to the tube. But I agree, the job's a cakewalk. I'll do mine when the time comes. James | ||
| Newt |
LD, All you have to do to change springs is get the weight off the front end and pull 'em through the top caps. Real easy job, especially if you have a helper who can push/pull the sliders up while you grab the spring(s). Hey Dart, I have not changed fork oil for ride characteristics on the Blast, but I'm thinking someone on the board has at some time or another. I've often wondered about modifying the damper rod vs. just a viscosity change (guess I need to read all the posts). A special "Thank You" for your service in the military, hats off and a big round of applause. The Sea Beez do a hell of a job for us. I've got a close friend who lives outside Nashua, NH who loves to ride (also a Vet), if you might be in that area sometime and have the mind to, I can send you his e-mail. Heard a quote at a dealership once, "We f@*k the other guy and pass the savings on to you". No such thing as a bad dealership, just some that are better than others. And I've been blessed to see both. | ||
| Newt |
Jprovo, You're right. My bad on pulling the whole thing as an assy, I knew to pull the bottoming cone bolts (slider to tube) and that the wheel/tire and axle have to be out of the way to access them, duh. Its alot easier to do it than explain it. Got caught up in that $300 for a seal change. Can't you drain the fluid through the "slider to tube" bolt holes???? | ||
| Ezblast |
Yes - I run the 7.5 oil - being a big guy I wanted to slow down the rebound a little up front. A dealer friend sugested just going one up on the fork oil, and it worked for me. GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Jprovo |
Newt, I guess you could drain the fork from the bottoming cone bolts, the one front end I've had apart had drain screws so I didn't even think about it. I'm a shade tree mechanic myself. When I did the front end on my '75 Sportster, the damn cone bolts wouldn't come loose, they would just spin the damper rod. What I did was yank the whole tube/slider assembly, flip it over, and lean on it while I used an impact driver to loosen the bolts (hammer/screwdriver type). The spring pressure and me leaning on it was what kept the damper rod from spinning. Fun stuff. The satisfaction of knowing who to blame when something goes wrong (myself) is well worth the time spent. | ||
| Newt |
James, you don't sound shade tree to me. You nailed it on the sporty. That's the only way unless you have a compressor and air impact. Just out of curiosity, what carb you running on the '75? This may not be the place, but if its a Keihin I can tell you some of the mods I've done and some other tricks that can be done for free. They are what I will do if I go to a non- auto choke model. Also have an early 38mm Qwicksilver (actually got to talk with Red Edmonton (sp?), the designer a few times over the phone) and a round slide Mikuni. Still undecided which to use. Not in any rush though. Love fiddlin' with carbs the best. | ||
| Jprovo |
Newt, On the Sporty, I was running a Mikuni 38mm roundslide into a Branch manifold. As long as you keep an eye on the air mixture screw, it's a great carb. It has a rubber intake boot like the CV on the Blast. I was actually thinking of converting to a CV before I sold it to my Dad. Selling it to my Dad is a blessing in disguise. He'll spend the money to restore the bike, I'll get to wotk on it with him, and when he gets tired of it, I'll buy it back. James | ||
| Xgecko |
BTW when you order parts for the fork order bushings as well as seals (you could also get her springs from Works Performance they are very nice) it is too easy to mess things up and if you don't they aren't that expensive an insurance policy where as running a bad bushing will only make for more seal problems down the road. BTW changing the springs was one of the better things I have done...I did play a bit with oil but returned to stock...I just liked the feel better for everyday riding | ||
| Dart |
Newt, Thanks for the kind words. I think I may just keep the same weight fork oil (my wife only weighs 120 anyhow). I'm going to be changing to a different weight fork oil for my cyclone though. Xgecko, I'll use your sugestion about the bushings and I might just check into new springs from Works Perf. Thanks | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Dart, Just an fyi. I just picked up a seal, upper and lower bushing for my M2. Total was less than $13.00 including tax. I've got BelRay 7.5W in my Cyclone right now with Traxion Dynamics 1kg springs. I'm going back to 5w when I put in the new seal. It's a bit over dampened on compression even with the adjustment all the way out. For me the new springs made a big difference. I'm about 235 with helmet, boots, jacket etc. Brad | ||
| Ltwin |
Since I have to replace a seal also on the '03 Blast, I was wondering just how much oil goes into each Showa standard 37mm fork. | ||
| Ezblast  |
For your convieniance - please see the section in this knowledge vault entitled - Blast Manual - that link will take you to a PDF manual that will give you such specifics and is a usefull reference. GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Ltwin |
http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/bc/6b9bff11_L4060ba72/bc/Blast+++Manual/sm01b.pdf?BCI7c 2BB8b2LNTI3 Found it. Thanks EZ. Great reference material. |
