| Author | Message | ||
     Skifastbadly |
So I thought I'd fixed the leaking fork seal on my 08 Uly with the card scrape trick but turns out not to be the case. Stopped for a coke 100 miles from the house today and fluid was all over the place. Damn, that was a pucker inducing ride home, wondering if my rotor would get all coated and make the front (that is, only) brake on the bike useless. Obviously, since I'm not posting this from the great beyond, I made it home. So, now I need to repair this, and I'm wondering, as the thread title says, whether to take it in or do it myself. I've reviewed some of the posts here and it looks doable but a major pain in the ass. On the other hand, taking it in to my marginally competent dealer doesn't thrill me either. So, without asking for great detailed instructions (yet), how much of a bear is this for a reasonable garage mechanic without any of the proper tools? And for those of you who've had the dealer do it, what should I expect to pay? I think if the dealer could do it for less than a hundred bucks, I'd take it to them...but I assume it's more. What sez youse? | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I did mine a couple of weeks back and glad I did. Never gave it a thought about taking it to a dealer. You'll need to go a get a deep well 1 1/4" socket to properly break free the top cap. Might as well change the oil on the other side also. Seal is only about 3 and 1/2 bucks. No need to change out the dust seal unless you really want to. Mine had over 30,000 miles and I reused it. But they are only $5 each. Take your time. First time will take longer than necessary but once you are done you'll know how to do it and wonder what all the worry was about in the first place. Use your Service manual and do a search on fork seal or fork. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/631716.html | ||
| Etennuly |
I did mine two weeks ago for the first time. I highly recommend an impact wrench to take the top caps loose. I need to do the other side as soon as I can get back to it just for the oil change and I will do the seal while I am in there. This first one took me about two hours total. I managed to go 55,000 miles without changing the fork oil. As dirty as it was I would not recommend going beyond half that. I won't again. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Electraglider/Etennuly: The forks were changed from 07 to 08. So the tools you're mentioning, which year are we talking about? Thanks | ||
| Mark_weiss |
It's not really hard to do, just a bit fussy. Getting the top cap back in place requires careful setting (just take notes) and the seal can be a bit squirmy and might require some foul language to coax into place. As you will see when searching the topic, the "special tools" required can generally be home-made. | ||
| Needs_o2 |
Skifast, did you get your seals replaced? Just found oil on the garage floor, blown seal, my turn. Did you do it yourself? If so, how did it go? | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I did mine a few months back. Not an easy process, but definitely doable. I used a short piece of metal pipe tapped with a couple long bolts to avoid buying a fork spring compressor. Then used some pvc pipe and a hose clamp to avoid buying a fork seal driver. Came out to $42 in parts + $18 in supplies to make the tools. The bike is under warranty, and I still spent less money than gas would have cost me to take it to my nearest competent Buell dealer. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
I called the dealer and asked how much it would cost me to have it done if I brought in the fork, he said about 110. I'm planning on taking it in. It seems like a fussy operation, and I've got other stuff to do. I'll change my own tires, oil, etc, but this is just one of those things I'm more likely to screw up than get right. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Smart man, Skifastbadly. You don't want to be a forkoiljobreluctantly type of guy!  In all seriousness, you are smart to follow your intuition. It would have been fun to read your repair account though, I'm sure. Your belt change on the side of the road report was great! (Message edited by buellerxt on June 24, 2011) | ||
| Jphish |
Hey Skifast' - where you takin it? debueller (Jerry) has had pretty good luck with Kevin, the tech in Renton. PNWuly (Paul) takes his to Fife. Let us know how it turns out. If I recall correctly (tho I seldom do) a few years ago I paid around $250 for a fork oil service at Puyallup - but they since discontinued Buell work. I dont have a Uly anymore, so don't take mine anywhere.  Do miss her. Im now back to oiling chains again on the tiger. But becoming expert at laying on my back and guessing what 20-30 mm looks like. Best to ya. j | ||
| Skifastbadly |
jp you in the seattle area? i gotta tell ya, i moved here two years ago from utah and one of the biggest disappointments is the absolute lack of interest (or my inability to connect) with beast riders. in utah, i rode with a bunch of guys. here, not once. | ||
| Jphish |
Yeah Skifast'- close by in thriving metropolis of Tumwater. Closest Uly owner to me, is Paul in Tacoma, and Casey (who bought my Uly) in Snohomish. Jerry lives in Kitsap area. We ought to see if we can put together a ride. I only have 'tiggers' left in stable - but havent been kicked out of the "club"...yet. johnpdaly@comcast.net | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I always try to put things in perspective. How long did it take me to make the amount of money it will cost to have some "tech" f it up. Changing the fork oil is not rocket science. You can bet that the grease monkey that works on your bike will not measure that oil like is called for in the manual. Do it yourself. Life is about learning new things everyday. Letting someone do your seal and oil change is like watching people do stuff on tv, interesting but certainly not satisfying. | ||
| Darrell |
I dove into replacing my fork seals after reading Electraglider's post on it and some other posts on it here. I thought I was way in over my head. After it was all said and done, I was left shaking my head, wondering why I ever paid the dealership what I did the first time I had my forks serviced. It really was super simple. Take your time, follow the service manual, and ask questions here. What was a few hour job that first time could be done in about an hour next time. Thanks to all previous posters on the subject of fork seal service. -darrell | ||
| Buellerxt |
Congrats Darrell. Good job! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
That is what this type of forum is all about. It certainly isn't about taking things to the dealer. If that were the case, why even ask about it here? With a service manual in hand and the ability to ask specific questions here most anything can be accomplished by any of us. Good post Darrell. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
I would ask about it here because it I could get it done at the dealer for 100 bucks, and IF the reports from the badweatherbikers indicated that it was seven hours of work and half the guys that attempted it ended up destroying their forks or crashing into trees as the result of sudden front end failure of some sort, that would have a significant impact on my decision. (Message edited by skifastbadly on June 29, 2011) (Message edited by skifastbadly on June 29, 2011) | ||
| Mnrider |
If you don't feel comfy doing it yourself just take the fork in. It's riding season and there's a million things to do this time of year. | ||
| Buellerxt |
+1 Mnrider. Your time is worth something Skifast and I'm sure you have other things to do. Some folks enjoy doing such jobs and some folks are very tight and would spend many hours to save a buck, big deal and no problem. Do what you want to do and have no guilt from the few in the peanut gallery. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Too late. I've already been shamed into ordering the fork seals and oil from Al. Since I essentially dismantled my 07 and parted it out with nothing more than a pair of vice grips and a butter knife, this'll be no problem at all, I'm sure. Or, as they say in Wisconsin, my home state, "Hold my beer, I'm gonna try something." | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
There are those that can and those that can't. It looks like Ski likes being in the "CAN Camp". When you're on the side of the road with a problem it's always best to be in the self sufficient world of the "Can Camp" because you at least have a chance of getting things running again. Ski, if you run into a problem, we are here for you. Sure it is about saving a buck here and there but it is also about doing things for yourself and being self reliant, learning things and not having to run the bike to a dealer and hope for the best. I'll wager that folks here that work on their own bikes have them running more than folks rely on someone else to do their fixing for them. There is something very satisfying about doing your own maintenance, even more so for things like fork oil changes and fork seal replacements that cost quite a bit at the dealer. When Ski gets through doing his own I know he will be glad he took the time to do it for himself. The first time through always takes more time than the second but so what, I mean how many hours per year do most of us waste watching T.V.? | ||
| Needs_o2 |
I mean how many hours per year do most of us waste watching T.V.? OR surfing the net! Ski, +1 on doing it yourself. My seals should arrive from Al today and hopefully I'll be riding by the 4th of July!!! After your done, you'll know that much more about your ride. | ||
| Pnw_uly |
Ski - Will gladly "hold your beer" and pass you tools once you get set up to to the service. Agree with the "do-it-your-selfers", would be happy to assist (and learn)... Have done the routine oil, wheels, belt replacement, comfort kit install, etc., but fork service looks like too much finesse work for my neanderthal methods... Let me know if you want a hand, or once complete, to link up to get off the pavement... | ||
| Mnrider |
Too late I've already been shamed into ordering the fork seals and oil from Al. Jeez next thing you know everyone will want to fix their own cars and I'll be out of a job.  | ||
| Mnrider |
I'm in the process of replacing my left fork slider. Hit a big rock when I was on gravel road ride in northern MN and it bent the slider and oil was leaking. Took it all apart my self but I brought the fork to a local shop to drive the seal and bushing in.It was worth the five bucks to have it done so the tube and seal wern't damaged. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Here's the seal driver I whipped together for just a few bucks. Worked slick as a whistle. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/631411.html?1305252910 | ||
| Mnrider |
Just finnished my fork project. I ordered the fork slider last saturday from my local HD/Buell dealer and had the part thursday,pretty fast.It was $155 for the slider and seals.  I used 2 tie down staps(only one in the photo) with drill bits in the holes with it mounted in my bike stand.  I took the tube and slider to the Yamaha shop and had them put the seal and bushing in. I did the damper adjustment and now I want to take my other fork apart and check the damper adjustment on that one-maybe some other time. My top cap came off easy but the bolt on the bottom that holds the damper was very tight. Measured a ziptie 113 mm down to check the level and it held about 18 oz of type E. I was only down a week so no problem getting parts so far. Thanks to folks on here it went well. (Message edited by mnrider on July 02, 2011) | ||
| Skifastbadly |
And so it begins... While the seal hasn't arrived yet, I had some time this afternoon, and having the job hanging over my head like a term paper I hadn't started, I figured I might as well get the disassembly going. My first job out of college was programming software for numerical control machine tools. (For those of you who are tracking that so far, I wrote post processors for lathes.) This was a time when many of the machines were starting to come over from Japan, and I was completely dependent on the manuals supplied with the machines and the associated controllers. To paraphrase Frank Zappa, they were apparently written by people who couldn't write by way of interviews with people who couldn't talk and then handed over to translators who couldn't. Thus, I'd wrestle with memorable phrases like "Please not to enjoy over speeding the control, else to cause death or serious malfunction on some models." So I wouldn't go quite so far on the Buell manual, but it's clear that someone handed the CAD drawings over to someone and said "figure it out." Thus statements such as "Remove the dust seal." Ok, uh, how? At least it wasn't "Completely disassemble the fork" but it felt that way. So thanks to this group, I never would have figured out how to use straps to compress the spring that worked great. The fork is all apart, save I haven't yet removed the actual seal because at the very last moment I noticed that it's not symmetric and I'd be glad to have the old one on before I had the new one in my hand. Taking things apart has always been my forte, putting them back together again is another story. I'll let you know how that goes. Time for a beer. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
You have to remove the wavy snap ring before the seal will be able to come out. It takes a hard pull of the lower fork leg to pop that seal out so don't think that it is expected to just slide out of there without effort. Putting the new seal in is a breeze. Lube the tube where it is to end up and then the seal should easily be pushed into place with your homemade seal driver. If it doesn't go fairly easily then one of those pieces above it must be binding. If that is the case then pull the seal out and make sure those pieces that are above the seal are where they are supposed to be then retry the seal and it will go easily. Good luck. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
You have to remove the wavy snap ring before the seal will be able to come out. It takes a hard pull of the lower fork leg to pop that seal out so don't think that it is expected to just slide out of there without effort. Why does that remind me of my prom night? Anyway, yeah, I have it all apart, I meant to say I didn't slide the seal off the tube because I wanted to get the orientation right on the new one. Thanks for your support. Is the 2" ID (for the home made tool) the right one for 08 and above forks? It appears to be a bit small.... (Message edited by skifastbadly on July 02, 2011) |
