Anyone know of a link to fork seal replacement article?

[jskene]

My fork seals are leaking, and I need to replace them.

 

Does anyone know of a link to fork seal replacement article?

 

I seem to remember reading somewhere that you do not need to remove the forks from the bike to do this job.

[ELP_JC]

I'd suggest you provide info on the bike; doubt there's an 'expert' on ALL forks for K bikes. Good luck.

[jskene]

Sorry, it's a '98 K1200RS.

[RFW]

Sorry, it's a '98 K1200RS.

I was under the impression that Telelever front forks were simply guide tubes that contained no significnat amount of oil.

 

Bob.

[jskene]

I would have thought so too, except that mine are leaking through a seal at the top. The parts fiche shows a multi-components seal, and the service manual says they take 0.51L of BMW telescopic fork oil.

[rdfrantz]

The KRS fork system is the same as on the R11xxRT. Quite a few years ago fork seal replacement was covered in a graphic article on this board. I either looked the pictures over or saw the process underway at a Tech Daze and quickly went back to what I was doing seeing nothing unusual about the Process - very straight forward.

 

It is NOT trivial though. But, it is just Tedious, not Arduous. The fender is in the way, and there are brakes and lines, and speedo and stuff that need to be gotten out of the way. And there sits the Tele-lever.

 

It is less complicated than common forks because there are no springs and no damping assemblies. The oil is present simply as a lubricant. Consequently the seals are not terribly tight since they are not required to hold back damping pressures.

 

I'd guess the job can be done in about 4 to 5 hours with the shop manual for the RS, and I'd have the Haynes R1100RT shop guide handy as well since I believe it covers the process.

 

For more info, I'd check ibmwr.org and the other (newish) K-bike site.

 

Good luck with what you find.

[wenglish]

Check here:

http://www.k-bikes.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=

 

If you do a search in the Technical, Repair and Maintenance section on "fork seals" there is an extensive thread on this. Most say it is fairly easy. I heard the hardest thing is to get the correct seals as there were a couple different sizes in the '97-'98 years.

 

I need to do this myself just been putting it off.

[BrentBoshart]

I've done this on my 2001 K1200RS and its a simple 30-40 minute job. First support the front end of the bike underneath after removing the belly pan. Take the front wheel off as if I remember right, the front axle is removed to access the fork oil drain plugs. The drain plugs are one time use so you'll need new ones. Remove the handlebars (make sure you keep them oriented upright so air does not accidently get in the front brake or clutch master cylinder.) Then, loosen the triple clamp around the slider tubes. At this point you can carefully pull the sliders straightout through the triple clamp. Be very careful with the sliders, you don't want any nicks or scratches or you will have a chronic leak problem! Remove the top cover boot and you now have access to the old seals. Plan to replace the cover boots, they are difficult to remove and not damage and its probably a good idea anyway. The old seals can be tricky to remove as they are tight. Oil the new seals with some fork oil (don't forget or they will be very difficult to get in place.) I used an end of abs pipe as a drift to lightly tap the new seals in place. Another note, I believe with the 1998 bikes you could have one of two different sizes/types of fork seals.

 

Note, that the weight of fork oil does make a difference. It must do more than just lubricate the sliders. My wife's K1200RS always had a rough ride on the front end compared to mine. I thought the shock must be seizing or something. I replaced it but no better, so I decided to replace the fork oil. I don't know what weight the previous owner used but I could visibily see that it was heavier than the specified. After the change her bike rode exactly like mine, a huge difference. That's the advantage of having 2 K1200RSs in the garage, I can always compare and have a look to see "where or how did this part go again"?

[hudo]

I've done this on my 2001 K1200RS and its a simple 30-40 minute job. First support the front end of the bike underneath after removing the belly pan. Take the front wheel off as if I remember right, the front axle is removed to access the fork oil drain plugs. The drain plugs are one time use so you'll need new ones. Remove the handlebars (make sure you keep them oriented upright so air does not accidently get in the front brake or clutch master cylinder.) Then, loosen the triple clamp around the slider tubes. At this point you can carefully pull the sliders straightout through the triple clamp. Be very careful with the sliders, you don't want any nicks or scratches or you will have a chronic leak problem! Remove the top cover boot and you now have access to the old seals. Plan to replace the cover boots, they are difficult to remove and not damage and its probably a good idea anyway. The old seals can be tricky to remove as they are tight. Oil the new seals with some fork oil (don't forget or they will be very difficult to get in place.) I used an end of abs pipe as a drift to lightly tap the new seals in place. Another note, I believe with the 1998 bikes you could have one of two different sizes/types of fork seals.

 

Note, that the weight of fork oil does make a difference. It must do more than just lubricate the sliders. My wife's K1200RS always had a rough ride on the front end compared to mine. I thought the shock must be seizing or something. I replaced it but no better, so I decided to replace the fork oil. I don't know what weight the previous owner used but I could visibily see that it was heavier than the specified. After the change her bike rode exactly like mine, a huge difference. That's the advantage of having 2 K1200RSs in the garage, I can always compare and have a look to see "where or how did this part go again"?

.

 

I have to say old chap my wife is a rough ride as well, damm enjoyable at most but to smooth things out I recommend a bottle of grant burge CAB sav 02 vintage at best, one of the barrosas best reds. Who out there enjoys a good South Aussie Red ?. HUDO

[jskene]

Thanks to you all.

 

I'll do this in the next few days.