[mod1217]

I think having my bike constantly on a wheel choke is the reason why my fork seal break. I have this dolly that I made that uses Harbor Freight Wheel Choke to keep the bike upright. The thing is everytime I'm going to ride the bike I have to pull it out from the wheel choke using the handlebar therefor hyper extending the fork. Since the fork is design for handling downward force rather than upward that might have been the reason the seal broke.

 

[27193]

I think having my bike constantly on a wheel choke is the reason why my fork seal break. I have this dolly that I made that uses Harbor Freight Wheel Choke to keep the bike upright. The thing is everytime I'm going to ride the bike I have to pull it out from the wheel choke using the handlebar therefor hyper extending the fork. Since the fork is design for handling downward force rather than upward that might have been the reason the seal broke.

You must give equal up strokes and down strokes! :nod:

But does suck at less than 6k.

 

[Romero035]

Well did the seal mate clean....jesus there was alot of dirt in such a tight space.... Well going to go take it out for a ride(staying close to home in case of whatever) then we'll see how much it leaks.

Also RideNca I didn't realize that you would have to clean the fork down by the seals.

 

[Romero035]

Well went for the ride, came back and the fork is doing fine didn't find anymore leaking but will be keeping a closer eye on it. So yeah Seal Mate definitely saved me a ****ton of money on fixing this issue for now.

 

[mod1217]

Me I just made my own Seal Mate using an old distilled water container using a picture of SealMate as template. Hopefully it would work if not there is no choice but to replace the Oil

Seal

 

[maverickbr77]

I have done it with a piece of old film on an enduro. Its not a bad idea to drain and refill both forks so they have the same/correct amount of oil in them. Doesn't take much of a difference in oil level to leave you with a scalloped tire.

 

[Romero035]

Like the custom seal mate there mod. Now Maverick, if there is a very little difference in oil level in the forks I will have a scalloped tire? If so then does that mean I have to empty both forks of oil, then refill them with exact amount according to the manual?

 

[mod1217]

I could be wrong but it is almost imposible for you to end up with a scallop tire on a motorcycle specially the front, you can feel the bike is handling different way before your tire show sign for it.

I've ridden a bike with a blown seal and also with a broken front spring. I'm both instant the bike significantly pulls to the direction of the problem fork. Now I don't know if a small amount of oil difference would do this but if it does, would we be noticing the bike is handling differently even before you see the actual leak?
Most of the cases of fork oil leak was notice by seing the oil not by feeling something's wrong with the bike handling.

 

[maverickbr77]

On my maxim I started having some issues and found my front was cupped more on the left than the right. Trying to figure out why led me to find my oil was low in the left side. I don't remember how much of a difference it was but it was less than a quarter of the total volume difference which isn't a lot of oil on that bike. The scallop was enough that it remained an issue after I redid the forks (I did seals and new springs because I wanted to upgrade the front end) and I ended up with a new front tire.

Also consider all the crud you are pulling out of the seal and think about how much of that made it into the fork tube. Fork oil isn't overly expensive and changing it isn't a terribly hard job but will take the better part of an afternoon the first time you do it.

 

[maverickbr77]

I have never done a stryker fork but the quick and dirty is remove forks open the top (loosen this while still on the bike it will be much easier) and dump out oil (spring and spacer is going to fall out) pump the fork a few times to get the rest of the oil out. refill part way and pump the forks to get the oil moving around, fill the rest of the way to spec and put everything back together. When removing the top cap keep downward pressure on it or it might go flying as there will likely be some spring pressure there.

 

[raulgarzajr.1311]

I could be wrong but it is almost imposible for you to end up with a scallop tire on a motorcycle specially the front, you can feel the bike is handling different way before your tire show sign for it.

I've ridden a bike with a blown seal and also with a broken front spring. I'm both instant the bike significantly pulls to the direction of the problem fork. Now I don't know if a small amount of oil difference would do this but if it does, would we be noticing the bike is handling differently even before you see the actual leak?
Most of the cases of fork oil leak was notice by seing the oil not by feeling something's wrong with the bike handling.

It is actually very common for front tires to wear uneven.

 

[DanTheMan]

It is actually very common for front tires to wear uneven.

True also for the back tire. Most common cause though, is the road built. The big majority are slanted to the right, is rare when you find inverted crowns. So the tires wear more on the left side.

 

[mod1217]

It is actually very common for front tires to wear uneven.

True also for the back tire. Most common cause though, is the road built. The big majority are slanted to the right, is rare when you find inverted crowns. So the tires wear more on the left side.

I agree uneven tires on a motorcycle is almost a certainty I have never replace a worn out tire on a motorcycle that is evenly wear almost always the left side is worn out more than the right, but scallop tires I haven't seen one. Scallop tire are cause by bad suspension and or unbalance tire both of which are easily detectable by the rider specially on a motorcycle well before it show up in the tires.

I have never done a stryker fork but the quick and dirty is remove forks open the top (loosen this while still on the bike it will be much easier) and dump out oil (spring and spacer is going to fall out) pump the fork a few times to get the rest of the oil out. refill part way and pump the forks to get the oil moving around, fill the rest of the way to spec and put everything back together. When removing the top cap keep downward pressure on it or it might go flying as there will likely be some spring pressure there.

I too have done a few fork rebuild from my own and friends bike and know that on most cases it's as easy as changing your brake pads only longer and more messy. The reason I ask is that a few people in the beginning of this thread says they let a shop do it. So I was thinking that maybe a Strykers fork is different and needs special skills to do.

And by the way if a shop ask you $200.00 + parts to rebuild a fork, know that the whole fork assembly brand new one just cost $305.00. So it is so much wiser to get a brand new fork than to rebuild an old one and pay the shop for it.

 

[Romero035]

Well if that's the case then sometime later here when and if I feel it I will replace the oil levels, but first I must get a motorcycle jack.

 

[sicontex]

Hence,why I bought a new fork.

 

[maverickbr77]

or rebuild it yourself for ~$30

 

[11Stryker]

or rebuild it yourself for ~$30

+1:nod:

 

[Brizzard]

Took the forks off to replace oil seal and dust seal. Then realized I didn't have the damper rod holder and the long T handle. Easy up until that point.

Sent from my LG-V495 using Tapatalk

 

[Romero035]

So I finally got to it and changed out my fork seal.... ****ing pain in the ass trying to get that damned outer bushing son of a ***** piece! That was the hardest part for me to get back into my forks. But all in all, got it done yesterday and no leaks so far. So I just saved my ass over $200(looked around Maryland its dumb expensive here when I got quotes).

 

[daigler]

Do you know how much oil to put in the forks?

So I finally got to it and changed out my fork seal.... ****ing pain in the ass trying to get that damned outer bushing son of a ***** piece! That was the hardest part for me to get back into my forks. But all in all, got it done yesterday and no leaks so far. So I just saved my ass over $200(looked around Maryland its dumb expensive here when I got quotes).