Aftermarket fork seals?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone I am rebuilding my forks and I have some aftermarket fork seals, but my boss says that sometimes you should go to the dealer and buy OEM seals. Any truth? Are my seals ok ? should I go buy Suzuki seals?

[Anonymous]

Nevermind! The ones I have seem to be OEM so that shouldn't be a problem. But my forks were really really soft before I took them off. It wanted to dive really quickly whenever you braked. Is there anything I should look for while I have the forks apart?

josh

[Dink]

King ,ack of oil will do that, as willsagged out springs. Measure the "free" length of the springs, and compare it to the specs, if they are under spec replace them.
Dink

[Don Lobacz]

Viscosity of the oil is important. Generally, 10wt is good. Old oil breaks down. Oil volume is important too. Often there are 2 oil volumes given: quick change and complete rebuild. Pull the forks apart and clean out the innards, then use the 'complete rebuild' volume of oil. Air pressure is very important too. The air pushes out on the seal as part of the sealing and the pressure lifts some of the weight off the springs. Equalizing the pressure can be difficult, and overpressurizing (using a gas station hose) can blow the seals. I use my home air compressor. I run the pressure of the tank up to 17psi and shut it off. Put the bike on the centerstand and then fill each side, making sure that you remove the chuck quickly. If you need more or less pressure, adjust the air compressor pressure and repeat.

[Anonymous]

I checked the spring length in the manual I have, but it is way off. The upper spring I have is about 4 inches longer than the book says it should be, but the lower spring is about 4inches shorter than it should be. I checked the manual, and it is the correct manual. Any ideas?

Josh

[Hoomgar]

Well at least the discrepancy works out even. I would think maybe you have what is to be top and bottom mixed up? Or is it possible they were put back in by someone else in the wrong order?