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94 Yamaha XV 250 Virago discussion forum:Fork Seals |
| Fork Seals |
| adonicus said 2007-10-14 06:45 |
| Obviously this reply is a bit late :-) but I´m posting anyway so future readers have a good answer. I´ve overhauled a 1994 XV250´s forks twice now. The first time I used aftermarket seals from eBay and they turned out to be no good, leaking as before. The second time I used genuine Yamaha seals, plus new dust seals, to great effect. The dust seals are a little pricey, but help to protect the inner seals from, uh, dust and other contaminants, thus extending their life. The recommendation is for 245ml of 10-weight fork oil per fork, which should come up to about 120mm of the top of a fully compressed fork before you put the spring back in. You can use heavier oil, up to 20-weight, for stiffer suspension and decreased leakage; however, I do not recommend any more than 15-weight, as 20-weight is simply too harsh. Disassembling the fork requires a special tool -- a rod with a handle at one end and a 19mm nut at the other (22mm nut for 1995 and later XV250s, ie ones with the brake calliper on the *left* fork). An easy way to make this is to get a 1m section of threaded rod, screw and counter-tighten (lock together) about five to ten nuts on one end to make a handle, and counter-tighten two 19mm (or 22mm) nuts at the other end. If you can weld, or know someone who can, then weld a nut to the end instead of counter-tightening two of them. This tool is inserted into the fork to hold the damper rod while the bottom retaining screw is undone. If you have the special tool, the only truly difficult part of this operation is removing the old fork seals. They have steel rings cast into the rubber inside, making them exceedingly painful to remove without either an impact hammer or specialised seal-removal tool. Lacking these, I improvised by simply cutting through one side of the seal with a cold-chisel. You have to be careful that the chisel doesn´t slip and mark the smooth metal surface below the seal; I was a little careless and this happened to me once, forcing me to file back the damaged metal. If all goes well, you´ll have a marvellously smooth front suspension, and will have saved hundreds of dollars in repair costs. (I was quoted AU$300 for four hours´ work for this repair; the second time through, I finished in under three hours, despite having no formal training in mechanics -- so it´s not *too* challenging.) Spend the money you saved on something useful, like saddlebags or booze :-) . Good luck, Adonicus |
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