oops, i broke it

I finally fixed my front leaking forks, new seals, new dust covers, and I'm proud of myself for it. now if I could only find a pump for the air

anyway so as I assembled everything got the brakes back on.
everything's together.

about to bleed the brakes and uh oh. the nipples are pulling a vacuum while unscrewed. what the heck, so the holes on the nipples are rusted. no problem ill just buy some new ones... now to the anti-dive unit. SNAP there goes one nipple broken in half, hmm. how am I gonna fix that, lets try the other.... SNAP *** dammit

so now I'm debating

New anti dive units? the other half of the nipple looks pretty rusted in there.
and should I just leave the bike alone and save up on 4 rebuild kits and SS brake-lines? I'm still running originals.
*MIND THE LANGUAGE. THANKS, ROBERT.*

 

i'am just about to toss a set of 83 seca forks in the recycle bin, i could pull the anti-dive units off and see how they look.
make me a offer i can't refuse
you should defiantly get ss brake lines

 

well if you do take a look at how they look, and seeing as you are about to part with them into the trash.

whats a good price
20 dollars? I pay shipping idk.

 

Polock,

If the little spring washers (wave washers) in the bottoms of the forks are still intact, those are gold to Chacal (and to Seca owners). Len's been known to buy fork sets just for the washers... which is why they're like $100 a piece when available. I had to fab a replacement for one of mine that was broken.

Paul

 

SQLGuy, thanks for reminding me, i guess i'll have to pull them apart

nirrozero, for 20$ i'll put brand new bleeders in them, let me make sure their in good shape, i'll get back to ya

 

is it normal after a fork oil change, to still have oil on the fork tubes, after the first ride

just ordered some nipples from chacal( haha)
and somehow my muffler screw came loose while i took it for a spin, O.O stupid 10 dollar screw

 

If you have oil on the fork tube your seals are shot.

 

35mm film negative trick is worth trying but yeah, probably shot. I'm guessing those seals are original as well?

unobtanium wavey washer thingers? anybody got specs/dimensions for 'em?

 

I use a .003" feeler guage to work around the fork seals to clean them out. Has worked for me on two deifferent bikes. Just be careful to keep the feeler "radiused" to match the fork tube so you don't end up cutting the seal or else for sure you will be replacing them.

 

OHOHOHOHOH I need 2 sets of the wavey/flat washer combos, AND I need the lower fork bushings (The ones under the oil seal) You'd make me the happiest man alive if I could have those

Name your price!

Kev

 

ok, so I know I am not the best mechanic on motorcycles, cars ok but I have been having a difficult time with this one.

I replaced the Fork seals, yes they were originals, I put new fork oil in, put everything bad together, which btw was extremely hard since there was a copper ring about 1 inch in height that did not want to go back in below the seal.

now everything is back together and both my forks are leaking now =(

where the heck did I mess up, I put everything back in like it was. actually no there was a metal washer on the bottom of my old seals, and idk if that was part of the bike or the original seals, can someone clarify because I stuck that sucker back in too

anyway so its gonna cost me 190 parts and labor if I give it up to a shop, vs the 40 I spent on fork oil and seals

I kinda wish there was a picture guided way to do this, the haynes manual didn't help much, it was actually someone on the forum that said to get the tube apart you have to slide it like a hammer.

 

FORK TUBE PARTS OVERVIEW:


Your front suspension is called on to do a lot of different tasks, sometimes all at the same time: steering and braking are the two most critical ones that come to mind. Thus the proper operation and integrity of your front forks, and all their parts and pieces, is vital to the proper operation, handling, and safety of your bike. And worn front forks are the primary reason why your front tires wear out quickly, or in an uneven pattern.

Although your front forks are pretty simple devices....a spring, inside a fluid-filled tube, that serves to soak up road imperfections while maintaining positive-yet-smooth road feel and control....there are quite a few items that need attention and periodic replacement in order to get the proper lifetime and performance out of your system.

We offer a variety of OEM and aftermarket products and tools needed to properly maintain and service your forks and keep them firmly planted on the road beneath you.


NOTE: The process of rebuilding your forks seems mystical and difficult to many first-timers, mainly because all of the internal parts are normally hidden from view.....and thus the "fear of the unknown" takes over. The fork mechanisms on most of the XJ-series bikes are really pretty simple, and the entire process of removing your forks from the bike is more time-consuming and involved than the actual re-building procedure. HOWEVER, this is one procedure that we strongly recommend that you have a factory or aftermarket service manual at-the-ready, because there are certain diagrams, specifications, and various "tricks of the trade" that you'll want to know about and follow when doing fork surgery.

Forks on these bikes generally fall into one of two categories: simple and more-difficult. The simplest forks are the ones that are not encumbered by any additional "enhancements", such as air-assistance or anti-dive features. Here's the scorecard:


SIMPLE: XJ550 Maxim, XJ550 Seca, XJ650 Maxim and Midnight Maxim, XJ650RJ Seca, and XJ700 non-X.

SIMPLE-PLUS: due to the air-assist function, these forks have a few additional parts (mainly o-rings) that must be attended to, but again, these forks could just as easily fall under the "simple" category above: 1982-83 XJ650 Maxim, XJ650 Turbo, XJ700-X, XJ750-X, XJ750 Maxim and Midnight Maxim, and XJ1100 models.

INVOLVED: due to both their air-assist and anti-dive functions, these forks are the most difficult to work on.....mainly due to the addition of the anti-dive function, which introduces quite a few additional parts into the internal fork mechanism. You will definitely want a service manual handy while working on these forks, and pay very close attention to the order and orientation of all the small parts during dis-assembly: XJ750 Seca and XJ900RK Seca models.


The following discussion has some very good pointers, tips, and photographs that detail the fork rebuild process on a 1981 XJ650 Maxim model (one of the "simple" fork systems), and is a good point of reference to help you decide whether the task is something that you wish to attempt yourself or leave to a qualified shop. Many thanks to owner Gamuru for his excellent efforts in providing this material:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=8355.html


A slightly more complicated type of forking system can be found on the XJ750 Seca and XJ900RK models, due to the use of the anti-dive system. An XJ750 Seca fork system goes under the knife, here:

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=18730.html

and owner "Alive" also has two great image-documentaries in regards to these more "complicated" fork systems. This first one shows the XJ900 (without the anti-dive system) fork rebuild process, although these images can also be used as a guide for any model front forking system that use the lower bushing on the chrome fork tubes:

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=4067.html


while this photo-journal details the secret, inner workings of the "anti-dive" units found on XJ750 Seca and XJ900RK Seca models:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=1860.html


and finally, for all you XJ750 Seca owners, here's the secrets to that funny and unique "oil lock valve assembly" used only on these models, and the proper orientation of all of those special washers:

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=159288.html

 

There's some info on the washers here: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=1 ... rt=30.html

 

"I kinda wish there was a picture guided way to do this, the haynes manual didn't help much,"
See this all of the time, we DO have a search tool at the top of the page. Feel free to use it.

 

the copper ring on the bottom of the steel tube did it to your seals most likely, i'am thinking you put the seals in then put the upper fork tube in and buggered up the seals, the upper tube goes in the lower tube first then the seals go over the tube and get set in the lower with a length of pvc pipe