Painting front fork

I have a question regarding the front fork. Can you paint the entire front fork and doing so will not affect the seals and the front shock???

The last guy who had the bike ate the pavement and it will need some sanding and a little bit of bondo. I want to do a all black front, NO CHROME, LOL! I am not a "chromesexual," lol!

Thanks!

 

You're talking about painting the actual chrome cylinder? Well, whatever tiny bit of paint sticks to the chrome will probably just be scraped off by the fork seal. Chrome isn't exactly a prime material to paint.

And yes it would probably cause the fork seals to become less effective.

Just like regular chroming, you could get a shop to "black chrome" them. It looks real nice, but I don't know how feasible of an endeavor that would be. Just a thought.

http://www.productsfinishing.net/black_chrome.html

http://www.calchrome.com/service_blackchrome.php

 

No, you can't effectively paint the tubes themselves. The paint would foul the seals, and be quickly rubbed off.

But, you can hide them with boots:

 

Great idea, Fritz! How much and what size? Any ideas on where to purchase them from. A link from anyone is great, thanks!

 

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_from=R40&_ ... Categories

Now git to measurin'!

 

I will get to measuring, thanks Maximum X.

I found this post by zap 2504, "I was going to start a new discussion but decided to resurrect this thread instead.

I've also been thinking of front fork gaiters (as have a couple people recently). I know BigFitz52 has some Kawasaki gaiters made for a KZ550/750 Spectre (PN 49006-1096 for the purists) on his 550 Seca, but the cost of them is about $38 each.

Being the cheap person that I am (I consider it an endearing quality ), I started to see where several BMW K75/1200 and Suzuki V-Strom riders were getting "universal" truck shock boots for their front forks. Most times people got Rancho black shock boots (PN RS1952) for about $5 each. OK, now we have a horse race! Decided to get a set off ebay to experiment. Got a pair of Daystar shock boots (PN KU20002BK for black) for $4 (including shipping). The ID of the small end is around 33mm and the ID of the big end is around 52mm (relaxed length is about 10.5") but the material is much more "stretchy" than traditional rubber fork gaiters and fits my 750 Seca fork tubes and over the dust boot area just fine."

Good information for someone who is trying to build a cafe racer on a budget of some sort.

 

I also installed fork boots (made for a dirt bike) I got at Dennis Kirk outlet store. They fit perfect and look good. The reason was not only for the looks, but they also protect the forks and seals from road debris, which is a plus.
I just measured the outside diameter of the forks (just the part around the seals) and took that size to the store and they found some that did the trick for me.
The bad part is the Dennis Kirk catolog doesn't give the diameter size, but the actual store gives all the demensions on their computer. You may have to call them to get the correct size for your particular model.

 

That answers that question. The Kawasaki boots fit like they were MADE for the bike; the lower ends "snap on" to the fork legs and didn't even need clamps; I used black wire ties as the upper clamps, hidden behind the fork trim piece.

I did need to Dremel out the rear profile of the fork trim piece to allow more clearance for the speedo and tach cables to shift toward the center and provide more clearance for the boots.

The ONLY drawback was indeed the price; but it's a one-time investment. That being said, there are less expensive alternatives out there, as mentioned above. Top ID should be the size of your fork legs; bottom ID is, IIRC, about 55MM for most Yamaha forks.

I love 'em; not just for looks, but for the protection they offer the lower tubes against stone pitting in the vital sealing area. They used to come on virtually ALL street bikes back before the "Japanese invasion" of the late '60s.

 

I just purchase a pair of Ranchos from Jeggs for around $7 bucks not bad for 2 of them.

I have the front tire & rim off b/c I just rebuilt da front brakes & paint the lower fork blk. With that being said, how can I install them on my bike? I would also like to lower the front a bit for that nice cafe racer look. So again the 2 questions is how to install them (rubber boots) & how to lower the front fork?

Thanks fellas & Go Steelers!!!

 

For the last day or so I have been trying to up load two pictures of my front fork with this post and I am not able. Is there something wrong with the site or am I the only one have a little trouble with this?

 

If you're trying to attach pictures, there's a size limit; both dimensionally and file size.

If you want to imbed them, like the pics in my postings, you need a Photobucket or similar account; the pics are actually just links so they aren't subject to the size restrictions (although it pays to be polite.)

To install the boots, you'll need to drop the fork tubes out of the triple clamps.

 

I used ntwonline.com for my newly added fork boots. They sell Daystar boots (DAY KU20002) for $5.98 a PAIR and offer 11 color options! I ordered a black pair, for $11.95 after shipping, at 10:30pm. Two days later they were on my bike!

They fit like a glove and seem to be of good quality. I used the 2, included, hose clamps to secure them to the lower forks. Super easy to install!

 

Thanks if the rubber boots don't work, I will check that out.