Triumphrat

rigby · 03-12-2005, 11:07 PM

It's time to replace the fork seals so I went to my local dealer to price/buy a set. They have a fork seal kit which goes for $44.77, and I have to buy two of them. This sounded steep so I held off until I could run it past you guys. I have a Honda riding friend who recently replaced his fork seals. I swear his forks are exactly the same as mine but he paid $22 and change for a kit that included parts for both forks.

Anybody bought a fork seal kit from Triumph? Anybody know any other options?

TIA

rigby · 03-14-2005, 05:02 PM

Gadzooks! Did I pick the most uninteresting topic in the world or what?

I just want to know what my options are. I think I'd like to just buy a set of K&S oil seals and dust seals but, 1)I don't know their dimensions, and 2)I'm not sure that is all that needs to be done.

Now if I could only pose the questions in such a manner as to actually get an educated response...

Why, I could rule the world!
Or not.

tridentt150v · 03-14-2005, 05:18 PM

I looked [like many others I'd wager], but the answer I knew not. That is why I didn't respond.
On the plus side, your front end is kayaba or part thereof, so seals should be common to other makes, I did a seal change [about 20,000km ago] but I used OEM.
I didn't measure them up, and where I am located, I've got no mc shop near me anyway, so triumph, honda, kwaka, or some bearing/seal place, it didn't matter, so it all has to come by mail.

denny · 03-14-2005, 05:20 PM

Did your friend save the old parts?
Maybe compare those to your forks to see if they are indeed the same?

Chances are that at least one japaneese model uses the same fork seals,

So if you find out there is a parts interchangability thread in the workshop/mods forum. We'd sure like to hear about it.

MickMaguire · 03-14-2005, 05:24 PM

Well, the forks are 43mm that's a start, and yes they are likely to use the same seals as many other bikes. Question is which ones (there are 3 or 4 different 43mm seals) - that I cannot answer but a web search or a visit to a dealer who has a parts unlimited catalogue (or similar) may help.

SWare · 03-14-2005, 05:33 PM

Even though my seals seem fine, I'm about to do the oil change and maybe replace the springs. I should replace the seals while I'm there, So, I like many would be very interested in the answer to your question.
Unfortunately I don't have any answers.

stan

GeoffE · 03-14-2005, 06:01 PM

Fork Oil Seals: There are two different part numbers listed for the Thunderbird, with the change over occurring at the VIN 43509/43510 split.
This implies there are two different types, so be careful.

Geoff

Footnote...............Kayaba forks were fitted to the Thunderbird & Adventurer up to Vin 43509. Showa forks from Vin 43510.
:wink:

[ This message was edited by: GeoffE on 2005-03-14 16:22 ]

mike_ · 03-15-2005, 12:16 AM

I got replacements for my T-Bird at a Honda shop when I was stuck out of town. I can't remember the number but
we just measured up the old ones. I wasn't looking to save money, just wanted to get home.

rigby · 03-15-2005, 10:19 AM

Wowzers! Look at the responses!
Unfortunately my Honda riding friend didn't save his old parts. My forks are definitely Kayaba but I didn't know they were 43mm (thanks Mick). I sent an email to the K&S Tech Support; check out their response:

Quote:

Some of our fork seals are interchangeable with Triumph's but we need to know the size of the fork and fork seal dimentions.

K&S Technologies, Inc.

Hmm... So, I'm still researching. I did find out that the Triumph Seal Kit consists of several parts in addition to the oil seals and dust seals and thus the price discrepancy with my friends fork seals.

I plan on getting my bike done within the next couple of weeks. I will post the results on here and maybe take some pics to add to my photo album.

For those of you interested, here is a link to a unique method of removing fork seals: http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/forkseals/

Also, an old trick shown to me years ago to help delay the inevitable (replacing leaky fork seals)... Wrap a common playing card around the fork tube and push it down behind the dust seal. Press it down and just into the oil seal and run it around a couple of times. This helps reseat the oil seal and clean out some dirt that may be under the dust seal.

It really does help but is not a long term fix.

MickMaguire · 03-15-2005, 10:22 AM

Quote:

On 2005-03-15 08:19, rigby wrote:
Hmm... So, I'm still researching. I did find out that the Triumph Seal Kit consists of several parts in addition to the oil seals and dust seals and thus the price discrepancy with my friends fork seals.

In which case the Triumph kit may not be too pricey. If it includes wipers or bushings or both I think it may be very competitive with aftermarket stuff.

[ This message was edited by: MickMaguire on 2005-03-15 08:22 ]