Fork seals - any suggestions?

[Blue-Highway]

My 96 Trident is one of the early '96's - Non-adjustable front forks.

I'm wondering if there are better brands/types of fork seals to choose, or are they all pretty much the same? I've never changed fork seals before. Had leaky ones, yes, never leaky enough to prompt me to fix them though, I guess.

Anyway, thought I'd ask your opinions before I ordered some. Any recommendations for this bike?

Thanks,

Blue-Highway

[sailfish]

On 2007-03-18 23:49, Blue-Highway wrote:
Any recommendations for this bike?

Do you have a manual? For this project you'll need one.

[trypcil]

Try going down yer local shop and asking - them books they have is full of stuff, I believe the big four all have cross references for the front - plus do a search here! :razz:

[Blue-Highway]

Thanks.

"Local shop" is 200 miles away. I have a Triumph Service Manual.

I had looked at the schematics at Bikebandit and was going to order some seals, but it looks like a few little other odds and ends might be needed as well. Likely a rebuild kit for all the commonly replaced parts. I'll keep looking.

The question is whether there are better replacement seals than the Triumph branded ones. Seems they are not an uncommon size.

[sailfish]

The Triumph branded seals have worked fine for me. As I recall, I replaced every wear item in the fork for well under $100 with dealer parts. The bushings were showing a little wear at 30k. They could have gone further but my seals were leaking.

They don't sell a "kit". This list is from memory from 3 years ago: upper bushing, lower bushing, plastic piston seal, copper washer at the bottom of the damper tube, fork leg seal, dust seal.

I made a seal driver from a metal conduit connector and PVC pipe. I welded a 30mm nut to the end of a chunk of tubing to hold the damper tube from inside the leg.

[doa666duck]

If you're thinking about rebuilding the forks an impact wrench/air gun is almost a necessity. The allen screws in the bottoms of the fork legs will not be a problem and the internals won't likely spin if you use an impact to remove them.

[doa666duck]

Almost forgot, keeping the fork legs clean and wiping the bug guts off after (or in the middle of) every ride will extend seal life immeasurably. The bolt on fork protectors are also a worthwhile investment.

[MotT3]

On my S3 I always keep it on a paddock stand as the way these babies lean on the side stand would put pressure on the LH fork seal after a while and start it leaking.....so far I haven't had a problem :wink:

[daveforty]

The non-adjustable forks wont need the special nut tool, but you will need a tool to locate the seals in the slider. There is a factory tool, but you can make your own as mentioned above. You will need a suitably large socket spanner to loosen the top nut before slackening off the clamp screws in the yokes.

There are other brands of seals available, here is a picture of some I have...




I bought some Tiger gaiters to put on my Trident. They are too long and a big 'baggy', but they do keep the dirt off the stanchions. (plus if your seals go, they contain the mess until it REALLY needs fixing )

[wiayeman]

I second the paddock stand. I know it does not answer the question of which seals, but it will reduce the amount of times you have to replace them. The left one has been replaced 3 times in 6 years. O times in the last 4 years since the paddock stand. Now you have a reason why you are not a poser, and tell your mates to *&^% off.