Topic: Fork gaiter/boot questions - What's better for a daily rider

[OldGreyBeast]

The '75 bike I have almost certainly has the original fork seals on it, both are leaking.  I've got a set of the 4-into-1 fork seal kits and a set of the short boots that I'd bought a while back.  I went with the short boots since modern road bikes don't have gaiters but am questioning my decision.  In my mind the short boots would allow the fork tubes to dry if they got wet rather than retaining moisture (my '74 bike's fork tubes are absolutely useless as they have lots of very deep pitting under where the gaiters were).  The '75 bike had gaiters on it and the tubes look brand new though.

So, purely from a usefulness standpoint, do you guys know which option is better?  If gaiters are preferred, is that one of the things that's worth paying more for OEM or are the aftermarket repros (that cost about half as much) fine?

[Kevnz]

The aftermarket repros I put on my 500 were a stiff plastic material that only lasted a few years before splitting; the OEM ones are softer rubber and last longer and are also easier to install. I use OEM wherever possible as I have found , generally, it is better quality and you get what you pay for.

[tourmax]

For protection?

Gaiters, hands down.

Full coverage, zero stone chips, no chance of leaking.

Worth lifting them once or twice a year to give the stantions a little clean rag wipe down.

[TwoTired]

If the tubes are already rust pitted, it won’t matter what you put over them.  It will eat fork seals pretty quickly with a rough surface finish.

The gaiters protect from stone chips and rain water from pooling on top of the fork seal. The rubber fork cap only protects from water pooling.  A pressure washer will force water behind both rubber methods, promoting rust.

Usually, all city driving will minimize stone chipping.  But, never know what will be dropped on freeways to mark up the fork tubes.

Cheers,

[OldGreyBeast]

Yeah the tubes on my '74 are shot, they're going to have to be replaced so that project is a "down the road" sort of deal.  The ones on the '75 look brand new though so it sounds like the OEM gaiters are the way to go.  The ones on it had cracked, split, and gotten super hard so I had to cut them off with a utility knife.

Thanks for the opinions.