Topic: fork boots??

[jimschnabel]

the boots (gaiters) on the front forks of my '73 500 are all torn up and shot.  i was thinking of simply removing them, as i like the look of the bike better without them.  is just taking them off safe for the forks, or is there some other type of seal i need to get for the top of the outter tube (and if so where can i get it)?

thanks

[78 k550]

You can get the dust boots for it for the bottom half..

[Uncle Ernie]

Pretty much, the gaiters are there to keep road crud off your forks. Your seals will wear a lot faster without them, but obviously lots of folks get by without them.

[gaijin]

Thought I'd piggyback off this thread, since I have a related question!
For you 400f owners: I've been looking to see about fitting gators on the forks of my 400f but I haven't had much luck finding a source for them. My local mechanic told me the ones from a 350 wouldn't fit, and you can't just go sticking any size gators onto the forks (of course). So, I've seen some photos of 400f's with gators and wondered, where'd you guys get them? Did you have to measure all the dimensions and go shopping for the nearest fit, or are there some that swap in from another bike? I think I saw some on Gordon's bike, and maybe Uncle Ernie's?
Thanks for any leads!

[Uncle Ernie]

Well, I would have thought you got some by now. I won't be able to find where I got mine (it's been a long time) until Tues. I'll try to fiind this thread and let you know if I find out.

[Gordon]

I purchased the fork GAITERS for my 750 from David Silver Spares, but he doesn't have them listed for the 400 or 350.

[SteveD CB500F]

I took the gaitors off my 500 back in the 70's (see avatar) but you need a fairing to hide bottom of the headlamp mounting "ears" as these are designed to fix to the gaitors and look wierd if left hanging...

The alternative is to fit the headlamp ears from a 550.  You can buy the dust caps form eBay or David Silver.