Topic: Sliding fork-seals over rusty forks

[JLeather]

My K1 forks are leaking at the seals, just the latest in my quest to revive this sad looking bike.  Time to do the fork seals, but the top of the tubes are really rusty (behind the headlight ears, ya know?).  The part where the seals go is fine, no pits or anything.  I've searched and read the threads and I've found that to remove these seals all I do is take out the snap-ring and kinda use the tubes as a slide-hammer?  Can I still get these seals from my local Honda dealer, or is there a better source?

Lastly, and most importantly, reinstallation.  I read on here that you're supposed to slide the new seals down over the tubes when you reinstall them to make sure they seat properly.  Will the rusty tops of my tubes cause damage to the seals if I slide them over once (well-lubed of course)?  Don't really have the time or money for new tubes right now.

Oh, and does anyone know where I can get new tubes for the older-style forke ('69-'72)?

[mystic_1]

Since  you'll be separating the fork uppers and lowers, you will be able to slide the new seal up over the bottom of the uppers to reinstall them.

Don't forget to remove the large internal snap ring from above the seals before trying the "slide hammer" trick

mystic_1

[Johnie]

I would stay with the Honda brand but that is my personal choice.  I saw on the board someone used wax paper to slide the seals over the rust.  When he was past the rust, he just slid the paper from under the seals and that protected them.  Keep an eye on eBay and the for sale area of this board.  You should spot some new sliders sometime.