Topic: fork question cb550

[nsargeant]

Are fork boots made to fit over these seals?  When I look at 550's with boots it doesn't look like this seal is underneath the boot.
thanks,
Nathan

[paulages]

no, this is just a different style dustcap, both of which simply prevent dirt, bugs, etc. from getting on top of the actual seal. i believe these were unique to the '77-'78 K models, but don't quote me on that.

[nsargeant]

does that mean that I can just take the dust cap off and put the forkboot over where the cap used to be?
thanks,
Nathan

[TwoTired]

The stock accordian type boots are what your bike had originally.  Remove the dust caps you have if you are going back to the original style.

Cheers,

[Bob Wessner]

If you go with the accordion boots, when you install them, there are small vent holes running top to bottom. These are small and can be overlooked as they're in the valleys. These should face towards the rear.

[paulages]

incidentally, i had an awful experience with the interchangability of these forks today...

originally i broke off a fender mounting stud in my left fork (on a '76F), which had been laboriously polished and fitted with new seals.  after breaking off a cobalt drill bit inside of the broken stud, i gave up on extracting it and pulled a left fork off of one of my parts bikes (a '77K). i polished this one to a much better shine than the first one, so i pulled the old right one and re-polished it to match the new one. after putting them both back on, i realized that the slider on the K model is taller than on the F model...and had to pull the left one from the other bike as well...and polish it to match. can you tell my fingers hurt at this point? anyway, now i have matching K forks, with the accordion style dust boots instead of the short dustcaps which are a little more scrunched up now, as they fill a much shorter space.

 

[TwoTired]

The 77 Fs and Ks used the same forks.  I never considered swaping the lowers between 76 style and 77.   I thought the upper tubes were of different length, too.

This not so?

Cheers,

[paulages]

the overall fork length is identical. the upper tubes are the same length, but the lowers on my K forks are taller, leaving less room between the top, where the bottom of the accordian boot attaches, and the bottom of the headlight mounting ears where its top attaches.