Topic: Any aftermarket fork seals preferred over OEM?

[fizzlebottom]

I've got a leaky 4-into-1 fork seal that I'm looking to replace and have some options: Honda, All Balls, Pyramid, whatever Randakk's sells, etc. Just checking in to see if anyone has thoughts around quality of aftermarket fork seals in case there's something seen as equal-or-higher quality to Honda.

[HondaMan]

I normally use the Honda ones because they fit better. Aftermarket ones can be thinner or thicker as the vendors often have no clue about these older bikes. If you find ones that are about 1mm-2mm thinner than the ones you have you may well find that they respond better to small bumps than the more strictive Honda seals, but they will also weep oil sooner in the tradeoff.

If you have the early fork lowers (K2 and earlier) and use the later seal, it may have very high stiction over small bumps. The earlier seals had 2 lips in them, and they could float a little bit in the lower, which helped. The later ones have 3 lips in them.

[grcamna2]

I have used K&L Made in Japan aftermarket brand and liked them.

[fizzlebottom]

I normally use the Honda ones because they fit better. Aftermarket ones can be thinner or thicker as the vendors often have no clue about these older bikes. If you find ones that are about 1mm-2mm thinner than the ones you have you may well find that they respond better to small bumps than the more strictive Honda seals, but they will also weep oil sooner in the tradeoff.

If you have the early fork lowers (K2 and earlier) and use the later seal, it may have very high stiction over small bumps. The earlier seals had 2 lips in them, and they could float a little bit in the lower, which helped. The later ones have 3 lips in them.

Yeah, Honda is looking like the right choice. Been reading too many unfavorable things about short lifespan of various aftermarket seals, and I suppose I can shell out the extra $5 for a genuine part over some pattern piece.

[CycleRanger]

I have used K&L Made in Japan aftermarket brand and liked them.

I've also used K&L on several bikes with no issues, although I would agree that OEM is generally best.

[seanbarney41]

I generally use Honda oem and agree with Hondaman about the added stiction.  I have also used whatever manufacturer Parts Unlimited supplies and Racetech supplied with completely satisfactory results and no increased stiction.  I have not ordered much from 4 into 1, but what I have, was utterly useless as a functioning part.  Yeah, the 4 into 1 stuff is cheap, but that money was just thrown in the trash if you actually intend to ride your bike.

[HondaMan]

I have not ordered much from 4 into 1, but what I have, was utterly useless as a functioning part.  Yeah, the 4 into 1 stuff is cheap, but that money was just thrown in the trash if you actually intend to ride your bike.

About the only good parts I've found from 4into1 are:
-Vesrah gasket kits (they are the same everywhere).
-The 4into1 spark advancer, using just the base and the cam, replacing the springs. Sometimes I have also used the weights, or just swapped the ones from the [bad] OEM advancer I was trying to fix up.
-NGK plug caps (but those might be vanishing?)

When 4into1 first appeared, they were the primary source of the WRONG head seal pucks that we all enjoyed [not].

[Kelly E]

These days we order seals by dimension. I give the 3 dimensions to my buddy that owns the Carquest in town and he orders them. A day or two later I get my seals, usually National seals.
Seals and bearings can be ordered by the standardized numbers. That way you can buy Nachi, SKF or Koyo bearings instead of Chinese crap.

[grcamna2]

These days we order seals by dimension. I give the 3 dimensions to my buddy that owns the Carquest in town and he orders them. A day or two later I get my seals, usually National seals.
Seals and bearings can be ordered by the standardized numbers. That way you can buy Nachi, SKF or Koyo bearings instead of Chinese crap.

You've got a great local Carquest Kelly