[inductible]

Does anyone have any DIY experience on fork seal replacement on the Versys X 300?

I had a Kawasaki garage replace one but it’s leaking again, and I can see how the story is going to unfold… Pitted chrome (seaside living), new seal, labour costs etc. Preparing myself for the likely need to swap out the inner pipe (at worst). In any case I’d like to replace the seal on the other side.

I’m looking at the service manual and the need for insanely overpriced OEM tools to remove the internal cylinder/bottom bolt - but equally there’s plenty of ‘hacks’ for other bikes that circumvent the need for these tools.

Does anyone have firsthand experience in this department?

 

[TowerMan]

Follow this video for normal forks

For USD forks and more tips

And how to clean / smooth fork seals by Dave Moss

 

[inductible]

Just posting a follow up on this - things did work out as I expected! Garage repaired a leaky seal only to have it leak again, and this repair then started to leak too; obviously something else going on. I sourced a new inner pipe on the suspicion that corrosion here was the fault and took the plunge on a self repair.

I could see two tiny (maybe a quarter millimetre) pits on the offending stanchion; amazed that could do so much damage! Gently sanding/polishing those back didn’t help salvage the situation.

Actual seal replacement wasn’t too bad (with practice) - driving the bushing and seal (pvc pipe hack) was by far the most time consuming, stressful part: takes some beating… Grease is your friend!

The other real challenge I had was getting at the right side middle fork tree bolt whilst the front of bike was suspended on a head stand; the only way being to rotate the steering stem, which was the point of load bearing on the head stand! There’s probably an easier way…

The other reason I wanted to do the seal repair myself was to drop on some gaiters to prevent the corrosion issue again in future (ACF50 clearly not enough by the sea here). I sourced these Yamaha Bolt boots from the US via Amazon
2014 14 Yamaha Bolt Cruiser Fork Gaiters Fits 14' Inch Bolts Black
https://a.co/d/9COKrS3 - very very happy with them; they could have been made specifically for this bike.