GS 850L front fork seal don't seal....?

[rain or shine]

I have a 1980 GS 850 L that i have had for about 15 months. I love my bike but I have had ongoing problems with the front fork seals. When i replaced them I noticed that the replacement seals were not like the ones I took out of it, but just assumed they were a different updated style. The ones that I removed were very pliable and retained with a small wire clip. The ones that were sent to me are ridged and slightly taller from top to bottom. The new seals also have a lip with a small metallic band on the inside. Although these new seals fit they cannot be secured with the original wire retainers. After reviewing a manual on the bike I see that there were two different retainers used to secure the seals. The ones that my bike had (wire type) and the other a ( snap ring type). I cannot find seals like the ones I removed from my bike, but I cannot find the snap ring style retainers for the other seals. I tried to use snap rings from the hardware store, but none of them fit properly. If anyone has had this problem or can tell me were to go to get matching parts to fix it I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, Bill

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. rain or shine,

Normally, OEM parts are recommended over most aftermarket parts, especially when it comes to gaskets, carb jets, and other internal engine parts. However, there is a "LeakProof" (Pro-Moly) brand of fork seals that also comes highly recommended.

You'll find lots of GS850G lovin' on my little website. Let me share some more GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[rain or shine]

thanks for the welcome...I've been to this site before and received really good info just procrastinated on becoming a member. Back to the topic of the seals, you speak of OEM .... do you suggest purchase directly from Suzuki? I usually make the majority of my purchases through (bikebandit.com). And I always go under OEM and they have the exploded views but when I go to order the snap rings they say they cant get them. know any good web sites?

Thanks, Bill

[BassCliff]

know any good web sites?

Have you taken a look at your "mega-welcome"?


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[almarconi]

Are your fork tubes pitted? If they are pitted, no seal is going to work properly.

You may be able to fill the pits with JB weld or epoxy but more than likely the tubes should be replaced. If you need new tubes, this place is a good source

http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/

All balls racings sells good quality fork seals.

[salty_monk]

The only real experience of "leakproof" seals I have is Baatfam's set that both sprung a leak on his 1100 at the rally recently.

Had only been on there for about 6 weeks or something I believe.... (his fork tubes looked good to me!)

[DanTheMan]

I've got the "leakproof" seals and they haven't leaked yet. I put them in when I rebuilt my forks in April this year, and I've logged over 10k miles since then (and they weren't easy miles either). Mine had the rusted spring clips and I replaced them with the c-clips. Either style works.