Fork seal brands

[Guest]

I need to place an order for some new fork seals seeing how I blew one yesterday. I am wondering what brands besides OEM are better to use. There are cheap ones at z1 and dennis kirk for like 8 bucks. Then there are the pro moly ones at DK for 22 then of course I could go whole hog and go for the set with new dust covers for 35.99. I like dealing with z1 but am wondering about the quality of the 8 dollar seals.

Thanks for any input / experiences with any of aftermarket seals is appreciated.

[chuckycheese]

Seals

Since they're a hassle to change, I'd take the conservative approach and use OEM. I think several of the other guys have also recommended against aftermarket seals in the past.

[Mysuzyq]

I went with 'Leak Proof' seals, off ebay at roughly the same price as OEM. These are their regular variety, not the moly type.....all seals are supposedly guaranteed against leakage for the life of your bike, though some here have had them leak. Mine are about 3 years old now, with no issues, but I installed Progressive springs at the same time, and run no air pressure in the forks. IMHO, the air pressure facilitates early seal failure, though I was only running 12 psi. Bonus with the LP seals is that they are easier to install....slide on with two fingers, no special tool required.

Tony.

[twr1776]

+ 1 on the Leak Pruf. I went with the Pro Moly type and also did the Progressive/No air upgrade at the same time. If you havent done the Progressives yet I would also strongly recommend it. Basscliffs site has a tutorial on replacing the seals and there is also one there on complete fork disassembly and re-assembly.

[paco13]

leak proof pro-moly
I use them in everything, dirt bikes and street and have not had any issues. Just follow the instructions and leave out any spacers/washers they tell you to. They are a floating seal design.

[dr_fosg8]

Thanks for the info folks!

I now have some progressive springs, leak-proof pro moly seals with dust covers and a liter of fork oil on the way.

Sometimes I feel like the only thing left on this bike that is original will be the frame! But what fun would there to be had if we weren't replacing things all the time!

For those of you with the progressives, what length spacer is a good place to start? I will be by myself maybe 50% of the time but the other 50% will be 2 up with a combined weight of approx 350 pounds.

[chef1366]

I used a set of Leak Proof Moly and no leaks yet.

[SqDancerLynn1]

The springs come with instructions for spacers