leaking fork seal

[konarider94]

So i just bought a 2004 buell xb12s today. I like it a lot, it should be a fun bike. It has a leaking fork seal and was wondering how hard that is to change. Are there any special tools required. I tried to search but didnt come up with much.

Thanks

 

[strmvt]

Grats on the purchase and welcome checkout this link for service manuals it'll show you what your up against

http://www.buellxb.com/specs.php

 

[Trill]

you need some special tools

1. Fork spring compressor tool
2. Fork seal driver 43mm
3. Fork oil leveling tool
4. Fork holding tool (caps can be a pain to get loose)

All can be made/borrowed or bought.

Service manual is your friend.

 

[konarider94]

thanks. ive been looking around and im confident i can make everyone of those tools. i was really hoping that maybe you didnt need the compressor tool to just change the seals. the instructions get a little confusing in that manual but maybe its better if your following it with all the parts in front of you.

 

[konarider94]

one more, how bad would it be if i rode till the end of the season with the right fork leaking. the left one seems fine.

 

[strmvt]

depends on how bad the leak is really and the roads you ride on how rough how active the fork is going up and down me personally I'd replace it now pretty easy to do and won't risk ruining the fork or worse an accident later b/c you didn't. no telling how long it's been leaking and how much oil is still in the fork

 

[Trill]

yeah it depends on how bad it is. I had the same problem as you, the right fork seal was leaking so bad that it destroyed my brake pads and was leaving puddles in my garage.. I had to change them for safety! It ended up costing me $160 to do it myself.

I borrowed a fork seal driver and fork spring compressor.

I bought the seals, bushings, oil, oil leveling tool along with lyndall gold brake pads from ASB

 

[konarider94]

thanks. i guess ill buy some fork seals and get this taken care of. the bushings seem cheap enough i might as well change them while its apart.

oh and my front brake touches the handlebar which is annoying. so i thought maybe low on fluid or air in system..nope. the previous owner ground away the part of the lever that contacts the master cylinder so he could pull it to the bar without going over the handlebar i guess. so thats nice [down].

its a good bike but it just needs some little tinkering to get it to where i want it.