MC22 CBR250RR fork seals

[Sniper]

Hey guys

Due to an unfortunate incident with the other half not knowing how to use a flaming rear veiw mirror :mad: I need to replace my fork seals as one burst and oil is pissing out at a phenominal rate. I have checked a couple of places in CHCH and got some quotes ($220 to $450) but I think I am fairly capable I can do them by myself.
So, my question is this, how much roughly would it cost to do my own fork seals (Inner seals, dust covers and oil), do I need any special tools, is it easy enough to do by yourself and also, is there anyone kind enough to maybe give me some guidence in CHCH? (Please).

I believe it is quite stupid to ride with a leaking fork seal, so I would like to get it done quite soon.

Cheers
Sniper

[MSTRS]

Hey guys

Due to an unfortunate incident with the other half not knowing how to use a flaming rear veiw mirror :mad: I need to replace my fork seals as one burst and oil is pissing out at a phenominal rate. I have checked a couple of places in CHCH and got some quotes ($220 to $450) but I think I am fairly capable I can do them by myself.
So, my question is this, how much roughly would it cost to do my own fork seals (Inner seals, dust covers and oil), do I need any special tools, is it easy enough to do by yourself and also, is there anyone kind enough to maybe give me some guidence in CHCH? (Please).

I believe it is quite stupid to ride with a leaking fork seal, so I would like to get it done quite soon.

Cheers
Sniper

Can you put your hands on a manual? Job has to be done carefully & everything in the correct order. Sometimes calls for special tools. Should cost less than $50 per leg. Most of shop's charge is labour.

[Sniper]

Can you put your hands on a manual? Job has to be done carefully & everything in the correct order. Sometimes calls for special tools. Should cost less than $50 per leg. Most of shop's charge is labour.

Yea I know, and I want to learn to do it myself because one day I may well need to.

[sAsLEX]

Yea I know, and I want to learn to do it myself because one day I may well need to.

k14 did his own so pm him

[ben444]

I've got the seals and the know how.... if you can wait til next week I'll be happy to help

[Sniper]

That would be great, thanks Ben. Still curious on prices and such

[nudemetalz]

I'm about to do the VT-250 ones, b#stard of a job IMO.
I did the NZ-250 ones recently and the biggest issue is seperating the 2 fork halves. Lots of muscle needed. I gave up in the end and got the shop to seperate them for me.

Also, care is needed when you put them back together.

Here's a good link for you
http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcnuts/forkseal.html

Hope this helps

Chris
:)

[Sniper]

Legend, thanks matey. Rep coming your way.

[nudemetalz]

Sweet as, Sniper.

With regards to pricing.
Econohonda sold me 2 new forkseals for the VT for $22.00 Very cheap.
Forkoil qty for your CBR would be comparable to the VT which is about 250ml each leg. All up about $10 worth of oil.

As MSTRS stated, mostly all labour, I reckon a good mechanic would prob get your CBR done in about 2 hours max - $100-120 ??

Cheers
Chris

[HDTboy]

Piece of piss mate, did mine in the garage with standard tools. Cost less than $100, I reused the dust covers though. If you want to fly me down I'll show you how it's done

[Sniper]

HDT, the words " Pirate bike" make me a bit cautious of you , lol

[Sniper]

So I guess I might have Ben444 helping me, but does anyone else want to come round to laugh and pick up the peices when I try in a few weekends?

[MSTRS]

So I guess I might have Ben444 helping me, but does anyone else want to come round to laugh and pick up the peices when I try in a few weekends?
Nah - just video it, compress and post here. For our amusement.

[nudemetalz]

Well, last night I got one fork seperated....but do you think the other one would come apart????
I had the leg in the vice and was banging the hell out of it,...while everything that was hanging up was falling down around me... :angry2: ....so I gave up and went inside for a beer.

Tonight I prepare to do battle again.... :crazy:


Chris.

[ben444]

banging... what's with all the banging.. just leave the fork in the bike.. undo the bottom bolt holding the damper inside.. wait for oil to come out...and with a few quick tugs on the slider it should come off...

then again, you could have a bush inside that's gone a bit wayward... in that case you're screwed :motu:

[nudemetalz]

Yeah the left one was fine, but the right one was tempermental.
I put the fork leg in the vice (with softjaws of course !!) and gave the slider a good pull, and then an even more good pull,...and so on...
The bush must be a little seized up. So I'll have to put a little CRC up the leg from inside the bolt hole to free it up.

[HDTboy]

HDT, the words " Pirate bike" make me a bit cautious of you , lol
It's a pirate bike cause it wears an eye patch.

[nudemetalz]

Well was replacing the fork seals on the VTR tonight and guess what.......noticed both of the forks are slightly bent :(
Was not amused.....

So off to Boyles to get straightened.........

[sefer]

Well I did mine a few months back on the zxr. Seals cost me $25 from Street and Sport (had to make a return trip to get the right ones once they were out thou, which would have been $30 had he charged me the extra..), fork oil from Norjo for around the $20 - 25 mark, plus about 2-3 hours of time.

It wasn't too hard to do in all, the most trouble I had was in getting the new washer and new seals all the way in (took a lot of effort and time). I don't know what the cbr forks are like, but the zxr ones really needed a very long socket to release the inner piston, which I didn't have and wish I did (I got away with using a well shaped piece of metal in the end..).

My opinion of it all at the end was that I would have almost been better off doing what the guy at Street and Sport said originally, which was taking just the forks in (taken apart as much as possible) and got him to do it. He estimated $150 to do that. On the other hand it did give me a insight into the forks inner workings that could be useful in the future (plus I could sand and fill all the minor inperfections while I was doing it, which a shop probably do)

[nudemetalz]

Are USD forks any different to pull apart than conventional ones ?

[k14]

Well I did mine a few months back on the zxr. Seals cost me $25 from Street and Sport (had to make a return trip to get the right ones once they were out thou, which would have been $30 had he charged me the extra..), fork oil from Norjo for around the $20 - 25 mark, plus about 2-3 hours of time.

It wasn't too hard to do in all, the most trouble I had was in getting the new washer and new seals all the way in (took a lot of effort and time). I don't know what the cbr forks are like, but the zxr ones really needed a very long socket to release the inner piston, which I didn't have and wish I did (I got away with using a well shaped piece of metal in the end..).

My opinion of it all at the end was that I would have almost been better off doing what the guy at Street and Sport said originally, which was taking just the forks in (taken apart as much as possible) and got him to do it. He estimated $150 to do that. On the other hand it did give me a insight into the forks inner workings that could be useful in the future (plus I could sand and fill all the minor inperfections while I was doing it, which a shop probably do)
For the cbr250 you need a 17mm bolt to undo the fork caps. So you need to get a 17mm bolt with 2 nuts at one end and then put one end in a 17mm socket and the other end in the fork cap to be able to undo it.

Yeah quite often the hardest part is getting the seals seated properly. The best way to do is is to get a piece of pvc piping that is the correct size and just bash the seal down. Otherwise get a punch with a narrowish tip and gently tap it in. Takes about 5 to 10 mins per leg but is a fairly good way to do it. Just make sure you dont slip and chip off the chroming on the fork leg or else you are screwed. Apart from that it is fairly straight forward. Only other screw up possible is to strip the head of the bolts holding in the damping rods (down the bottom of the fork). Been there, done that, very hard to drill out.

Oh yeah, if you need to know the sizes for the seals for a mc22 they are 37-50-11 (thats inside diameter, outside diameter and height). Let us know how you get on.

[Sniper]

Thanks mate!

[sefer]

The best way to do is is to get a piece of pvc piping that is the correct size and just bash the seal down.


Exactly what I ended up doing, using the old seal as a buffer (wish I knew it had a metal ring inside it thou, cutting it off was harder than expected). Still took a shit load of effort though :)

[Sniper]

Well the battle to take the forks off starts tonight. Just have to find sonething to rest the bike on and Im at it. Wish me luck.

[nudemetalz]

The VT forks ended up being a lot easier than I expected.

Like Sefer says, when I put the new seal in, I also put the old seal on top of it and used a piece of alloy pipe just slightly bigger than the fork and used that to bash down the seal.
After it was seated, I levered (with a little difficulty) the old seal out and then put in the clip and dust seal.

Another thing I did was put the spring back in and the top fork cap before tightening the damper bolt.
The pressure of the spring stopped the damper rod from spinning while I tighten the bottom bolt.

Also, another thing I did was smear a little grease around the outside of the new seal, just to let it go in a little easier, and it did !!
(Similar concept to something else........ :devil2: )

I would think the CBR forks would be similar to the VT forks.

Hope this helped.


Cheers
Chris

[HDTboy]

Take off the fairings, jack from the left side under the motor, and put an axle stand under the clutch cover. Worked for me

[nudemetalz]

Why don't you use your centrestand??
Oh, that's right...... ;)

[Sniper]

Thanks guys :)

[Sniper]

After much swearing and yelling and so forth, the forks have retired to a bike shop to be done properly.

Abuse is welcome..........

[HDTboy]

After much swearing and yelling and so forth, the forks have retired to a bike shop to be done properly.

Abuse is welcome..........
Here's your dose of heckling and abuse :spudwave:
What did you have trouble with? Why didn't you give me a bell?
PS, don't worry about the ZX6

[nudemetalz]

After much swearing and yelling and so forth, the forks have retired to a bike shop to be done properly.

Abuse is welcome..........

Nah, kudos for actually giving it a go yourself. A lot of people wouldn't have even bothered that.
:niceone: