RG150 fork help

[Pumba]

Ok, I am doing the fork seals on a set of forks from a RG150, now after a little frustration I managed to get the damper bolts out and procced to remove the damper rods, expecting that the inner tube has nothing holding it in and it should just slide past the rooted fork seal allowing me to replace it, but it wont!

What am I missing? I have the workshop manual and it says to "remove the oil seal by slowly pulling out the inner tube", so does that mean the seal has to come out first? and does anyone have any recomendations on how to go about this?

[Jeaves]

If its similar to the Zeal, there will be a brass type sleeve between the fork tube and housing. If you remove the circlip and fork seal and you should see it. I had to convince it a little to come out when i was rebuilding my forks (springs/seals/said sleeve etc)

However I could of done the seals without removing the tubes out of the housing if thats what was required (however i was rebuilding the whole lot so cant say for sure as they came out when i removed the tubes)

Anywho I checked me spare bike (RG150), popped the dust seal and same thing
circlip and seal.

So in theory you should have done something like this:

Removed forks from said cycle
popped off the dust caps and removed
removed circlip
removed fork seal - perhaps two hooked picks into it
greased new seal with rubber grease and slide down tube into place
put circlip back in
put dust boots back in

[Pumba]

Thanks Jeaves, hmm so I will need to remove the fork seal before the inner tube will come out, was thinking that may have been the case but wanted to confirm that was the case before going rip shit and bust.

[motorbyclist]

wait, these are 'normal' forks without any cartridges etc?

you remove the inner tube by shocking/yanking it. often the brass sleeve is a very tight fit, and often the manufacturing innacuracy means one fork is nigh on impossible to dismantle while the other falls apart. of course reinstalling the brass sleeve is a right prick of a job if it's a tight fit (yes it's meant to be an interference fit, it's what keeps it all together)

i've always removed the inner simply to check all is in order, and i can never get the seal out otherwise anyway

so in theory, remove dust cap and circlip, hook out seal. in practice i do what you've done and show some balls when it comes to the inner.

no i'm not a qualified mechanic, but over 4 sets of forks sofar and it's always worked

[xwhatsit]

By inner tube, you mean the stanchion? If so, generally, some bikes have a brass collar on the bottom of the stanchion. Easy way to get the seals out like this -- grab the stanchion and tug it and the seal should pop out with it eventually with a bit of muscle.

When I was doing my 250RS forks I expected them to be like this (that's what Mr Haynes says), but I had newer model forks which didn't have the brass collar at the bottom, so the stanchions just came out and left the seals in there. I spent the best part of a day trying to get the old, hard, stuck seals out. Massive pain in the arse.

[Pumba]

wait, these are 'normal' forks without any cartridges etc?

That is correct


so in theory, remove dust cap and circlip, hook out seal. in practice i do what you've done and show some balls when it comes to the inner.


Easy way to get the seals out like this -- grab the stanchion and tug it and the seal should pop out with it eventually with a bit of muscle

Yea all good in theory but these seals dont seam to want to budge, had a bit of a fight with them tonight, gave up and will try again tomorrow.

[speights_bud]

Be careful with the seals.. can you get new ones if you need to before tearing th old ones out???

I have a set i got from suzuki and they said they had to source them from other shops (new 'old' stock) as the original seals are no longer produced. They may cross reference with another seal from something else, but probably worth checking availability just in case :)

[Pumba]

Be careful with the seals.. can you get new ones if you need to before tearing th old ones out???

New seals and dust caps are sitting in the tool box waiting to go in:niceone: as soon as I manage to get the old bastards out:angry2:

[speights_bud]

COOL :D :woohoo:

I haven't done the RG ones yet that i have but have the seals etc ready for when the spare time comes up between racing :yes:
So sorry cant help with the accurate details of pulling the RG ones apart in particular

[motorbyclist]

assuming the bike is securely propped up, put the inner back in the triple clamp, get a rubber hammer/mallet/hammer with block of wood/big bit of 4x4 and smack the outer off it:D

(seriously, i've done it before)

or put outer in the vice and give the inner a few good yanks - the brass collar will be difficult to pop out but keep at it - make sure you've removed that circlip though!

[Pumba]

assuming the bike is securely propped up, put the inner back in the triple clamp, get a rubber hammer/mallet/hammer with block of wood/big bit of 4x4 and smack the outer off it:D

(seriously, i've done it before)

or put outer in the vice and give the inner a few good yanks - the brass collar will be difficult to pop out but keep at it - make sure you've removed that circlip though!

Tried it, both of those idea.

This is really anoying now, Im trying to break down the rubber seals using a sovent at the moment as a last resort

[motorbyclist]

what sort of solvent? wouldn't want to damage the fork internals/chrome

[Pumba]

Just a bit of brake clean, should ust soften up the rubber seals without damaging any thing else (he cross fingures and hopes)

[Pumba]

Just a bit of brake clean, should ust soften up the rubber seals without damaging any thing else (he cross fingures and hopes)

Well that didnt work:angry2: anyone else got any ideas cause im just going to end breaking shit out of frustration shortly:bash:

[FilthyLuka]

When you yank the top stanchion, you need to be damn near brutal. Its not just a gentle tug mate.


Lock the bottom in the vice, grab the top stanchion, push it in a bit then YANK THE LIVING FUCK OUT OF IT! Did you drain the oil, take out the spring, remove dust cap, remove the circlip and remove the damper rod bolt?

[Tim 39]

Yes you need to pull the forks apart with a bit of effort...
the tips I have for you are:
1 Check the forks for any rust etc, if need be very carefully sand the affected are with the likes of 1000 sand paper, and polish it smooth.

2 always use the genuine seals. I have used non genuine seals three times, and every single time they leak again very quickly, theyre just crap! genuine last 5 times as long

have fun and I hope this was of some use to you

[motorbyclist]

wait, you have located and loosened the bolt in the bottom of the fork at the axle end so it's no longer holding things together, right?

ok, keep yanking it:tugger:

[Pumba]

When you yank the top stanchion, you need to be damn near brutal. Its not just a gentle tug mate.


Lock the bottom in the vice, grab the top stanchion, push it in a bit then YANK THE LIVING FUCK OUT OF IT! Did you drain the oil, take out the spring, remove dust cap, remove the circlip and remove the damper rod bolt?

Brutal, I have held the forks in the tripple clamps, and used a block of wood and a hammer and beat the crap out of it, just doesnt even seam like it wants to move, all bolts and things are out.


Yes you need to pull the forks apart with a bit of effort...
the tips I have for you are:
1 Check the forks for any rust etc, if need be very carefully sand the affected are with the likes of 1000 sand paper, and polish it smooth.

2 always use the genuine seals. I have used non genuine seals three times, and every single time they leak again very quickly, theyre just crap! genuine last 5 times as long

have fun and I hope this was of some use to you

Tips taken, thanks.


wait, you have located and loosened the bolt in the bottom of the fork at the axle end so it's no longer holding things together, right?

ok, keep yanking it:tugger:

Yep, amd I thought getting that damper bolt out would be the hard part

[cs363]

For what it's worth remember that you are not just trying to pop the seal out when you are pulling the forks apart, what is actually happening is that the slider bushing on the bottom of the inner tube is trying to drive out both the upper guide bushing and the fork seal at the same time, so a fair bit of force is required - maybe more than you realise? You also need to make sure you are driving the staunchion out of the leg 'square' as this will not only be easier but is neccessary to avoid damaging the bushings.
If it is really not a happening thing there is an old trick where you can fill the fork with oil and then pressurise it to hydraulically drive the seal out.....bloody messy though :)
I have also heard of people doing a similar thing using air pressure, though I'd imagine it would require a pretty decent compressor and probably some sort of adapter to screw into the thread at the bottom of the leg.
If all else fails (and it sounds like you are getting towards that...) bite the bullet and take the forks down to a decent shop, or better still a suspension specialist like ProRide on the North Shore and pay them to do the job while you go down the road and have a nice relaxing beer/coffee/ciggy or whatever spins your wheels :)
Best of luck with it

[motorbyclist]

Yep, amd I thought getting that damper bolt out would be the hard part

lol, we (the uni bike club) had a similar problem with a fork that refused to pop apart, also from a suzuki.

turned out that the bolt wasn't actually free, so actually remove it - if it's still there it's still holding on and the fork innards are spinning with it

having found we couldn't bodge a suitable tool together to address this, we stopped by a mechanic's place and dropped them off, he said he would be able to do it in 10 minutes so we came back after a 30min lunch break and they were neatly done and ready for us to reassemble

[Robert Taylor]

When you yank the top stanchion, you need to be damn near brutal. Its not just a gentle tug mate.


Lock the bottom in the vice, grab the top stanchion, push it in a bit then YANK THE LIVING FUCK OUT OF IT! Did you drain the oil, take out the spring, remove dust cap, remove the circlip and remove the damper rod bolt?

You only have to be brutal if you are doing it cold, and that is in no way advisable. If the forks have a bushing immediately under the seal and a sliding bushing on the lower part of the chrome slider ( likely )you are going to feather / tear the edges of those bushings as you ''slide hammer'' it out.
Use a heat gun to warm the area of the outer fork tube where the seal is fitted, continue to do so until it is uncomfortable to touch. It will now slide hammer out very very easily and save your bushings.