Forks seals.. OEM or not?

[Robert Taylor]

I always dispute such claims, the so called ''leakproof'' seals almost always increase both stiction and friction. It would be interesting to do a truely scientific test devoid of all preconceptions and politics.

If you are looking for long life servicable sliders and good bushings are the first pre-requisite. High quality seals ( and dust seals ) with a ''curtain rail'' on both sealing lips are a second pre-requisite. So is a good quality oil.

And no chemical cleaners / detergents directly on the sliders etc. A dose of crc or similiar every now and then followed by a wipe with a lint free cloth.

Cheap seals almost always means just that.

BTW, fork seals should last a full season of NZ road racing with careful installation and a proper maintenance regime.

This thread is worth resurrecting as I have real concerns about the hype surrounding some currently available 3 sealing lip fork seals that are quite different in appearance to the norm. They are supposedly lower drag than oem, my own tests and those of other high volume suspension tuners confirms exactly the opposite.

A number of bikes now come out with a slippery coating ''veneered'' over the base hard chrome on their sliders. These coatings eg ''DLC'' on GSXR1000 and the Kawasaki variation on some models are VERY slippery and effective, as is the more common gold titanium nitride. These coatings can in certain instances wear rapidly as they are only wafer thin. Anything that increases drag and friction i.e low quality high friction seals, cheap oil, improper cleaning, dusty roads etc will accelerate the likelihood of such a possibility.

Caveat emptor.

[riffer]

Interesting Robert.

Is there a service available to recoat these sort of forks?

Also, would you believe that the coating would wear off unevenly, potentially causing repeated failure of the oil seals?

[Robert Taylor]

Interesting Robert.

Is there a service available to recoat these sort of forks?

Also, would you believe that the coating would wear off unevenly, potentially causing repeated failure of the oil seals?

I dont know about the DLC etc but there is at least a service available in OZ for the titanium nitrate. As it is so wafer thin it tends to wear off ''smoothly'' so doesnt usually give an operational problem. But certainly an appearance problem.

I think the DLC is very protectively licensed at present, making the cost of a service prohibitively expensive.

[degrom]

I dont know about the DLC etc but there is at least a service available in OZ for the titanium nitrate. As it is so wafer thin it tends to wear off ''smoothly'' so doesnt usually give an operational problem. But certainly an appearance problem.

I think the DLC is very protectively licensed at present, making the cost of a service prohibitively expensive.

I am sure there were a place in Auckland that did the titanium nitrate.

I used Vesrah seals in the end ,have not done any extensive riding yet,but they seem to be working fine. Was a really interesting experience replacing them and I will definitely do them myself in the future.