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[heirloom]

'03 1800 R, yep, I have the official Honda shop manual.   My question is re: the special tool they use to 'tap' in the new oil seal....is there are socket or something I could use in place of this??

My right front seal is leaking, very slightly.......no biggie yet.   I would like to do it myself to save the $70/hr the 'stealer' charges, but, this 'special tool' has me concerned.  I have put wheel bearings in using a socket....just have to be careful, take it slow and know when to quit.  I figure the same could be done with the oil seal...well, I hope so anyway.

Any suggestions or helpful hints would be most appreciated.

[Crewsn]

check out this website. when you open up the page you will be at the home page. look on the left of the screen and click on "handy VTX tools". you'll find what your looking for in there. BTW, there's lots of other great info in there as well. got this guys website from the national board, he comes very highly recommended. good luck. here's the link. http://www.bareasschoppers.com/

[heirloom]

Thanks Crewsn,
      I actually had that site bookmarked and had forgotten about it......it got lost in the myriad of bookmarks that I have for the various motorcycles (seems to be a need for some serious housecleaning on my part  )
      Many thanks for the response...........

[heirloom]

Found a bearing/oil seal setting tool set from Harbor Frieght for about $10.  I comes with a variety of sizes up to 3"......I'm sure one of the many 'sets' in this kit would be appropriate for the oil seal.  I'll let you know...........
(yeah, I know they are 'cheap' tools, but, for what little I will be using it, it should be fine)

[brentos]

how did that harbor freight $10 dollar tool work out? Keep us posted.

[heirloom]

Haven't got it yet.........friend of mine was going to pick it up for me at a HF store in Longview (I'm in Tyler).   If they don't have them there I will have to order it from the catalog.

The right front seal isn't leaking bad enough to perform the change, yet.  I am hoping it will heal itself......yeah, right.   The bike had set for about two or three weeks due to a foot surgery and it was right after that I took a ride and noticed a tiny amount of oil had collected on the slide....not even enough to 'run.'   Since then, there has barely been a noticeable amount.  Now I have had the surgery again, so, unless I get someone to ride the beast for me, it will sit again.

In any case, I will report back with the results............I will be changing a seal on a Virago, will let you know how that turns out.

[RobDogg]

I heard a trick once here a guy took thin plastic card like a blockbuster card or something similar and slipped in between the seal and the fork, slid it all the way around to 'clean out' anything that might have gotten stuck up there and that stopped his leak all-together.  Might be worth a try.

By the way, I built the improvised PVC seal driver and used it on my bike.  It sucks.  If I have to do it again I'll buy the special tool.  The PVC one isn't heavy enough to pound the seal in. I ended up just using half of the PVC and tapped it in using a mallet on the PVC.  I've got a few thousand miles on it with no leaks (knock on wood) but it was a PITA.

[heirloom]

RobDogg,
     I can't see how the "card" thing could work.     Not doubting what you heard, mind you, but, the card thing would still require taking the fork apart and it seems the stopper ring would prevent getting any sort of card to the oil seal.....not to mention taking a chance on boogering it up further.
     If I am going to take the fork apart, I'll be putting in a new oil seal and not taking any chances.  The bike has set up again (due to another foot surgery, however, I took it out yesterday for about an hour and there was very little evidence of oil....not even enough to reach the fork slider.  I'll leave it be for a while until it either 'heals' or gets bad enough to replace.
     Question for you, instead of the PVC trick, could you not find a socket that would suffice for tapping in the seal?  I have many SAE and metric sockets....seems one of them should fit well enough to tap the seal in.  Oops, nevermind, I just noticed why a socket wouldn't work....won't go over the fork slider!!  duh.  That also means that the seal setting kit from Harbor Freight won't work, as they are discs.  Looks like the PVC or the 45mm fork seal driver  (part # 07KMD-KZ30100)  is the only hope.
     Thanks for the good skinny and getting my brain in gear.  BTW, you have one helluva good looking ride!!!!  Really nice work.   
     

[RobDogg]

Thanks for the props on the bike, lots of sweat and pain went into getting it where I wanted it and I'm still not done but I got tired of working on it and not riding it!!!

The card trick was actually in leiu of taking the fork apart. He did it with the bike just sitting there as is.  You could certainly get a thin one in there (not a credit card) or just a thin piece of plastic like what might be part of the packaging of a pack of batteries or something.  He said it was a trick you did as a last resort before you tore the fork down because there is that risk of messing up the seal even worse if you nick it.  The idea is that if there is just a pebble of sand in the seal causing the leak that the card could remove it and cure the leak.  Just a thought. I've never tried it. I had my forks apart to paint them so it didn't matter for me.

I'll also suggest that when you order the seals you also order the slider and guide bushings.  I think you'll find that they are worn out when you pull it apart. Mine were (at about 8k) and I know one other guys were too at about the same mileage. I actually had some wear on the fork tube because of it.  But you can turn the tube to a fresh location when you reinstall them.

The PVC tool will work, it's just not as simple as Riley makes it out to be. It's just not heavy enough to drive the seal so what I did was use it to pound it in as much as I could (and I'm a pretty big tough guy), and then I took half of it and butted it against the seal and tapped it with a rubber mallet around the seal to seat it the rest of the way.  it will drive the dust seal with no problems, the oil seal is the tricky one.  Be sure to use rubber and not steel mallet because you WILL bump the fork slider while you're doing it.

Also, be certain that you tape the threads on the fork slider before you put the seal on. I've heard countless times that people didn't and ended up with another leak.  Just use some blue painters tape.

But hopefully your leak will alleviate itself. If it's just a grain of sand in it it might work it's way out with no worries. That's not unusual at all.

[heirloom]

Good skinny all the way around, thanks.  I was aware of putting tape on the fork slider .....that part is in the manual.  I figure, if the seal continues to get worse, I will bite the bullet and buy the tool from Honda or check around for someone that may have one to loan or rent.

I was really surprised to hear you had that much wear on the guide and slider bushings after only 8k on the ride!  I know it is a heavy bike, but, that seems premature.  My local shop can get parts in pretty quick (if they are in stock in Dallas  ), so I'll probably see what they look like before I order them.  If they are bad (worn past limits), I would assume that the left fork would probably be the same???  Also, if your guide bushing was worn, did you need to get the backup ring as well, or was it okay??

Sure wish you were closer.  I'm pretty good at reading instructions and figuring things out, but, it sure does help to have someone with "experience" standing by!

Once again, kudos on your ride.......did you do the paint?  Is it pearl?

[RobDogg]

Thanks for the props on the ride. I've always liked white, my first 3 vehicles were white and I just grew to like the crisp clean look.  I pulled it down and sent the tins off to Streetmuscle in Colorado.  He shaved the rivets from the front fender, sanded the forks down, filled the tank seam and did the paint.  I had the rear fender get damaged in shipping so I sent it back and he fixed it for me. (fedex paid for the fix ;-) )

Yeah, I was surprised too about the wear too. It was only on the one side really where it bears the most weight.  The copper was almost all worn off the bushings.  I tore my forks down only for the paint, but of course I inspected things once I took them apart.  I replaced 5 parts on each fork - dampener bolt washer (right only), Oil seal, dust seal, slider bushing, and guide bushing.  I reused the backup ring, stopper ring, and everything else.  I already had progressive springs in but if you didn't this would be a good time to put them in.  When I mounted the forks back I turned the worn part of the fork tubes to the side to try to stave off more wear.

I'd be glad to give you a hand but Tyler is quite a hike from Denton!!

[RobDogg]

.. Is it pearl?

Forgot this part - No, it's not pearl, it's Chevy Envoy white, known as "Summit White" by GM.

[hipshot]

Hey Roland, FWIW I split some PVC, clamp it to the slider, and tap the seal and cover in with that. It's worked so far on several bikes; you just have to make sure the seals aren't upside down...........

[heirloom]

Thanks Hipshot..........the manual states that the "marked side" should be facing up.   I guess that would be looking at it from an installed fork point of view.

Just out of curiosity, what size pvc did you use and did you use something like hose clamps to keep the halves together??   On the fork you did, did you find the slider bearing worn?......if so, did you do both forks?

Ahh, I just surfed around and found that I need a 1.5" pvc pipe union and a hose clamp for the tool.  The internal lock nut tool for the left fork looks like a bummer to make!  I find it odd that the left fork is totally different inside than the right fork.  From the looks of things, I am glad it is the right fork that is weeping!!!