Fork Seal = Dealership Charge

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gumby191 · #1 Unread post by **gumby191** » Wed May 11, 2005 10:31 am

My fork seals recently started leaking on my cb400 and the job is too involved for me. Does anybody know a round-about what a dealership would charge to do this job (parts+labor)? Thanks

TechTMW · #2 Unread post by **TechTMW** » Wed May 11, 2005 6:44 pm

No idea ... depends on the hourly rate and the tech doin the job.

A surefire way to lower costs is to take the forks off the bike yourself, and take them in for repair. If they have the parts in house (you may have to wait for them to order them) will probably only take an hour. If the tech has to remove the forks it's at least a 2 hr job.

rwp · #3 Unread post by **rwp** » Thu May 12, 2005 4:56 am

If the fork tube/sliders have any deep scratches, nicks or corrosion oin them, the new seals will soon start leaking too. In that case, new seals are a waste of money unless you replace tubes as well. Either way, techbmw is right that bringing just the forks in will be much cheaper than bringing in the whole bike.

mswarrior · #4 Unread post by **mswarrior** » Thu May 12, 2005 5:14 am

Just had my forks done on my 84 Interceptor 1000 and ity cost me $300 for both to be rebuilt and seals. Yours may be less but if you do get it done you should do both at the same time.

gumby191 · #5 Unread post by **gumby191** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:18 am

Dawm, I don't even think this bike is worth $300

. What will happen if I just keep riding it till all the oil comes out? It still feels like it is handling good.

poppygene · #6 Unread post by **poppygene** » Thu May 12, 2005 7:55 am

gumby191 wrote:Dawm, I don't even think this bike is worth $300 . What will happen if I just keep riding it till all the oil comes out? It still feels like it is handling good.

Fork oil is what helps keep the front tire in contact with the road instead of bouncing like a pogo stick. If you don't get it fixed, eventually you're not going to enjoy the way it handles. Plus, you'll have a grimy mess all over the front of your bike. The oil will attract and hold dirt particles which will scratch and wear the fork tubes. At that point just replacing the seals may not fix it - you may need new fork tubes as well.

mswarrior · #7 Unread post by **mswarrior** » Thu May 12, 2005 8:55 am

poppygene wrote:
gumby191 wrote:Dawm, I don't even think this bike is worth $300 . What will happen if I just keep riding it till all the oil comes out? It still feels like it is handling good.
Fork oil is what helps keep the front tire in contact with the road instead of bouncing like a pogo stick. If you don't get it fixed, eventually you're not going to enjoy the way it handles. Plus, you'll have a grimy mess all over the front of your bike. The oil will attract and hold dirt particles which will scratch and wear the fork tubes. At that point just replacing the seals may not fix it - you may need new fork tubes as well.

Plus there is a saftey issue and odd tire where will happen as I found out. Mine leaked when I bought it and I let it go for the year. I had to replace the front tire because of it and now that it's all fixed it handles way way better "I had a couple close call corners before". Call your dealer and ask them for a quote, you will also be able to save some $$$$ by removing the forks yourself and delivering them. Dou you have the Manual for your bike?? It's very simple to take them out and you'll save more $$$$ then the manual if you have to go buy it. Heck you might even re-seal them yourself once you've read into it.

gumby191 · #8 Unread post by **gumby191** » Thu May 12, 2005 10:28 am

Thanks, I didn't think about all the dangers that the oil would cause. I called the dealer and I'm going to bring the forks up there next week once the seals come in.

huh · #9 Unread post by **huh** » Thu May 12, 2005 2:46 pm

those forks are easy. looking at 10$ or so per seal and a quart of ATF. taking off the forks is the most work. if your doing that anyway your almost done. save the money and the down time by doing them yourself. + gaining experiance and knowledge of how your bike works.

gumby191 · #10 Unread post by **gumby191** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:19 am

I would have done the job myself but I don't have all of the special tools that are required for the job. Since I'm bringing the forks in they're only charging me $100. Even though I have my z1000 now I just can't part with the old Honda. This was my first bike and even though it has given me nothing but problems since the day I got it, I still can't get rid of it. Thanks for all of the replies......Jim