Fork slider seals...

[geechie]

I have, for the past several weeks now, been seeing a bit of light oil blowing up from my left fork. So I ordered seals for both sides along with the other parts I needed after my last get-off. The grandkid's last regular season baseball game will be Saturday, so it looks like Sunday may be mine. (And I can take Monday off if I have to.)

I've got the Clymer manual (crappy pictures at best) and I've got, thanks to my good buddy Lance, a copy of the R1100R CD. Looks as though I'm gonna have to tear the front end down pretty severely for this job. I have good "basic wrenching" skills and an adequate set of tools, though not a great deal of hands on experience on with bikes.

I would appreciate any words of wisdom any of you would care to offer. For instance, can I replace the existing oil with any non BMW fork oil? Not really concerned at this point with "Voiding your Warranty" issues. And I think some (if not most) of the fasteners I'm going to be dealing with are blue loctited. I have a paint stripper type heat gun (it puts out some prodigious heat, BTW); do you think it will be sufficient?

Again, any words of wisdom and/or encouragement will be accepted with gratitude.

George

[arkline]

George,

Um, I think I might be able to ship you a copy of the 1150r manual from CD...

Innerested? It's a close to a 60 meg pdf.

[geechie]

Thanks Ron, but I have a copy of the 1100R on CD already. My bike is a '99 1100R.

G

[arkline]

George,

Sorry, I think I must have known and forgotten that. Like so much else these days...

[Sir Limpsalot]

I don't think it's as bad as it looks. Some obvious (but easily overlooked) precautions such as making damn sure it is well supported under the engine so it can't rock off the centre stand if you have to start tugging on the forks.
Such as covering the fuel tank with a blanket. That sort of thing.
Look hard at every piece you're thinking of removing and ask yourself "Do I need to?" For example:
If you need to take the 'bars off to get at the fork top nuts there's no need to disturb the cables, wiring etc there'll be enough "give" in the hoses etc to allow you just to lay 'em to one side (or back onto that well wrapped up tank).
Don't snag the throttle cable.
The top yoke can stay where it is. So can the fork bridge.
Your heat gun may be usefull if the seals are difficult to get out, just heat the slider.
Any 5W or 10W fork oil will do fine.
After fitting the forks measure the amount of protusion (if any) of the tubes through the top yoke and make sure it's equal both sides.
Like I say, the important thing is look at what you're doing and establish why you're doing it, so you're clear in your own mind.
You'll be fine.
Si

[geechie]

Thanks, Si. The commonsense approach to life has served me well thus far. I see no good reason to deviate from it at this point. I appreciate your support and encouragement.

George