fork oil seal replacement

I did mine in 45 mins and back on the bike. Right tool for the job. If you need some help let me know,,,,

redhawk4 wrote: A lot of KZ650 parts are the same as for the KZ1000's so most frame and wheel parts are not hard to come by. I did the fork seals on my KZ650B1 when I got it, it was pretty easy really, particularly with an air wrench to crack the Allen bolts in the bottom of the legs. Once you drop the front wheel you will see them in the center bottom of the fork leg. As someone else said, make sure you undo these with the spring pressure on. The air wrench is the key, otherwise the inners will turn and while there are special tools and a makeshift way using a whittled down broom handle that they show in the Haynes manuals, the air wrench is the way to go. I didn't find the seals hard to remove.

One thing to be careful of is the bike coming forward off the center stand while you are doing the job, that made things exciting if I remember . I'm doing mine on my KZ1000 in the next few days, I'm going to hook my engine hoist up to lift the front, so that can't happen.

If you get a manual so you get an overview of what you are doing it's really a pretty easy job, just make sure you have the bike supported well and take your time. It's a good idea to remove your gas tank to avoid that getting damaged when working top sides on the fork caps, depending on your bars you usually have to move them out of the way.

What about bushings? I'm being told those may need replacement? I definitely can't find those.....

kzluv wrote: I did mine in 45 mins and back on the bike. Right tool for the job. If you need some help let me know,,,,

Which tool?

He means use the right tool for the job and that will make things go easier.
Again, what make you think your fork seals are going bad? If they are not leaking they are fine. Their job is to keep the fluid inside the forks. Now, if you want to take them apart and clean and flush everything to get 30 years of crud out of there, have at it. As far as the bushings go. I don't think I've ever had to replace a fork bushings on a street bike. On my motocross bikes sure, but street bikes are different.
If you are listening to a "mechanic" then he is probably trying to sell you something you don't need.

blink543 wrote:

redhawk4 wrote: A lot of KZ650 parts are the same as for the KZ1000's so most frame and wheel parts are not hard to come by. I did the fork seals on my KZ650B1 when I got it, it was pretty easy really, particularly with an air wrench to crack the Allen bolts in the bottom of the legs. Once you drop the front wheel you will see them in the center bottom of the fork leg. As someone else said, make sure you undo these with the spring pressure on. The air wrench is the key, otherwise the inners will turn and while there are special tools and a makeshift way using a whittled down broom handle that they show in the Haynes manuals, the air wrench is the way to go. I didn't find the seals hard to remove.

One thing to be careful of is the bike coming forward off the center stand while you are doing the job, that made things exciting if I remember . I'm doing mine on my KZ1000 in the next few days, I'm going to hook my engine hoist up to lift the front, so that can't happen.

If you get a manual so you get an overview of what you are doing it's really a pretty easy job, just make sure you have the bike supported well and take your time. It's a good idea to remove your gas tank to avoid that getting damaged when working top sides on the fork caps, depending on your bars you usually have to move them out of the way.

What about bushings? I'm being told those may need replacement? I definitely can't find those.....

I have rebuilt several sets of front forks and have never had to replace the bushings. While it is possible, I would say it is unlikely.

I agree on it being very unlikely you would need bushings, but the forks on the KZ650 are basically the same 36mm forks used on numerous other models including the KZ1000, so there are no shortages of donor parts and plenty of new parts available. If my forks were that bad, I'd just buy another more serviceable set and if necessary put new seals in those and then swap them onto the bike. If bushings are not available for the Z1/900/1000 bikes ( I don't know I've never had to find them) then that would tell me they very rarely need replacing or someone would be making and selling them. You can almost build a whole bike from the pattern parts available now assuming you have the basic engine, frame and other hard parts.

ThatGPzGuy wrote: He means use the right tool for the job and that will make things go easier.
Again, what make you think your fork seals are going bad? If they are not leaking they are fine. Their job is to keep the fluid inside the forks. Now, if you want to take them apart and clean and flush everything to get 30 years of crud out of there, have at it. As far as the bushings go. I don't think I've ever had to replace a fork bushings on a street bike. On my motocross bikes sure, but street bikes are different.
If you are listening to a "mechanic" then he is probably trying to sell you something you don't need.

I'm wanting to do this because when I push down on the forks and then they come up on the right one there's oil left on the exposed metal tube part. Like a thin layer.

That just sounds like worn/dried out seals, replace those and the dust covers. Unless, the forks have been run without out oil and seals that are letting water and dirt inside, I doubt there will be anything more than the seals and dust covers requiring attention.

redhawk4 wrote: That just sounds like worn/dried out seals, replace those and the dust covers. Unless, the forks have been run without out oil and seals that are letting water and dirt inside, I doubt there will be anything more than the seals and dust covers requiring attention.

+1
It sounds like seals are just what you need!

redhawk4 wrote: That just sounds like worn/dried out seals, replace those and the dust covers. Unless, the forks have been run without out oil and seals that are letting water and dirt inside, I doubt there will be anything more than the seals and dust covers requiring attention.

Ok thanks guys. ....,phew

I did the fork seals on my KZ1000 yesterday, really not too bad a job with an air wrench to get the allen bolts at the bottom of the legs and an engine hoist hooked to straps around the top spine of the frame above the coils. It was nice having the front end well clear of the ground and not having to worry about it slipping or falling when tugging on anything or dealing with stuck fasteners.