Vulcan500.com

Has anyone changed their fork seals ?

I noticed a little oil seeping from the dust seal. I am getting prepped to replace the fork seals, so any advice would be grateful.
The Haynes manual says I would need a special Kawasaki tool (looks like tapered square section shaft) to keep the damper rod from turning.

Any tips? Thanks in advance,

I've been wondering about that myself. The previous owner of my '94 had a shop do that and it cost $225. So it's either quite time consuming or he got ripped off. instructions for the ninja 500 can be found here. I wonder how much of this translates over to the vulcan 500. Maybe take some pictures and we could put together a how-to.

I've had a little leak, but no service required yet. Guy at the shop said if it gets bad it can leak down onto your brakes, which is not good...

I've order fork seals and dust seals so I'll keep you guys posted! Maybe try to tackle it in the next couple weeks.

neilybob wrote:I've order fork seals and dust seals so I'll keep you guys posted! Maybe try to tackle it in the next couple weeks.

Please do, mine has gotten worse, and the HOT weather dosen't help either. I'm interested to know if any "special" tools are really required, or if there's work arounds.

Dustbuster wrote:Please do, mine has gotten worse, and the HOT weather dosen't help either. I'm interested to know if any "special" tools are really required, or if there's work arounds.

Unfortunately neilybob hasn't been around in a while. I will be replacing the seals on my '94 within the next 2 weeks. I don't thing there's much difference. I talked to a local mechanic and he said avoid the leak proof brand. He said they don't work as good as the OEM seals. He said the OEM's should last several years and as much as 50K miles depending on how dirty of an environment you use you bike in. Jablonsky has some "bug deflectors" for lack of a better technical term, on his forks. I'm looking for a cheap source for these here in the states. I'll take plenty of pictures and post a how to if I am successful. There are some specialized tools that you can make cheaply out of household items.

Triangles wrote:... Jablonsky has some "bug deflectors" for lack of a better technical term, on his forks...

I have THESE. The same shop has also THESE and THESE available. I am convinced there are similar items in the States and they should not be expensive. Otherwise you can always make them yourself.

well I am 75% done I'm waiting on some parts. I'll update when I get the new parts in. Took several hours on the first fork as I was going slow. The second fork should take less than an hour.

Triangles wrote:well I am 75% done I'm waiting on some parts. I'll update when I get the new parts in. Took several hours on the first fork as I was going slow. The second fork should take less than an hour.

I'll be waiting for the "don't do this, do THIS" report! Thanks!

WOOO HOOO success! My EN500A no longer leaks oil. It's really not all that complicated once you've figured it out. I was a little hesitant to declare victory because it still appeared to leak a little oil. After riding a few miles the area around the seal is no longer moist. I guess the might need to "break in" a little to seal better? I'll post more details when I find the pictures I took.

Cool, still haven't tackled mine as yet...

Same. I've got a complete set of seals and bushings sitting in the garage ready to go, but until the spare bike is on the road I'm holding off.

I've been dragging my feet getting things updated around here. between computer problems and life's been pretty crazy busy this summer I haven't gotten much done. I'll try to make time this weekend to get a How-to put together on the fork seals.

Jablonsky wrote:I have THESE. The same shop has also THESE and THESE available. I am convinced there are similar items in the States and they should not be expensive. Otherwise you can always make them yourself.

Anyone find these available in the states? Im too lazy to make my own. I did some searching and can't seem to find them. I think I want them after discovering how ridiculously expensive new fork tubes are. The fork tubes on my 500A are shot. OEM tubes would be in the neighborhood of $350-400. I found an after market tube manufacturer that would sell them for $281 shipped.

Triangles wrote:Anyone find these available in the states? ...

THESE might work.

Or THESE. You can always paint them black.