[oko0913]

04 Gsxr 1000 fork seal on 08 1098s Ohlins fork

My ohlins fork on throttle side is leaking pretty bad to where i have to rebuild the forks. I read on other forums and heard from other people that using a 04 gsxr 1000 fork seal on the ohlins fork is better because the one for the gixxer is dual lip vs. the stock ohlins that is a single lip. I tried searching it here and a few came up but not a whole lot. My question is has anyone tried or done this? Any feedbacks? pros and cons?

 

[NorEVO]

Try to clean the forkseal with a sealmate. My seals where leaking bad, completely dry now!

 

[oko0913]

I tried that but I still get a pretty good leak from it. Plus I figured I probably already lost a good amount of fluid from it that*I might have to open it anyways to refill it. I also bought the bike used and im not sure if the previous owner changed the fluids in it.

 

[pat1098]

Be careful fitting non-standard seals to the Ti Nitride forks.

The Ohlins seals have a minimum of seal pressure to keep the forks from having stiction.

I have heard of people fitting non-standard seals to these forks, only to find that the gold coating was wearing off.

Unfortunately the Ohlins minimal friction seals do leak now and then. I have had three fail in 76,000 kms.

Fortunately they were mostly close to the 20,000 km fork oil change interval. The one that wasn't just encouraged me to fit the superbike cartridge kit.

 

[VJ020]

I've installed the gixxer seals. No cons so far

 

[tye1138]

I'd replace them with the single wiper seal, the double wiper seal adds quite a bit of stiction to the fork action.

 

[G_Force]

I'd replace them with the single wiper seal, the double wiper seal adds quite a bit of stiction to the fork action.

Has anyone else done this & tested it over time? Just wondering if the single wiper seal would provide a less superior seal & not last as long.

Where's a good place to order seals & oil from? Im in Oz.

 

[VJ020]

on the road I can't tell a difference in stiction, but I've never tested it on the track

 

[tye1138]

If you aren't riding in a dirty situation, the single wiper will work fine. Its only when you add dirt to the equation where things change.

I've always used single wipers and had decent miles on my bikes.

 

[VJ020]

i never rode in dirty situation but they still failed on me. On top of that, the stock Ohlins seals have a really high failure rate not only on our bikes but Aprilia's and Yamaha's equipped with the equivalent forks.

If you're not at the track most of the time, I'd recommend going with Gixxer seals as the more practical solution.

Alternatively you can replace with the original Ohlins seals and prolong their life by vigilant maintenance and/or rumored-use of silicon grease packed inside the dust seals.

 

[tye1138]

I've been building suspension for quite sometime and I always use lithium grease in the seals.

 

[G_Force]

I've been building suspension for quite sometime and I always use lithium grease in the seals.

What seals & oil do you use for the Ohlins?

 

[bstar360]

Has anyone else done this & tested it over time? Just wondering if the single wiper seal would provide a less superior seal & not last as long.

Where's a good place to order seals & oil from? Im in Oz.

I got my seals and oil from the local Ohlins service agent here. Try Google to find your local bloke. Steve Cramer is the importer here. Try this link there is a couple of places in Perth.
Steve Cramer Products

 

[tye1138]

What seals & oil do you use for the Ohlins?

I use Öhlins OEM seals which are made by SKF. They're hard to get outside of Öhlins and my guy sells them to me for a few dollars more then he gets them for, so its no big deal. Oil is the same deal, I tend to use OEM oil in the forks unless I'm doing more then one oil change a season. If I am, then I'll use the Maxima stuff, which works just as well.

 

[oko0913]

How much does it usually cost to get the fork seal replaced? I found a local reputable shop that can rebuilt my forks for $250 on the bike including genuine ohlins parts.

 

[fuzion]

i bought ohlins oem seals (which are NOK not Skf... i don't know if this changes with models but for the 1098s forks its that) and a good ohlins oil here (R&T) for around $90 total. but only the oil seals not the dust boots. $250 with the work seems...a bit high but ok. our service shops do it for 200 with dust boots.

 

[phillthy]

Apart from cranky starting, an Ohlins fork seal is the only failure I have had in over 20K. Valving needed changes as I was near headbutting the screen on bumps. Did all the right things, regular use and keeping them clean and pushing them between rides. One is showing slight mark at 28,000km so now resorting to silicon spray on cleaning rag. Was the only thing to fix stiction probs on my old R1 race bike and had no bad effects over time.

 

[VJ020]

Spend some time researching about oils. The same wt oil from different brands have significantly different oil viscosity. The ohlin's oil has cst properties that are unique from almost every other brand. I would best advise using the original ohlin's oil if you want your forks to function best. You can find my threads about the whole process when I changed my seal and oil early spring.

 

[pat1098]

Has anyone else done this & tested it over time? Just wondering if the single wiper seal would provide a less superior seal & not last as long.

Where's a good place to order seals & oil from? Im in Oz.

I have heard of people fitting non-standard seals, and subsequently finding the gold Ti Nitride coating wearing off. So keep an eye on this if you have changed to different seals.

A good maintenance tip is to remove your front mudguard periodically and clean the bugs etc. off the inner leg. These are what cause most seal leaks.

As to oil? I use the original Ohlins oil. It's a bit dearer, and is made in Japan, but you know that is what the manufacturer recommends.

I am a bit mystified at people who want Ohlins forks - they have the best reputation in the world for bike suspension - but want to use different fluids and seals to what Ohlins use and recommend.

Yes, they will leak occasionally, because many riders don't know to clean the inner leg. But fitting stickier seals that risk the coating on the leg, and cause stiction, doesn't really make sense to me.

And for Ohlins parts, work and knowledge in Australia? Try Tony at Race Bike Services in Adelaide.

'Phone number (08) 8384 5220

 

[oko0913]

Spend some time researching about oils. The same wt oil from different brands have significantly different oil viscosity. The ohlin's oil has cst properties that are unique from alviscosity other brand. I would best advise using the original ohlin's oil if you want your forks to function best. You can find my threads about the whole process when I changed my seal and oil early spring.

From what i was told when I talked to one of the tech in ohlins while doing the research on the seal. The tech guy said that changing the fluids to a different weight and viscosity changes the dynamics of the fork. He told me that they based their whole R&D from the weight and viscosity of the oil so using a different fluids weight and viscosity other than whats recommended is pretty much throwing out their R&D and changing the whole dynamics of the fork.