Fork Seals and Bushing

[Spikey]

Hi All
Its MOT Time for me in Scotland at the moment
My front fork seals are leaking so i bought replacesments
i followed some of the instructional videos available and they came apart no problem but the reassembly is not going quite aswell
i cannot get the bush seated into the fork leg. I have used a fork seal tool and the plastic pipe slide down the the leg and hammered but i cannot get the last third of the bush into place
any ideas what im missing most videos even on here look very straight forward
any help would be great
many thanks

 

[Sadlsor]

Maybe Obo or someone who's done it recently will chime in shortly.
Can we assume these are the correct, genuine Honda parts you're using?
I've not yet dove into my forks.

 

[Gus1300]

Are you sure it's the right size for the placement location? It's been awhile since I did mine but they went together in a straightforward manner. I do have a noticeable leak at the top seal now though, that I'll prob need to address soon. And maybe will just do them again as it's been a few years since the fluid was replaced when I did the RaceTech valve upgrade.

 

[W0QNX]

Tell us with a Honda part number what a "bush" is?

The bushings just need the split opened and slid in place.

 

[dwalby]

i cannot get the bush seated into the fork leg. I have used a fork seal tool and the plastic pipe slide down the the leg and hammered but i cannot get the last third of the bush into place

my experience doing this job many times on different bikes is once the bushing compresses and starts into the recess, it just requires a few more soft taps to drive it home. I'm not familiar with the 1300 specifically, but I'd think once you have it partially in it should be easy to get it the rest of the way in. Are you sure you have the right replacement part? The only other thing I can think of is did something fall into the recess that's holding it back from seating any further.

Its been a while since I did it last, but I think the bushings have a taper on one end that helps compress it into the recess as you push down on it, is it possible you put the new one in upside down?

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

I made a brass ‘drift’ to finish installing my ST1100’s upper slider bushings. It’s in the STOC fork seals loaner tools kit. Filed a profile on the side of one end to fit the curve of the fork tube and then tapped away until it was fully ‘home.’ YMMV FWIW

John

 

[JohnK]

If you don’t have attached are some pics of the manual, shows the order of the bushings and piece parts. the seal should fit below the retainer ring slot, using the seal driver. It should not be that difficult. If you’re experiencing difficulty getting it back together compare the parts you are replacing to assure correct. Let’s say you get the fork seal to go on if you see the slot for the retainer ring it’s deep enough - the last piece is the dust seal and it should go over the retainer ring. If I missed your intent let me know and share a pic or two.

 

[Spikey]

Thankyou all
sorry for the delay lost our internet and a lot of hassle later its connected
The bushes are now in, my garage here is very cold so i heated the lower leg with a heat gun and used an oversized plastic waste pipe split and hit it with a mallet and they went in
and the seals went in no probs i did buy the drift tool but the plastic pipe worked just fine
In forty odd years of driving motorcycles this is the first time ive done this every day is a school day
thanks to you all