One the most common (and costly) jobs I get in the shop is fork service and seal replacement jobs. Sometimes fork seals leaks are unavoidable (due to scratches in fork legs or old dried out seals), but often times fork seal leaks can be prevented or fixed at home. Here are some tips to improve the longevity of your fork seals:

• Prevention: Clean your lower (chrome) fork legs regularly

  • After a ride, mud/dirt will dry to the lower fork leg and stick tight to your forks.

  • If you don’t clean this dried dirt off before the next ride, there’s a good chance the next time you jump back on your bike that dried dirt is going to slip past the wiper seal and get into your oil seal - and cause a leak.

  • Even if you don’t wash your bike between every ride - clean the sh*t off your lower fork legs! It’ll save you money at Rocco Racing!

• Prevention: Stainless Steel Fork Seal Snap Rings (WP forks only)

  • Rusty fork seal snap rings in WP forks is a common problem.

  • This rust builds up on your fork seal and can cause premature seal leakage.

  • Next time you bring your WP forks in for a service, ask us to install our Stainless Steel Fork Seal Snap Rings. They’re only $11.99, require no additional labor to install, and can save you lots of fork service money in the long run.

• Quick Fix: Swipe your fork seals clean

  • If your forks seals are already leaking and you want to try to avoid a trip to Rocco Racing - try carefully wiping them clean with a business card or $8.50 MOTION PRO SEAL MATE FORK SEAL CLEANER. Watch the below video or read the below bullet points to learn how:

    • Use a flat-blade screwdriver to carefully pry the dust wiper seal from your fork leg.

    • Liberally spray contact cleaner and compressed air into the seal cavity at the end of the fork to clean out any loose debris BEFORE your swipe the seal. Otherwise you risk pushing more debris into your seals…

    • Grab your Motion Pro Seal Mate or business card and carefully push it up in-between the fork seal and lower (chrome fork leg). Carefully rotate the Seal Mate or business card 360 degrees around the fork & seal. NOTE: Its ok and normal for a little fork seal to weep out during this process.

    • Remove your Seal Mate or business card, wipe it clean, and repeat two more times while making sure to wipe your swiping tool clean between each swipe.

    • Use contact cleaner and compressed air to clean the seal AND the back/inside of the dust wiper seal before pressing the dust wiper seal back into the fork leg.

How-To Video: Fork Seal Swiping