Chrome vs Stainless fork oil seal holder

[shabashow]

Hi folks,
While I've got my forks off the bike to upgrade my steering head to tapered roller bearings I noticed that some oil was leaking from one of the oil seals, so I'll dismantle them further to put in new seals. The chrome oil seal holder has been rubbing against the shroud and starting to wear through to the base metal. As well as that , I'll probably make a hash of unscrewing them from the bottom bits, so I'll most likely need to replace them. I see that there are chrome ones and stainless ones available.

Any advantage to the stainless ones? They're a bit more pricey than the chrome ones, but will they be more resistant to wear from the shrouds?

While I'm on, do you guys (and any gals out there) have any tips on getting the shrouds 'straight' so they don't rub? One's rubbed the seal holder, as I've described, the other rubs the mudguard.

thanks,

John

[beezermacc]

Chrome v stainless? With stainless you won't get rust after they've rubbed a bit. Also the salt won't do stainless much harm. If you don't take your bike out in the wet you may be OK with chrome. In the end you have to judge whether it's worth paying the extra for stainless. Regarding the fit of the shrouds. I wrap a few layers of masking tape around the fork seal holders so that they become a snug fit inside the shrouds, then tighten the shrouds. If you enlarge the holes where the shrouds are bolted through the bottom yoke you get a bit of wriggle room to centralise the shrouds on the seal holders.

[muskrat]

Stainless for mine.
Use the proper fork seal holder tool to remove and replace the seal holders. Bottom of this page https://tinyurl.com/y79p4mxk
The design flaw with the seal holder/forks is that water finds its way in and is trapped atop of the seals. It dosen't take long for the stanchions and seal holders to start rusting. Beezermacc's method of masking tape will help slow it down.
Cheers 

[KiwiGF]

Hi folks,
While I've got my forks off the bike to upgrade my steering head to tapered roller bearings I noticed that some oil was leaking from one of the oil seals, so I'll dismantle them further to put in new seals. The chrome oil seal holder has been rubbing against the shroud and starting to wear through to the base metal. As well as that , I'll probably make a hash of unscrewing them from the bottom bits, so I'll most likely need to replace them. I see that there are chrome ones and stainless ones available.

Any advantage to the stainless ones? They're a bit more pricey than the chrome ones, but will they be more resistant to wear from the shrouds?

While I'm on, do you guys (and any gals out there) have any tips on getting the shrouds 'straight' so they don't rub? One's rubbed the seal holder, as I've described, the other rubs the mudguard.

thanks,

John

I bought chrome ones from draganfly, a few years back admittedly, a large piece of chrome peeled off within a year....I’d fit stainless if I were you.....

[Billybream]

I really struggled to find decent chrome ones, the quality of the plating was poor, so go stainless, the finish on mine gives an appearance of chrome with no worries regarding corrosion.

[shabashow]

Thanks for all the advice and masking tape trick, looks like stainless is the way to go. Better raid that piggy bank!

[Butch (cb)]

Yeah - the chrome versions on mine are about 10 years old and just getting mangy enough I'm thinking of replacing. Gonna go stainless I reckon.

[BSARGS650]

Mmmm..Got to be stainless steel, fit and forget.  Chrome plating is not the quality it was years ago....

[BritTwit]

Be warned if you go aftermarket chrome.  If from India, not only is the chrome bad, the threads are atrocious.  I had to work them with valve lapping paste in order to get them to seat.  Same with fork bushings.  Add an extra hour for honing a set to fit properly.

[Rex]

Yep, got that T-shirt!
The chrome on a Triumph set I bought peeled off like sunburnt skin...and that was while I was screwing them on by hand!
So, anyone recommend a source for a pair of stainless jobs?

[Billybream]

Barleycorn make them in s/steel and they are not much more expensive than the chrome versions with good quality form and fit

[Tomcat]

Beezermacc has them too https://sites.google.com/site/priorymagnetos/front-forks---cowl-type

[duTch]

 

Beezermacc has them too https://sites.google.com/site/priorymagnetos/front-forks---cowl-type

 Is beezermacc currently trading at the moment though- last word I saw he's in hiatus ?

[Rex]

Port au Prince or somewhere further out?

[morris]

 

Beezermacc has them too https://sites.google.com/site/priorymagnetos/front-forks---cowl-type

 Is beezermacc currently trading at the moment though- last word I saw he's in hiatus ?

Yep. Back in business. Just received a box of parts I ordered from him last week.