Leaking fork seals

[carvan4040]

Hi have just replaced my fork seals on my GT 550 A 1976 model for the second time and they are already leaking. I'm thinking i need to get genuine suzuki seals in order to fix them once and for all. Can anyone tell me the part number for these seals please. I'm assuming that these seals were fitted to many other suzuki bikes as well.

Thanks

Richard

[Coyote]

Are you sure you are putting them in right way around? Fork seals are deceiving (at least the ones I have used). There is a small step on the seal OD. That small end looks like a starter diameter but it's not. If you are putting the smaller end down, they are upside down. I have made this mistake myself.
OEM fork seals are no better than many other seals on the market. Originally the seals were 14mm tall. Later the seals changed to 11mm tall and the difference was made up by a 3mm shim. I never saw those shims as they were probably lost by a previous owner. I just pushed the seal in to the shoulder in the fork leg. Never had any problems installing them that way. Hope this helps!

[Suzukidave]

You didnt say how smooth the fork tubes are ? If they are pitted at all where the seal runs the pits will eat up your new seals .

[old racer]

My experience with fork seals is by oem.

[joethebike]

Assuming your fork legs are not pitted consider this if the seals being used are the type that incorporates a spring to tension the sealing lip. I bought a Honda CX500EC in 1982 and a fork seal(spring type) leaked after about 20000km so I popped the seal out and snipped about 5mm off the spring length, rejoined the spring and reinstalled the adjusted seal.

That seal has now lasted 30 years and 240,000km and has not leaked a drop since the repair.

[carvan4040]

Thanks for the replies.

Forks are clean no pitting . Interesting comment about the spring and shortening it to fix a leaky seal. When i pushed the innner leg thru the seal the spring on the top of the seal came out. I don't know why or how, i certainly didn't do anything to it. I simply pushed the spring back in and finnished the job. My question is should the spring have come out of the top of the seal in the first place and could i now perhaps take the spring out and shorten it which would hopefully provide a better seal. That being the case how did you shorten the spring then re join it.

Cheers

Richard

[joethebike]

The spring in my Honda seal is not endless in that one end is solid and tapered and screws into the hollow other end. After undoing the ends and snipping about 5mm (from fallible memory mind!) off the hollow end it was rejoined by inserting the tapered end and twisting which reestablished a round spring.