I bought a GL500 Silverwing this spring and found out very quickly that I needed front fork seals. I ordered a set and they have now spent six months sitting on my desk. I have watched about a dozen video's on replacing them and all but one had me tearing down the whole front of the bike. There was one that left the fork tub in place and worked from the bottom. It looked a lot easier and I you don't have to mess with the air lines on top. Her are my questions, has anyone ever done it this way, is there any reason not to do it this way and has anyone else seen this video. I also can't find it online to watch it again. I have done forks on my CB175 about forty years ago which was a much simpler job and I was a much younger man. So, if anyone can give me some insight it would be greatly appreciated.
Fork seals
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Personally I would do the full removal and strip down as they're likely full of sludge that was once fork oil and will need cleaning out.
The fellers here can talk you through any issues that arise but maybe the job isn't actually as difficult as you think.
I recently rebuilt about 6 sets of CX forks. They're not difficult and the GL forks aren't vastly different.
The fellers here can talk you through any issues that arise but maybe the job isn't actually as difficult as you think.
I recently rebuilt about 6 sets of CX forks. They're not difficult and the GL forks aren't vastly different.
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6,275 Posts
The air lines on top are very easy to deal with.
Have you downloaded a copy of the factory service manual from the wiki (see link in my signature ) ?
I can't believe you've been on the forum this long and I haven't welcomed you to the forum. Please add your location and your bike's model and model year to your profile so that you don't have to remember to tell us every time and we don't have to keep asking when you forget (see Forum Settings link in my signature).
And welcome to the world of antique vehicle ownership (they own us, not the other way around). Your bike is about 4 decades old and may or may not have had all of the maintenance necessary to keep it safe & reliable so it is highly recommended to download the Factory Shop Manual for your model (available through the CX Wiki - link in my signature) and go through all of the service procedures, regardless of whether your bike has reached the specified mileage.
I also recommend looking on all rubber parts with suspicion because rubber does not age gracefully. Check the date codes on your tires and replace them if they are over 5 years old no matter how good they look & feel (old rubber simply cannot flow around the irregularities in the asphalt well enough to grip, especially if it is cool or wet). If your bike still has the original rubber brake line(s) (should be replaced every 2 or 3 fluid changes = 5 or 6 years) I recommend shopping for modern stainless braided ones (they last practically forever and double the life of the fluid). And don't forget things like the rad hoses and the boot between the engine and swingarm (they can crack on the bottom where you don't see it).
As for the forks, I agree with Phreak about doing the full rebuild the first time. There could very well be 40 years of accumulated sludge in there.
This could be a good time to think about eliminating the air hose too. Its sole purpose is to make it so that you only need to check the pressure once for both forks but if a seal suddenly fails it will let the air out of both forks and the front end will collapse.
When I hit a pothole on my GL500 sidecar outfit and a seal let go I was only 30 Km from home but I still remember feeling it bottom with every bump almost 20 years later. Not long after that I eliminated that hose so that if a seal let go there would still be at least some suspension.
It might also be a good time to think about adding preload spacers to the forks to improve their performance or even eliminate the need to add air pressure
motorcycleinfo.calsci.com
And welcome to the world of antique vehicle ownership (they own us, not the other way around). Your bike is about 4 decades old and may or may not have had all of the maintenance necessary to keep it safe & reliable so it is highly recommended to download the Factory Shop Manual for your model (available through the CX Wiki - link in my signature) and go through all of the service procedures, regardless of whether your bike has reached the specified mileage.
I also recommend looking on all rubber parts with suspicion because rubber does not age gracefully. Check the date codes on your tires and replace them if they are over 5 years old no matter how good they look & feel (old rubber simply cannot flow around the irregularities in the asphalt well enough to grip, especially if it is cool or wet). If your bike still has the original rubber brake line(s) (should be replaced every 2 or 3 fluid changes = 5 or 6 years) I recommend shopping for modern stainless braided ones (they last practically forever and double the life of the fluid). And don't forget things like the rad hoses and the boot between the engine and swingarm (they can crack on the bottom where you don't see it).
As for the forks, I agree with Phreak about doing the full rebuild the first time. There could very well be 40 years of accumulated sludge in there.
This could be a good time to think about eliminating the air hose too. Its sole purpose is to make it so that you only need to check the pressure once for both forks but if a seal suddenly fails it will let the air out of both forks and the front end will collapse.
When I hit a pothole on my GL500 sidecar outfit and a seal let go I was only 30 Km from home but I still remember feeling it bottom with every bump almost 20 years later. Not long after that I eliminated that hose so that if a seal let go there would still be at least some suspension.
It might also be a good time to think about adding preload spacers to the forks to improve their performance or even eliminate the need to add air pressure
How your suspension works
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