We_are_Stevo
Old School Grand Master
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...and if you fit cable ties top and bottom then ain't nothing getting onto your fork stanchions... 
BRING BACK FORK BOOTS!!
- Thread starter dyna-ti
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justbackdated
Retrobike Rider
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Unfortunately there is no guaranteed way to keep muck out of forks, even the best seals, garter seals fitted to most forks-the ones with the coil loop around them, will still let in muck and gather it between the seal outer and inner lips. This leads to dirt embedding itself in the bearing/bushing faces which then will eat away at the anodising on alloy stanchions, which again in turn further contaminates the bushings leading to accelerated wear, witness the wear on Pace alloy stanchioned forks; RC40/41 and RC39.
Fork boots in theory should keep more muck out but in reality give a false sense of security which usually leads to a lack of maintenance and can, if left on after wet rides/fording cause more damage by holding wet muck against the stanchions ending up with corrosion.
Nowt better than good frequent maintenance and cleaning to keep them tip-top
Fork boots in theory should keep more muck out but in reality give a false sense of security which usually leads to a lack of maintenance and can, if left on after wet rides/fording cause more damage by holding wet muck against the stanchions ending up with corrosion.
Nowt better than good frequent maintenance and cleaning to keep them tip-top
jimihendrix
MacRetro Rider
We_are_Stevo":r7hp7y24 said:...and if you fit cable ties top and bottom then ain't nothing getting onto your fork stanchions...
Not so, the boot needs a breather hole to let air in and out as the fork compresses and rebounds, over time the boot can draw in dirt and crap through the breather hole, as others have said it's a case of out of sight out of mind, the boots stay on for years as the owner thinks they are a fit and forget item.
As mentioned the top (outer) dust seal, if it's doing it's job properly pushes the mud/dirt up the stanction, problems start when the seal is old/worn (or crap in the first place) and dirt gets between the seal and stanction.
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
I'm with you Dyna, boots are better than no boots and if you don't do maintenance to forks with boots chances are you wont to those without.
Fork boots with maintenance protect stanchions better than no fork boots with maintenance. No maintenance spells disaster
A commuter style motorcycle I had in the past failed its MOT due to pitted stanchions causing damage to seals and oil leakage resulted. Mechanic said that if I'd had fork boots and periodically wiped the stanchions I would not have had this costly problem. Salt from winter roads pits chromed stanchions something rotten :roll:
Fork boots with maintenance protect stanchions better than no fork boots with maintenance. No maintenance spells disaster
A commuter style motorcycle I had in the past failed its MOT due to pitted stanchions causing damage to seals and oil leakage resulted. Mechanic said that if I'd had fork boots and periodically wiped the stanchions I would not have had this costly problem. Salt from winter roads pits chromed stanchions something rotten :roll:
We_are_Stevo
Old School Grand Master
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jimihendrix":30zlot4v said:We_are_Stevo":30zlot4v said:...and if you fit cable ties top and bottom then ain't nothing getting onto your fork stanchions...
Not so, the boot needs a breather hole to let air in and out as the fork compresses and rebounds, over time the boot can draw in dirt and crap through the breather hole, as others have said it's a case of out of sight out of mind, the boots stay on for years as the owner thinks they are a fit and forget item.
Let the air in/out? Breather holes?
These are forks with minimal travel with thin rubber gaiters/boots - how about they perhaps expand slightly under compression? Cable tieing them top and bottom will create an air/water tight seal and stop any crap getting to the fork seals without impinging on the performance of the fork - but they are less aesthetically pleasing...
mikesnowdon
Senior Retro Guru
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I've seen a few forks on eBay with badly worn stanchions too. In my opinion its just poor maintenance (or a total lack of). Boots or not, a suspension fork needs proper looking after.
Totally agree.mikesnowdon":2hdoxn7f said:
Boots are not a fit and forget item, I have seen quite a few damaged forks with well sealed boots on them. The owners thought that the boots made them impervious to damage, they were wrong.
hot chilli
Retro Guru
my zzyzx forks were never sold with boots...
this was a problem as they had the worst seals ever on them.
i found some motorcross fork boots and used these, increased the time between rebuilds. kept way more crap out of the forks.
but yeah.. they look crap.
this was a problem as they had the worst seals ever on them.
i found some motorcross fork boots and used these, increased the time between rebuilds. kept way more crap out of the forks.
but yeah.. they look crap.
