Fork Tube Protection (SealSavers)

[landmissle]

Hi all,

About a year ago my 2021 R1250RS had a leaky fork seal. The bike only had 3000 miles on it at the time and thankfully was still under factory warranty. The fork seals were replaced by BMW free of charge. However that experience really got me to reflect on how exposed our fork tubes are and the damage that can be inflected on them by impacted bugs, grit, small stones, etc.

Many upside down fork arrangements have some form of seal block/guards, but this still leaves a lot of tube exposure. "Back in the day" many bikes came with fork gaiters. Many dirt and dual purpose bikes still do. However, style and fashion (I guess) have dictated that street and sport backs should not be equipped with such protection. This is a shame as they really do extend the life of your fork seals. 

Anyway, I came across a company that makes a form of fork gaiters that fit our bikes and a version that is simply zipped on. This is great (zippered model) as it doesn't require removing the fork tubes to put on. I ended up buying a set and have had them on for a year. While I can't prove there're extending the life of my seals I feel much better with them installed.

https://sealsavers.com/products/zip-on-s...1644386561

The 1 3/4" short size fits our bikes perfectly. BTW, you can rotate them such that the zipper and sticker is not visible for a more subdued look.

If anyone is interested I can take some pictures of my installation.

            Cover rotated so that zipper and velcro flap are in view     

[DrDave39]

I'd like to se a picture or 2. Just picked up a Puig hugger to protect the shock and lower electronics, this makes great sense to protect the forks as well

Dave

[Grumpy Goat]

Yes a couple of close well-angled photos would be useful. The ones on the website are useless in showing the function of the thing.

[Lee]

I wonder why they don't use Velcro instead of zippers.
I added gaiters to my R100RT and also added them to our 1987 K75Ts before the Alaska trip.
We still had to have the fork seals replaced in Alaska, but if I remember right the early K75 bikes had problems with the fork seals.
The gaiters did protect the fork tubes from all the wet grit.

   

[36654]

but if I remember right the early K75 bikes had problems with the fork seals.
The gaiters did protect the fork tubes from all the wet grit.

That's what I remember and why I always ran with gaiters.  As I recall, a Rancho brand 4x4 shock cover was a perfect fit, but you had to drop the fork tubes from the triple clamp.  In addition, they were available in different colors.

[Ray]

I've also looked at the R&G protector for the rear shock. Always tempted, but I hate putting additional things on the bike that have to come off everytime something requires attention. (There's already enough body work to contend with.)

The catch-22 comes in when want to look at the forks or shock at the end of every long day, for signs of leakage (and to clean off any errant grit). The zippered neoprene seems only a little easier than the clipped gaiters of years past.

Probably lucky - but even with a few thousand miles of gravel on the RS, I never had a gaiterless fork seal leak or fail - with pre-emptive seal replacements every 18,000 miles. (Knocking on wood.)

[Lee]

I've also looked at the R&G protector for the rear shock. Always tempted, but I hate putting additional things on the bike that have to come off everytime something requires attention. (There's already enough body work to contend with.)

The catch-22 comes in when want to look at the forks or shock at the end of every long day, for signs of leakage (and to clean off any errant grit). The zippered neoprene seems only a little easier than the clipped gaiters of years past.

Probably lucky - but even with a few thousand miles of gravel on the RS, I never had a gaiterless fork seal leak or fail - with pre-emptive seal replacements every 18,000 miles.  (Knocking on wood.)

With the MachineArtMoto MudSling I can still get a good look at the shock to check for leaks.

The shock stays fairly clean but I usually wipe off the white spring after each trip. It's a tight fit to get my hand in there.

On our 2003 K1200RSs the shock started to leak on both bikes shortly before warranty ran out and BMW replaced them.
Engles  said BMW will not replace worn shocks under warranty but they would replace a leaking shock.
I had 35,000 miles on mine and Debbie had 32,000 on hers.