Fork Seals - Kawasaki EX500

[@aaronguthrie6496]

Hands down, this is the best fork seal replacement video I've seen for a Ninja 500 -- second place is not even close. Thank you. Thanks for laying the parts out in a linear way. Well lit space, well explained. Very well done.

[@matttriestodothings]

Thanks man, I appreciate it. I actually spent a fair bit of time thinking this one out compared to most of my videos. Go figure it's on pace to be the lowest viewed video I've ever put out, lol. But it was fun making it and I was hoping it could help a couple people out. Sounds like it got at least one!

[@StundeDesSiegers]

Great explanation. I have to this on my 1994 ZZR600E and stumbled over these stupid top caps. Now everything is clear to me. I think I can fix my fork in the time of 5 beers now 😅 Greetings from Germany, thank you!

[@matttriestodothings]

You should have seen the nonsense I was trying to do with the first set of 1985 454 LTD forks I had already taken off before I realized you needed to depress those caps... lol. There was some blood and yelling. Your beers are a bit heavier over there than the ones that show up in my garage, so I'd say 5 is a great estimation! Take your time, and you won't have to do it again for a long time. Cheers Ben.

[@915greenhornet]

My 1984 zn700a Kawasaki had screw on caps but all internal parts were the same. Have yet to test ride. But your video made it super easy to change out my seals

[@matttriestodothings]

That's awesome man. Hopefully some good rides in store for you and the 700 coming up in 2024!

[@915greenhornet]

@@matttriestodothings I've gutted the harness, installed the M- unit ,new tires ,fork rebuild brakes. Greased bearings cleaned the carbs. Going to be a solid bike fingers crossed.

[@matttriestodothings]

@@915greenhornet hell yea. Sounds like you're well on your way.

[@strat3265]

I am so glad you did a video on these forks. I am currently doing the forks on my '94 Ninja 250 and got confused as to how to take apart the top of the fork. When you expect a bolt and see nothing of the sort it kinda catches you off guard. Well explained video and helped me a ton.

[@matttriestodothings]

I was so. damn. confused. the first time I saw them on a kawasaki 454ltd. I had no idea how to depress them. Got the idea from someone else's KZbin vid. Hope you get your forks done and you're ready to roll leak free!

[@strat3265]

I just finished up the forks about 30 minutes ago and it is vastly better than before. The first fork gave me some fits and took me a couple hours but the second one only took me about an hour from when I started until it was back in the bike.

[@jamie.miller.inspiring]

Im about to do seals and oil on my gpx250 when i get the seals, so glad this video showed up in my watch feed as this was the perfect video to show me how to do them as its my first bike and first time working on forks. Thank you very much for taking the time to record the process :)

[@matttriestodothings]

Absolutley man. Hope everything goes smoothly on your 250!

[@jamie.miller.inspiring]

​@matttriestodothings thank you very much, I'm sure after watching this a second time it will go smoothly. Just need to get a bearing puller to make life easier since i will use it to do the headstem bearings at the same time, and front pads, rotor and wheel bearings. Bike will be so much nicer after all of that :)

[@matttriestodothings]

@@jamie.miller.inspiring the puller is a useful thing to have in your tool kit. I didn't have one until I had to pull my trucks AC clutch and I've used it a bunch since. It'll definitely feel like a much nicer bike once you're through! Hope everything goes smoothly and you're ready to rock soon.

[@jamie.miller.inspiring]

@@matttriestodothings its one of the few things I've managed to not buy yet but that will likely change today :) Absolutely it will be like a new bike, I will keep collecting a few things (some pvc pipe and long 6mm hex driver bit) until its a rainy day or two as I dont want to sacrifice awesome riding weather 🤣

[@matttriestodothings]

@@jamie.miller.inspiring ohhhh yea don't do that shit now. Wait until it's crap weather for sure. I'm just in winter mode, hah.

[@BaronVonBloodvig]

Thanks for this video, I've got a 2003 GPZ500s that is leaking fork oil all over the place and the Haynes manual is a little ambiguous in places. My main questions were about driving the bush and oil seal into place but after watching I'm pretty happy I can give it a go.

[@matttriestodothings]

You'll be fine changing them if you have a driver that can do a 36mm seal and a good enough hex drive to break loose the damper rod bolt. If you have those two things, you'll be good to go. For the most part, these conventional forks are all about the same. The Kawasaki circlip as opposed to regular top cap on the fork just threw me through a bit of a loop.

[@BaronVonBloodvig]

@@matttriestodothings I rebuilt one fork tube following your video and using your method of some guttering pipe to help drive the bushing and seals home. Two weeks on an not a single drop of oil has escaped. Decided I might as well do the other too. Thank you sir :)

[@matttriestodothings]

@@BaronVonBloodvig That's fantastic man! Glad to hear it!

[@snowball5292]

Much appreciated

[@Moon_Quake]

Thank you soooo much for this video

[@matttriestodothings]

Not a problem. Hopefully your fork seal replacement goes smoothly!

[@B806VIOTempesta-vk5ox]

What oil can i use for fork? Thank you for the tutorial. Verry good video

[@matttriestodothings]

I use Maxima fork weight oil--but you could use pretty much any name brand oil that's available at your local shop as well. It's best to choose a brand and stick with it since their viscosities can differ between brands. Automatic transmission fluid was also commonly used in the past. It acts as ~5W fork oil. I'd say 5W is too light for this bike though.

[@godsoe_is_old]

Your voice reminds me of Bill Burr so I subscribed 😂. Love the helpful videos too 🤙🏻

[@matttriestodothings]

Hah, you listen to a guy talk to himself for hundreds or thousands of hours... maybe he starts influencing you dialect. 'Ole Billy Rednuts, lol. Thanks AA-Ron.

[@JvonTheRedman]

whats the name of the tool used to compress the forks before removing the clip

[@matttriestodothings]

2 Jaw Puller

[@AICD1999]

I use the old seal on top of the new seal and drive it instead. I have bent the new seal using the driver directly on it.

[@matttriestodothings]

Ive had the old one get stuck doing that in the past, and then I was left trying to stab at the thing trying to get it out. You're right tho in that this is a bit crude and because it doesn't mate fully with the seal, leaves some room for damage. Maybe I ought to give using the old seal on top another shot in the future.

[@snowball5292]

I liked the video but when and where do I put the fork oil

[@matttriestodothings]

17:42 . After you've driven the fork seal, installed the circlip over the fork seal, installed the dust seal, and put the bolt through the bottom of the fork to hold the damper rod. With the spring out and the stanchion collapsed completely in the fork lower, you'll add fluid until it reaches a specific level.

[@LieutenantTickles]

I ran into an issue where one of the bolts you used an impact on was stripped by a hand tool. Do you think using an electric impact would get out the stripped screw or make the problem worse?

[@matttriestodothings]

I've dealt with the stripped bolts (damper rod bolt) before, and I've been able to zip them off with the impact when nothing else would work. I try to keep spares on hand if I know I'm going to do seals and the damper bolts are no good. It really, really sucks to have to drill them out. I've had to do it in the past, but ever since I bought an impact wrench, I haven't had to resort to the drill.

[@mmotorcycles9497]

Keeping busy on the bikes I see. I’ve never liked doing forks.

[@matttriestodothings]

I just watched your vid of the RC30 rear wheel earlier this evening. hnnnggggg. Yep. Instead of dealing with the problems in my life, I'm choosing to take on other people's and push my own further down the line, lol. I rode up to Road America for MotoAmerica this year with my dad and we stopped at a moto dealer because I wanted to buy him some gloves for fathers day. I was talking to him about the Ninja 400 and how so many people are buying these things and tracking them now and he was like... "maybe I should sell the sportster for one of these.. I really like it." Then I reminded him of the decaying ex500 in his basement and one thing led to another and here we are.. covered in fork oil. I should have just let him buy the damn 400.

[@mmotorcycles9497]

@@matttriestodothings lol it would have been easier to let him get the 400 for sure but nice to bring a bike back to its glory. Man I miss road america on of the best fan friendly tracks. Plus the people in Wisconsin are just great.

[@matttriestodothings]

@@mmotorcycles9497 I'm so pumped for the IMSA weekend. Taking 3 guys (and 2 vets) that have never been to an auto race in their lives. But they drive trick cars. They thought it was supposed to be a little track day type thing. I sent them a picture of the grid and they're like "ok, this is gonna be insane. What do we bring?" got two spots right on the track in the carousel. Debating whether to bring my dirtbikes or if that'll just get one or all of us arrested. We have to be nice in Wisconsin. We've got such short seasons for fun stuff that there's less time to be a jerk!

[@LieutenantTickles]

How do you know when to stop driving the washer and seal down? Is there something inside the fork that they sit on?

[@matttriestodothings]

You can tell when the bushing has been put all the way in with the washer. If you're unsure, just look at the space above the washer and below the circlip line--it needs to fit the fork seal. If there's enough space to fit the seal, the bushing/washer are far enough in. The seal is far enough down once you can put the circlip into the grove to hold the seal in place.

[@LieutenantTickles]

@@matttriestodothings thank you, I saw what you were talking about once I got the fork taken apart.

[@manuelrivera6873]

looking to replace seals on 2007 Vulcan 500LTD...is it basically the same as EX500? Any special tools?

[@matttriestodothings]

I don't know about the 500LTD, but if they're standard conventional forks, I can almost guarantee the process is going to be nearly the same. The only thing special about the EX500 and 1985 454LTD forks was the top cap removal that required a 2-jaw puller for me to remove.

[@vcme]

Having an issue on my 2006 ninja 650. Can’t get the seal down far enough to fit the lock clip in. Any suggestions?

[@matttriestodothings]

Did the bushing make it all the way down before you started driving the seal in? Assuming it's a similar conventional setup, I can't think of what else would be blocking it. Is it flush or cockeyed in the bore?

[@vcme]

@@matttriestodothings it’s just sitting right over top where the clip goes in to lock the seal.

[@vcme]

@@matttriestodothings I tried putting more force on the seal driver with minimal luck. Took it apart several times and tried with no success.

[@matttriestodothings]

@@vcme maybe a stupid question, but.. Do you have one of the old seals to compare the height against the new seal? I'm wondering if you could have the wrong size. Diameter bring correct but height being different. Trying to think of the simple things before suggesting to try driving it harder.

[@vcme]

@@matttriestodothings I compared the sizes and they are the same. I think i might be inserting the pieces wrong.

[@Hunter-p6r6y]

What is the arm clamp screw thing called and is there any alternatives?

[@matttriestodothings]

2 jaw puller. Alternative is a second set of hands. Just have someone push it down with a rod while the other pulls the circlip with a pick.

[@Hunter-p6r6y]

@@matttriestodothings thank you

[@Hunter-p6r6y]

@@matttriestodothings also can I reuse dust seals

[@matttriestodothings]

@@Hunter-p6r6y If they're not all cracked and they're still pliable, yes. I've done it before without issue.