vintage yamaha motorcycle fork seal replacement

replacing fork seals on a early 70's yamaha ct1b 175cc enduro

[@pboothus]

Thanks for your video. note: light heat to outside of fork housing with a butane torch "unglues" the seal from the fork tubes and expands the aluminum a little making removal of seals a bit easier.

[@LatinDanceVideos]

This is a good tip. Thanks. Also heat to release any thread lock or rust seizing the Allen key at bottom of the tube. Heat is a mechanics friend when used wisely.

[@ritrka]

Outstanding, the first vid I found that didn't show you needing to remove a snap ring before you separate the tubes first. I've been at my forks for hours trying to get a snap ring out....but I couldn't see a start or end of one from the top. This saved me, cheers

[@mattthomson1689]

Very helpful. I learned more than one thing (bonus!) during viewing. Nice narration, too.

[@kordless7785]

Thanks for the help, I own that exact bike, mine was a 1975 175

[@aol11]

I took a grinder to the end of a pry bar and shaped it to the size of the inside of the fork tube. Pops the seal out perfectly without scratching the tube. Good video easy to understand.

[@LatinDanceVideos]

Thanks. Good tips. First time I’ve heard mention of matching the oil levels in forks as critical. Obvious when you hear it.

[@bugoutbikes8629]

Great video man. Thanks for making it. It helped me do my 2 CT1's.

[@CBCycles]

Perfect! Rebuilding the forks on my ‘71 Kawi F8 and they’re very similar. Thanks!

[@k4drums]

Cheers for the info, these look fairly simple to do,

[@flintzipper8247]

Well done! Great Job!!

[@Muscleupsanddangles]

Very good tutorial. Thanks to the creator.

[@ldgillette]

Thanks for the explanation. I had a Yamaha just like this one, same color and everything. Stolen from me in Walla Walla, Washington, with Alaska license plates. Now I have a 1982 Yamaha XT200 (12,000 miles) with the same forks. I'm replacing the seals.

[@2stroke1971]

3:00 I wish it was always that easy.

[@NeekoLoss]

im still wondering that myself? how did that work out do well!?

[@MultiTman1000]

Not sure but it looks like you put the fork seal in upside down.? usually the solid top of the fork seal is on top. Look at 6:57 and see what you think? usually they say the lips of the seal go towards the oil. Sorry if this offends anyone.

[@TheScottiem303]

Right!? I thought same thing. Came here just to see if others saw it

[@paddymccune8512]

Good job .

[@afmb9096]

Just one nit-pick that is 99% not a phillips head but a JIS and if you use a Phillips and it's stuck you WILL damage it, for lose screws phillips will work, but for tough ones, do use the board equipment or other JIS bits.

[@tricky6344]

Great video guys, Helped me a lot, Hi guys I have a YZ80S. My shocks are the same as you by the sounds of it & after seeing your reply's below I used a tapered bar of alloy & it held it in place through the top to allow me to loosen it. I have removed the center section now, BUT the shock long tube does not come out & appears to be still stuck on the bottom. Did you have trouble with rust build up stopping the tube from coming out completely Tricky

[@richlogan9438]

Great video I did the forks on my 75 dt250 exactly how you did yours and installed them and the front wheel on the bike yet the forks will not compress at all? Any suggestions?

[@motorrad2]

Note, attempting to remove a fork caps without loosening the upper fork clamp will result in a ruined fork cap (if the clamp squeezes the threaded portion of the cap). With the caps off, oil can be drained without removing the little drain screw, simply invert the forks. Amazed that the damper rod didn't spin when the allen bolt was removed from the bottom (by hand no less!!), typically you'll need to ram something from the top, I use a broomstick, to keep the damper while using a power tool to spin the allen bolt. Removing the seal would be a hell of a lot easier by applying some heat to the slider around the perimeter of the seal, also makes installing the new seals a snap (apply silicone grease around edge of seal to make it even easier).

[@timwillis9499]

Sounds like sage advice. Thanks!

[@SwormCycles]

Ed, not sure if you'll ever see this but I am spinning mad about my 8mm allen. Do you have a photo of your "tool" to hold the inner rod in place?

[@OnoratoRestorations]

Great help thanks

[@ldgillette]

I just opened my forks from my 1982 XT200 and the bottom hex screw is a bit different. Outwardly the forks appear the same, except you bottom hex screw is recessed a bit more than mine. According to a service manual that I found online for a Yamaha GA200 that has the same forks as mine I need a special T-Handle tool to keep the Damper Rod from turning. Otherwise when you turn the hex screw at the bottom you never accomplish anything. It just turns around without loosening anything.

[@tricky6344]

Hi Lance thank you for the reply as it helped me heaps with my YZ80S. My shocks are the same as you by the sounds of it & after seeing your reply I used a tapered bar of alloy & it held it in place to allow me to loosen it. I have removed the center section now, BUT the shock long tube does not come out & appears to be still stuck on the bottom. Did you have trouble with rust build up stopping the tube from coming out completly Thanks mate Tricky

[@geofox9484]

Hey, i know this is an older video, but would this basically be the same for my '68 yamaha dt1?

[@1995dresser]

That is a 1975 Dt 175 looks nice

[@Diycave]

I think it's actually a CT1B. At least that's the manual that came with it 30 years later

[@mattwebb2302]

Its the wrong manual. Dad has a '74 DT175, I have a 1976 DT400C. That's definitely a 1975 Yamaha DT175B Enduro. Good job on the video by the way :)

[@rmz4504]

I thought so, thanks for clearing that up

[@Bikerboythousand]

There are a lot of number 1 rules :D No rubber grease on the new seals?....

[@skippygirl959]

He explained that perfectly!

[@stevethedonful]

Would this be similar on a 1974 RD250?

[@darrellsomers5427]

What weight of oil do you recommend ?

[@igs2king_customs572]

Did you use Fork oil 10W or 30W ?

[@ZzDe0]

These forks seemed to have improved from just a few years prior. Cuz mine off a 1970 ct1b are a bit different and a lot more of a pain.

[@SinisterSoundsEntertainment]

Other vids I've seen ppl using a 2 ft long tool when they loosen the Allen key from the bottom. Is that not necessary?

[@SwormCycles]

No it IS necessary if that damn 8mm allen just spins in place!! Not one of these DIY video's on here address the use of that damn tool. 99% of us out here encounter this problem and I am dealing with it right now on my 76 IT400. Total bullshit. These guys that think they know how to do forks obviously have not encounter this all to common issue so they don't bother to talk about it.

[@tristanwwsd]

@@SwormCycles If you can , after you remove the front axle use an 8mm hex in an air impact to break loose and "out run" the damper rods. A cordless should work too. Loosen upper triple clamp before breaking loose the cap or if necessary slide the tube up a few inches and re clamp the tube to hold in place. Use a torch to heat sliders for expansion purposes. A heat gun on hi works too. Makes it much easier to get the seals out.

[@LatinDanceVideos]

Yeah there’s a few vids showing nuts welded to end of a rod. Trick is to find the right size nut to fit the Allen key at bottom of inside fork tube. I’m paranoid of stripping anything. So I’m leaning towards buying an Allen key socket set and long extension.

[@yusufmalik5944]

bhai

[@aorakiboydog]

Man look after your hands wear some gloves