not sure about chicago,but i take mine to a shop around here and the man charges $150
How much is a fork seal job? 83 GL1100
I was wondering how much I should pay for a fork seal job? Or is it fairly easy to do myself? I not afraid to wrench on the bike, just never have done any work on a motorcycle before.
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I got a $147 quote from an independent mechanic. I'm going take it next week. Did your bike ride like new afterwards? Thanks for the response?
honesty i dont know i ain't never had a new bike,but it rode good and no leak so i was happy enough
A few months ago I was quoted $270.00 when I was in Arizona. But, that wasn't a Goldwing and it was cartridge type forks. To be honest, as long as you have a way to support the bike, it isn't that bad of a job (at least on my sport bike. I'm not sure about the Wing )
I just did mine, a 1982 1100. I don't have the center stand on my bike, so I just put jack stands under the engine crash guards and pulled the front wheel off. Didn't pull the upper fork legs, just removed the lowers. It was fairly straightforward, and there are a few writeups on here about the process. The only problem I had was with a bushing not cooperating. My motto is that it's just bolts... so if you are handy with a wrench, go for it! The seals themselves are inexpensive. I think I paid $18 for a pair of allballs seals and dust covers.
Good luck with it!
Good luck with it!
YIKES!!! $150!!!!
Talk about robbery! LOL
My dust covers were good when I did my 82 1100 so I only did seals at the time. Like $10 and a couple for shipping!
How to is simple and all in the manuals and online here. Be aware some of the shop manuals do say to put them in wrong, I think Clymers say upside down? I think that's the manual I had at the time but found out here it was wrong first so I did mine right!
Talk about robbery! LOL
My dust covers were good when I did my 82 1100 so I only did seals at the time. Like $10 and a couple for shipping!
How to is simple and all in the manuals and online here. Be aware some of the shop manuals do say to put them in wrong, I think Clymers say upside down? I think that's the manual I had at the time but found out here it was wrong first so I did mine right!
$150 sounds reasonable. It's 2-3 hours of a mechanics time.
I pretty much agree, I did mine on the 1800 a while back and they didn't last, whether it was my lack of tools to insert the seals and I may have damaged them, or the fact that I used cheaper seals than Honda ones, but anyway, the net result was that I took the forks back off and paid a good local workshop to do them again for me. I paid £95 which is not far off the $150. I still felt that was fair since it was only 1 hour's labour charge, plus the fork seals and fluids. They are done right now and I should get many more miles riding out of them.$150 sounds reasonable. It's 2-3 hours of a mechanics time.
If I had got some suitable tool for inserting the seals I may have attempted them again, but as it is, it was simpler to make this a job that I didn't have to do over again.
I will have a go at most things, especially if I have someone with experience to guide me, but on this occasion I left it to the workshop that had the tools available.
Not everyone has the time and inclination to get stuck into ever job and there should be no shame in getting someone else to do bits for you.
Sounds to me like you are suggesting he will do the job from start to finish, including the removal and refitting of the forks, in which case it does sound very reasonable to me, given the time it will take him.I got a $147 quote from an independent mechanic. I'm going take it next week. Did your bike ride like new afterwards? Thanks for the response?
Google seal mate. I saw this video on you tube and cut one out of 2 ltr bottle worked great.
google seal mate on you tube . I MADE ONE, cut from 2 ltr plastic bottle worked and no more leak. Seals arent that hard to replace just a PITA.
I had mine done last year and it was $170 on my 1500 SE. That was at Honda dealer in Lake Villa.
1st Q's??
why are you wanting to change the seals..leaking?
have you adjusted the air?
If they are leaking try/buy a sealmate..or make one..easy and free!!! If that doesn't fix the leak then buy a seal set and change them, about a two hour job the first time..several how to's here and on other sites. You can do with the forks left on the bike or removing the front wheel and forks and do it on the bench. Hardest part depending on your springs may be reinserting the caps..or loosening the bottom bolt..do it before you take the caps off..works better!!!
why are you wanting to change the seals..leaking?
have you adjusted the air?
If they are leaking try/buy a sealmate..or make one..easy and free!!! If that doesn't fix the leak then buy a seal set and change them, about a two hour job the first time..several how to's here and on other sites. You can do with the forks left on the bike or removing the front wheel and forks and do it on the bench. Hardest part depending on your springs may be reinserting the caps..or loosening the bottom bolt..do it before you take the caps off..works better!!!
Yeah, $150 is a fair deal for a shop but $150 can buy a lot of parts too.
Can fine tune your front suspension now. Maybe do a spring change? Maybe adjust preload of factory springs? Tailor it more for your weight and riding style. The options are now.
Didn't catch which bike you have. They can all be tuned though.
The factory tool kit can handle a seal change on most bikes, short of other common tools found around the home.
Just went through the same on a '77 front end. I shimmed-in 1" of additional preload to compensate for the fairing and my habit of lifting the front wheel off the ground. What goes up must come down..
Can fine tune your front suspension now. Maybe do a spring change? Maybe adjust preload of factory springs? Tailor it more for your weight and riding style. The options are now.
Didn't catch which bike you have. They can all be tuned though.
The factory tool kit can handle a seal change on most bikes, short of other common tools found around the home.
Just went through the same on a '77 front end. I shimmed-in 1" of additional preload to compensate for the fairing and my habit of lifting the front wheel off the ground. What goes up must come down..
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In the Phoenix, AZ area, I only know of a couple of shops that will work on a bike that old, and it would likely be around $300. Not all forks are the same. I have done some forks that were easy, and some that were an absolute nightmare. I don't know which ones the Goldwing has. Of all the things that have gone wrong with it, my forks have never leaked.
GL forks are easy.
Back in the day (pre-antidive) , the guys with CB's (and other similar bikes) wanted the 1000 forks.
The older the mechanic the better.
Back in the day (pre-antidive) , the guys with CB's (and other similar bikes) wanted the 1000 forks.
The older the mechanic the better.
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