Hello to everyone. I'm new here. My name is Justin and I live in Lithuania. Have got a 1985 BMW K100RT with 94.000 km. And have a small question concerning front forks' oil sealers.

So, my ladys' front fork sealers decided to leak a little bit. The leak is not a huge one, but I don't like it and have tried many pages, even bought a Haynes manual. But I can't find neither on internet, nor in the manual how to do this small job - change front forks' sealers.

Has anyone had a chance to change it? I bought the new sealers in Germany, they are genuine, but unfortunately, the package didn't include how to change the...

So, I am a bit depressed, because this Saturday, here in Liuthuania, we have an opening ceremony of bikes' season.

Thanks in advance.

J.

Vudis, do you speak German?

if you understand french, go there
http://bmist.forumpro.fr/divers-documents-et-solutions-f82/tuto-spi-et-spi-sur-k-t10597.htm
and there you go!!! it's easy but you have tu take care when you work, everything must be clean and cleaned.... it's a 2 hours job if you're not very keen on mechanics but you NEED GOOD TOOLS, especially the allen keys

Hi Justin and welcome,

One tip I picked from another forum makes it relatively easy to remove the fork seals without dismantling the forks.

The seals themselves have no circlips to hold them in so the trick is to use hydraulic pressure to remove the old seals.

The forks have to be removed as an assembly as per the manual.

Drain the old oil then use a cheap grade of fork oil or in my case I used Automatic Transmission Fluid to fill the forks right to the top. Re-fit all the filling caps remove the dust covers over the seals and use a suitable method to compress the forks.

I bought a cheap set of large carpenters clamps big enough to fit the whole fork leg in and slowly compressed them till the seals came out.

To put new seals in use the old seals on top so as not to damage them and with a piece of pvc pipe over the top of the chrome fork leg gently tap them into position.

Empty the forks of any oil you used and refill with the appropriate amount of your preferred weight.

Make sure you check the fork legs for any damage as that will quickly ruin the new seals and also may be a good time to fit fork gaitors.

Hope this is of some help,

Regards,

Phil

A simple method I use with good result is to (after careful disassembly of the components) remove the fork legs, clean up any excess oil, and dip them into very hot water. The seals will often slide out with finger pressure.

Hello all. Thanks a lot for your support and answers. I'll try some of the variants.

Finally, I decided to drive my k100rt to my mechanic and he changed the oils sealers in 2.5 hrs. The forks had contained original oil sealers

I paid 25 euros. Unfortunately, I couldn't get BMW fork oil, so I had to fill these forks with YAMAHA fork oil 15W.

15W fork oil is OK, although for me even 10W is a bit heavy and the front end jiggles a bit too much over slight imperfections in the road surface. I prefer 5W but I have fitted 'S' forks. It's still a firm ride but I am not a heavyweight. I ride fast so it works well. The early K100RT has longer travel suspension than mine and would ideally be plush, so it may well work for you.

I just saw a strange thing: in Haynes manual they write that early k100s may have either Showa or Sachs front forks. But... when my mechanic dismantled the forks it was written BREMBO close to a BMW logo..

What that could mean?

I've seen Brembo forks advertised on ebay, but I thought that it was a mistake.

Having said that, the modern bikes/cars are made from parts manufactured by all kinds of people. Our Ks are made by BMW, Bosch, Brembo etc.

The other day I was looking at a Triumph ... front brakes were Nissin and rear Brembo It is almost like a Lego set creation.

No, it wasn't. Here's a proof



I don't really trust Italian companies, but my mechanic said the forks were of very high quality.

Italian bikes had always a good reputation for their frame and their braking systems.
The Brembo brakes has been mounted on Italian, British, German, French bikes.
Brembo is specialized in forks and breaks but don't build bikes. This should be a proof of efficiency.

Yeah, but even in Europe today you can find Brembo "Made in Italy. Finished in China" on the package.... Or even worse. Brembo. Made by Brembo Zhuangxi Hongushi Qinqai...

That's what I faced with when I needed front brake discs for my Renault Velsatis

I must say that Made in China was once a kiss of bad quality and taste. So, was Made in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore ...

These days I look for Made in Japan, Taiwan, Korea as a proof of quality. Made in Italy is definitely to be avoided especially if it has to do with electrics/electronics. I think that Ducati and others have proven this a long time ago. Cast your mind back on Ducati electrics back before they let Denso people do it for them.

Even my wife is totally pissed by Euro quality $3600 Smeg stove, designed by Smeg and built in Italy was a disaster... 5 service calls and counting, all in the warranty period.

Having said that Brembo brakes are well designed and have been used for many years ... I was looking at the new BMW crutch rocket ... it is sporting a nice set of Brambo callipers Thanks for the pic.