Author Topic: Stelvio Fork Seals (UPDATE) (Read 10436 times)

Silver Goose · « **on:** August 06, 2012, 11:58:27 AM »

Just passing on some information. I have a 2009 Stelvio and the right fork has developed a sight weep. I checked on OEM fork seal and the price was just too high. Found an alternate for the 50 MM Marzocchi USD forks: KTM pn 528203 from a company named K&S. Site address: www.kandstech.com Their part number is 16-1061k. These are 50MM X 63MM X 11MM is size.

Hope this works for some of you Stelvio owners.

Good Luck

Lannis · « **Reply #1 on:** August 06, 2012, 12:06:52 PM »

Quote from: Silver Goose on August 06, 2012, 11:58:27 AM

Just passing on some information. I have a 2009 Stelvio and the right fork has developed a sight weep. I checked on OEM fork seal and the price was just too high. Found an alternate for the 50 MM Marzocchi USD forks: KTM pn 528203 from a company named K&S. Site address: www.kandstech.com Their part number is 16-1061k. These are 50MM X 63MM X 11MM is size.

Hope this works for some of you Stelvio owners.

Good Luck

Are you pretty sure it's a direct substitute? I need a set for when I take my forks apart to replace the springs with heavier ones, and am happy to get some that the Guzzi community is sure will work .... ?

Lannis

NoVector · « **Reply #2 on:** August 06, 2012, 12:29:18 PM »

Quote from: Silver Goose on August 06, 2012, 11:58:27 AM

Just passing on some information. I have a 2009 Stelvio and the right fork has developed a sight weep.

FWIW, your "weep" may well be grit/dust trapped under the lip of the seal and a quick go with a Seal Mate (or similar tool....for those of us who still remember camera film, an old negative is often used) might save you some $$$ and the long process of seal replacement.

http://sealmate.net/

-NV

Silver Goose · « **Reply #3 on:** August 06, 2012, 01:29:25 PM »

Lannis, The dims that were given on this forum were 50 x 63 x 11 MM. After checking with two dealers it was confirmed that the size was correct. The KTM fork seals are for a Marzocchi fork, other than that no other information. I willing to gamble and bought two sets.

No Vector, Good thought about cleaning the seal lips. Problem; the dust seal/wiper has a metal backup, if this is distorted the seal will leak, badly. I am using full lenght protectors for the fork legs and seals.

This is the covers I am using.

Good Luck

P.S. Ebay price w/shipping for the seals less than $16.00

Lannis · « **Reply #4 on:** August 06, 2012, 01:32:07 PM »

Quote from: Silver Goose on August 06, 2012, 01:29:25 PM

Lannis, The dims that were given on this forum were 50 x 63 x 11 MM. After checking with two dealers it was confirmed that the size was correct. The KTM fork seals are for a Marzocchi fork, other than that no other information. I willing to gamble and bought two sets.

No Vector, Good thought about cleaning the seal lips. Problem; the dust seal/wiper has a metal backup, if this is distorted the seal will leak, badly. I am using full lenght protectors for the fork legs and seals.

This is the covers I am using.

Good Luck

P.S. Ebay price w/shipping for the seals less than $16.00

Good, thanks. Sounds like worth taking a chance on ....

Lannis

Dirtclod · « **Reply #5 on:** August 06, 2012, 05:06:17 PM »

Quote from: Silver Goose on August 06, 2012, 11:58:27 AM

I checked on OEM fork seal and the price was just too high.

Good Luck

Guess we can throw the "Guzzi owners are cheap and don't care if the dealers stay in business" theory out the window.

What did they quote for a price? Curious as I recently acquired those seals as well.

NWrider · « **Reply #6 on:** August 06, 2012, 10:49:28 PM »

FWIW, I think NoVector could be right. My Stelvio developed a leak at the right fork seal after riding the Apache Trail with AlphaBetaDog and Rob last winter. It was gradually getting worse every time I rode it. Since I didn't have any old 35mm film laying around, I bought some fork seal cleaners from Cycle Gear and even left the dust covers intact when I used it. The seal hasn't leaked since. So, you might just give it a try and possibly save yourself a fork leg teardown.

Silver Goose · « **Reply #7 on:** August 07, 2012, 07:17:59 PM »

Not one to reject a good suggestion, such as presented by No Vector. But in the past it seems as though Murphy visits me more often than he should. The plan to clean the seal I wil try, but only when I have new seals in hand.

I know we want to support the dealers and I did call two. Number one did not have the part in stock, but suggested Bike Bandit and gave me a part number. The price range for BB was $6.95 to $48.00+, not good. The second dealer quoted:$ 26.00 each side. I would be the first to support my local dealer as proven by the call to them first, I do not mind to pay a fair price. Inventory costs a lot of money to maintain, but if the prices were inline I would have bought from the dealer first. I refuse to spend up to three times the price for the same item.

Iwill stand by my choice until proven wrong and then will stay up to say I was wrong.

CalVin2007 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 07, 2012, 07:46:47 PM »

I will also do what I can to get a better price on a like item for my rides. HOWEVER, I have found many fork seals to be vastly inferior to oem seals in both sealing properties and (and this is a biggie) stiction. I have gone back to stock oem seals on several bikes (not Guzzis) to get smooth stiction free forks and have almost decided to stay all-oem on fork seals unless a reputable source convinces me otherwise. Perhaps your experience here will be convincing....I hope so! Good luck and please report back.

Terry

Silver Goose · « **Reply #9 on:** August 12, 2012, 05:39:47 PM »

NoVector, I took your advise and ordered the SealMate along with the SealDoctor. I will try both and report back, thanks for the input.

Silver Goose · « **Reply #10 on:** August 23, 2012, 02:30:26 PM »

Recently I posted about the fork seals leaking on my 2009 Stelvio. I posted the size and the costs to RR the seals. Someone posted a reply about a seal cleaning device from: Seal Doctor and Motion Pro. As I am not a person to pass on good information, I bought both devices.

I didnot like the Motion Pro unit, because it was very thin. Although the price was great ($4.95 on Ebay), i felt the thinness of the cleaner would not dislodge enough debris. Keeping the Motion Pro in the proper position as the cleaner was pushed around the fork leg was not easy. It is true that the cleaner could be carried in your wallet for use any time, I did not think that was enough reason to buy the unit.

The Seal Doctor, is a well engineered tool. It comes in several sizes to accomodate most any fork and is shipped with a tool holder to protect from damage. The design keeps the tool in postion @ 90 degrees to the fork leg, thus avoiding possible damage to the seal. I used the Seal Doctor prior to a 1700 mile trip on the fork leg which was leaking the worst. i was suprised at the amount of debris removed from the seal and the dust seal ( the tool will clean both). The motion Pro was used on the other leg. The debris removed from the second leg was quite a bit less that the first leg. The forks were checked during the trip, No leaks from the first leg (Seal Doctor), weeping from the second leg, although slight. Half way trough the trip, the first leg was still dry, I used the Seal Doctor on the second leg and it remained dry for the rest of the trip.

My suggestion, try the Seal Doctor first, $23.00+ on Ebay.

Good Luck

rocker59 · « **Reply #11 on:** August 23, 2012, 08:39:31 PM »

merged to help with context.

Silver Goose · « **Reply #12 on:** August 23, 2012, 10:53:24 PM »

Thanks, Rocker!

balvenie · « **Reply #13 on:** August 23, 2012, 10:54:22 PM »

"Ariete" was the brand of seal that went on my bike. Clean the tubes and examine with a magnifying glass for microscopic pits before doing anything.

Silver Goose · « **Reply #14 on:** August 24, 2012, 12:39:08 PM »

Balvenie, that is a good suggestion, but I contend that the cleaning of the seal lips helped in my case. If i am going to the trouble to pull the forks down I will change the seals reguardless. The company you mentioned is a hydraulic supplier and water pump manufacturer. Many companies will mold their name into products. I was a manufacturing engineer for ITT Cannon for many years, and we would mold your company Logo and/or name in any product provided the quanties were high enough. Not trying to put too sharp of a point on this,but seals come down to a few proven designs.
Single lip, Double lip, along with various materials, such as Buna(most widly used), Nitrile, and of course Viton. In the case of fork seals the design outline calls for Buna material and double lip seals along with spring assist lip seals. One last statement, seal are manufactured to a standard, much like bearings the seal that I had suggested has a part number of: 16-1061.

Thanks for your input.

balvenie · « **Reply #15 on:** August 24, 2012, 06:45:18 PM »

I take your point, Silver Goose; I paid for a logo. Thanks to your post however, I am much better educated ;-T

Kentktk · « **Reply #16 on:** August 24, 2012, 07:43:28 PM »

I have cleaned seals with 35mm film and the Motion Pro seal cleaner ( Motion Pro is not that great ) and have had 100% success

Silver Goose · « **Reply #17 on:** August 24, 2012, 09:50:53 PM »

It is ment only for information and nothing more.

Good Luck

brewer90 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 29, 2015, 09:53:27 PM »

I know this thread is old but I ended up with the wrong fork seals for my 13 Stelvio based on it and just want to make sure others double check. I'm not sure if MG changed forks between 09 and 13 or if it's confusion in what they call the forks. They say 50mm zokes but that is referring to the outside diameter of the upper tube. The lower leg is 45mm. The correct size for my bike was 45x58x11. I measured the old one when I removed it and also found the size in the service manual.

My left one started leaking at 2k and a seal doctor kept it going for another 2k before it finally died. I ended up going with skf seals. Part # for a set of seals and sliders is kit45m

rocker59 · « **Reply #19 on:** April 29, 2015, 10:22:05 PM »

Yes. The forks were changed from 50mm sliders to 45mm sliders.

The 45mm forks showed up for the 2012 model year, if I'm not mistaken.

Lannis · « **Reply #20 on:** April 29, 2015, 10:43:00 PM »

Quote from: Silver Goose on August 06, 2012, 11:58:27 AM

Just passing on some information. I have a 2009 Stelvio and the right fork has developed a sight weep. I checked on OEM fork seal and the price was just too high. Found an alternate for the 50 MM Marzocchi USD forks: KTM pn 528203 from a company named K&S. Site address: www.kandstech.com Their part number is 16-1061k. These are 50MM X 63MM X 11MM is size.

Hope this works for some of you Stelvio owners.

Good Luck

As long as we're updating our experience, I bought a couple pair of these K&S seals based on this input.

They fit and work well! No problems. There are the right seals for a 2009 Stelvio.

Lannis

Trialsman · « **Reply #21 on:** May 03, 2015, 10:41:34 PM »

Can they not get this right? :beat_horse Both of my Husabergs have upside down forks with lots of dusty and muddy miles on them - neither one leaks, nor does my KTM adventure with 12k miles. My new Stelvio just turned 1,300mi and there is this mysterious puddle of fork oil under the front wheel. I have never been on more than a dusty road so the forks never had any grime to wipe off or get under the seal. I guess I call the dealer tomorrow.

pauldaytona · « **Reply #22 on:** May 04, 2015, 03:21:47 AM »

Quote from: Trialsman on May 03, 2015, 10:41:34 PM

Can they not get this right? :beat_horse Both of my Husabergs have upside down forks with lots of dusty and muddy miles on them - neither one leaks, nor does my KTM adventure with 12k miles. My new Stelvio just turned 1,300mi and there is this mysterious puddle of fork oil under the front wheel. I have never been on more than a dusty road so the forks never had any grime to wipe off or get under the seal. I guess I call the dealer tomorrow.

my 2009 stelvio forks are dry after 40.000km. On my other racebike the Ohlins seals didn't live that long. It's just a miantenace part like spark plugs.

EagleOne · « **Reply #23 on:** May 25, 2016, 03:10:05 AM »

Thanks for the update. I just bought a Seal Doctor for my 2010 NTX.

How do you take off/down the dust seals, with a heavy pliers of some kind?

News:

Author Topic: Stelvio Fork Seals (UPDATE) (Read 10436 times)

NoVector

Dirtclod

Kentktk