FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

Hey, just wanted to touch base with you guys about some work being done to make sure I'm not being screwed.

Put my bike in the shop late sunday (so they started on it monday). It's still cold here (~40*) so there weren't any other bikes at the dealership (yamaha dealer). My front fork seal(s) were leaking so they sold me a kit (40$) instead of just the indivdiual seal (8$). Said while they were in there it was a good idea to replace it all. Made sense to me. 4 hours labor @70$ an hour made an extra 32$ worth it.

Call today to check on it and they say the replaced the seals but the forks are still leaking and they are going to have to take it apart again. I have no idea if they are going to charge me the labor for it again (Another 280$?). Is it possible that they replaced the seals and something else is causing the leak? Or a better chance that they messed something up doing the install that caused it to leak? Also- if something else is causing the leak, should they have noticed that when they took the forks apart the first time?

Thanks, just trying to get some information to defend my case if needed.

My first time ever doing fork seals took me 2 hours to do on a 97 ZX6R. I haven't done it on FZR forks before. But it might be slightly more complicated. No way in hell it should take 4 hours... I could be wrong. If I were to do the fork seals on my ZX6R again it would probably take me about an hour and 15 minutes total on the conventional forks it had.

no way they should double charge for labor if they screwed the job up

$280? For fork seals?

Yes, you are being screwed.

Instructions generic to most bikes, including the FZR: http://www.cog-online.org/clubportal/cl ... ptID=30801

Learn to do it yourself. It takes about 1-2 hours. You do NOT need to remove the forks from the bike. You'll need a seal driver on reassembly. I use a thickish piece of vinyl clamped to the inner tube, rather than the PVC pipe. I also use a 5/8" nut welded to a long rod rather than the broom handle.

Darren

Maybe 4 hours are including the front brake pads, oil change, checking cables, chain adjust... He also took it for a test ride...

Just giving the benefit of a doubt...

The FZR is an easy bike to work on. How many tools could you have purchased for $300? Most of us work on the bikes ourselves and if we don't know how, then we learn - one great reason for this forum.

Personally, I don't trust any dealerships. They are in need of money right now, so lord knows what they'll charge or screw up so you have to come back and pay again.

Check your oil level, the chain tension and make sure they actually replaced the front pads.

Also that 4 hours starts when they wheel the bike to the bench, the bike has to be raised on paddock stand at the back end to steady it, then raise the front end off the ground to remove the wheel. (plus if they are careful jack stands under the frame tubes ). Then if they are stripping the forks down (not sure what they have in their kit ours had copper washers for bottom bolt, the white pvc type bearing sliders and seals + dust caps) and ultra-sonic clean the components before re-assembling. yep 4 hours is just about right.

However if all they were doing was the rubber seals two hours tops .

My betting is that if the forks are still weeping after the first swap that they will tell you the fork inner tubes (stantions) are badly worn and need replacing at which point they could be right or have sensed a mark to make up for the quiet time they are going through?

My main worry about what I have read is that they had no work in the shop during the "off season" we as a workshop were super busy as opposed to manic in the riding season.

My one comment is that as an owner of a bike it is best to seek advice BEFORE committing to any way forward especially one that costs money.

Fork seals should take two hours tops and that's including pulling everything off, doing them, and putting it all back together. No chance in hell it should take 4 hours. I wouldn't go back to that dealer once you get your bike. And I'd call and make sure they aren't charging you for a job they jacked.

As far as the forks leaking after the seal replacement- The only real way that could happen is if they ripped the seal installing it or if your fork tube is dented somewhere causing it not to seal and oil to pass through. The ripped seal would be their fault, and a dent they should have seen if they had half a brain to look over the tubes.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Just heard back from them. I'm not "leaking" but my dust seal is keeping the forks to seat properly? It was leaking for a while and there are 26,000miles on the bike, so to me this seems possible.

They are charging me 390$ for everything, the break down goes like this

parts -oil, oil filter, fork seal kit, front brakes
Labor - Oil change, filter, cable lubing (my throttle was sticking), fork seals, general inspection, front brakes.

I'm quite ok with this price, it was around what I was looking to spend on everything.


I understand doing the work myself, and I do work on my car often, the difference is if my car breaks down, i pull over and call AAA, if i mess something up on the bike and fall, that's a bit more extreme =x

fork seal kit *should* come with dust seals. when I did my fork seals it went something like this. $15 Kawi fork seals. $18 kawi dust seals. $15 Bel Ray fork Oil. And then I bought some PVC pipe to use as a driver $2. And a big hex key I think it was 12mm and I sawed off the "L" part and that $17. And that was basically all the special tools I needed. The rest was all stuff readily available.

It came with seals but the wear is on the inside of the fork. They are just kinda loose. No big deal just have to push on it a little before riding or in the middle of a long ride... They wound up not taking them apart again.

yeah it doesnt sound like a dangerous problem, but boy does that suck to have messed up fork tubes, they are super expensive if you buy them new, like 700 i think. with loose forks do you have any handling issues or brake wobble?

no, not at all. But the seals have been broken since i've got them, so my compare isn't that great.

I don't feel any wobble, and the brakes feel fine.

It's just the dust cover doesn't seat properly.

$390 bucks is half of what my whole bike cost me! When I did my fork seals it took me about two hours of actual work time and cost about $50. The hardest part was getting the bike up on the 8 ton jackstands I borrowed from a friend. If you're already comfortable enough mechanically to work on your car, you'll find that working on the FZR is a piece of cake. Too bad you didn't have this problem earlier. I just sold a set of good forks with new seals a couple of months ago for cheap.