Forks are prone to go through fork seals. With the USD fork there is a lot of flex at the seals. That tends to make the seal wear in an oval pattern and causes the seal to leak. They are also harder to change than standard forks. I just did 2 sets a month ago. I tighten the seal springs a bit before I put them in.
We still have one ( I'm not sure what year it is, it's purple and white)
It still runs great.
Our bike had a stack of three seals in each leg. And I had to replace them at least twice a year, sometimes more.
It was so bad I had extra sets of seals. It's was very upsetting to fix them, ride for an hour, and have them start leaking again.
But we fixed that problem.
I took the lowest seal in the stack, trimmed the lip so it wouldn't contact the leg, I used that as a spacer,
So the second seal would set in the leg right.
The next one up I used a seal from a KTM fork ( I can't remember the part number )
But it was the same size as the Aprilia seal, but much more pliable.
The third seal ( the top one ) I threw away and used a wiper from a 94 Aprilia.
The next tip came from Mike at the Trials Shop.
Put the front wheel on then "cycle" the forks a few times.
With the forks compressed, clamp the axle down. This keeps everything centered.
After I used this setup, I can't remember the last time I had to replace them.
Team Sherco-usa----- Wtc Podium
in USA Trials
Posted
Zippy do you really think that your wife would let you leave Michigan?
Les