Motorcycle Fork Seals & Bushes

Motorbike front forks need regular servicing to replace their wear parts - especially the seals & bushings that sit between the inner & outer fork tubes.

Dust Seals (also called wipers) are the only part you can see from the outside once the forks are rebuilt. They keep dirt and grit out of the suspension so it can't score up the chrome and wreck that smooth sliding. A quick note too - you shouldn't let mud dry on the fork tubes! These wipers are not strong enough to cope and will loose chunks. Get a set of SKF Fork Mud Scrapers, or pressure wash them properly when you get home from riding.

Oil Seals are the softer viton rubber rings that go underneath that, usually featuring a tiny thin spring all around the edge to help squeeze the lip onto the inside fork tube evenly. They stop the precious lubricants leaking out and leaving metal to grind on metal. They are fragile and should be hammered home carefully during a rebuild to avoid twisting or kinking of the lips - try a fork seal driver kit.

The fork tubes are usually kept concentric by split metal ring bushing sets on USD forks; the inner (or slide or piston) bush fits into a groove at the top of your chromed inner tube, while the outer (or guide) bush fits into a groove at the base of your aluminium outer tubes.

The pair of inner bushes have a coating of teflon on the outside surface of the metal ring so that they can slide easily against the inside of the larger alloy outer tubes.
The pair of outer bushes have a lining of teflon on the inside surface of the metal ring so that they can slide easily over the hard chromed shell of the thinner inner tubes.

We sell complete seal & wiper kits, bushing kits, pairs of bushes or seals, or individual seals & wipers. If you check out our fork rebuild kits you can get a complete set of seals, wipers and bushes along with assembly grease.