Fork seals on a 95 DR650.

[Dr Psyko]

Need to replace mine. One is leaking now and I expect the other will shortly. I can't find a cylmers, repair manual, (or equivalent) for the 95 and it has a different fork from the later models. Any idea?

[Hank]

this should work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-DR650S-Service-Repair-Manual-DR-650-S_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5190ccdf64QQitemZ350321696612QQptZMotorsQ5fManualsQ5fLiterature

[Hank]

nope thats a 90-91...

[loingrader]

i don't always give good advise.  you've been warned.

but if it were me, i'd order the seals (fork and dust) and tear into it.  most times, (on the 6 or 7 bikes i've worked on) fork seals are not difficult to replace, and even if you get it half way torn apart and need a special tool (like my kdx200 forks) you can take it in to a shop and it will cost much less then just dropping the bike off. 

biggest problem is knowing how much oil to put back in.  the owners manual may have that spec though.  i use mobile 1 synthetic tranny oil in all my bike's forks, fyi. 

[Dr Psyko]

I emailed a question to the ebay seller (years). Hope this works. I think you guys are better mechanics then I.

[fringefan]

If you have one good fork just drain the oil/tranny fluid into a measuring cup so you know just how much to put back in. This is also a good time to adjust the oil type if you want a stiffer ride. I think most factory bikes from Asia come with a pretty light weight oil so I use gear oil because tranny fluid is for guys in leather suits

just kidding on the gear oil

[Hank]

You definitely want access to an impact wrench for getting the screw out of the bottom of the forks.   
If you have that they generally come apart pretty easy.   

[loingrader]

If you have one good fork just drain the oil/tranny fluid into a measuring cup so you know just how much to put back in.

sometimes it's tough to catch all the oil coming out to measure it.  it's not uncommon for it to get sprayed on my floors, walls and ceiling when that big fork spring escapes.

gear oil would be like using 2 pieces of schedule 40 pipe instead of your forks.  you'd have "rigid" dr650.

someday chad you will see how awesome leather suits are, but i can see you're still not quite there yet.  

i break the seal on the big bolt before i loosen the triple clamps too much, so i can get away without using an impact wrench.  with all the bolt's i've twisted off working on bikes, impact wrenches scare me.  i try to do most motorcycle wrenching with my 1/4 drive craftsman socket set to keep the hand torque down.  i hate twisting off bolts.

[Hank]

Sometimes the innards of the fork turn w/ the cap screw on the end though, so you can't use the triple clamp method.

My relatives own the Suzuki shop in town, cuz is the head mechanic, and I know he impacts all the forks he does.   As always, YMMV!

[Hank]

Gear oil hell.  For a real manly ride I'd recommend axle grease.