Failed my MOT, worth me trying to fix it myself?

[jp14]

My yamaha rxs100 failed it's MOT the other day due to head races being worn and front fork seals leaking (among a couple of other things) is it worth me trying to replace the head races and seals myself with some knowledge of using a spanner and a haynes manual, or paying over £100 for the garage to do it?

Thanks

[KevTM]

Not really that difficult unless you run into a problem. I say attempt it yourself, best way to learn

One of the forks in one of my bikes was leaking, one of the previous owners had made a right mess replacing the seal.. there was parts missing and he hammered a washer in (instead of using the proper clip), ruined the inside of the fork leg

[creature]

if your confident of your abilities then do it yourself...

if not then get it done by a bike shop.

Remember its your life on the line here !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Scotsman37]

Depends what is causing the fork seals to leak? Either the seals have worn out or you have a scratch on forks that is cutting into seal allowing the oil to leak.

I would get a mechanic to replace your seals because if it still leaks then he will have to do it over again at his own costs not yours if he gives you a warranty for work carried out, unless he discovers that your fork(s) needs to be replaced due to long term wear & tear or a deep scratch by a stone.

My friend a long time ago had failed his MOT due to failed fork seals, because when the mechanic lifted the front of the bike physically upwards and discovered that a stone from the road must have scratched the fork low down when it was exposed when he no doubt accelerated. So not seeing it when off the bike unknown to him that scratch was slicing a groove into the seal.

[mattsmith95]

For all the work involved best let the bike shop deal with it, head race bearings are not that much of a problem but the forks could be a headache.

Best leave it to the shop as they do this sort of thing very often.

[chris-red]

[mikey 2659]

cut off the cones carefully with an angle grinder and knock out the cups ,buy a set of taper roller bearings and drift in/on with the old parts,easier(no balls to lose),longer lasting,feel nicer,probably cheaper than yamaha prices.pack with suitable grease and DO NOT overtighten.both of my previous rxs were notchy on originals before 10k.it may seem like overkill but i got the bearings from an engineering suppliers cheap,he measured up the old parts,or you could try m and p.the fork seals are fairly easy to do,take care not to damage the leg when removing the seal,i used a large, close fitting socket back to front on an extension bar to drift the new ones in.when disassembling undo the top pinch bolts only to make removing the top cap on the leg with a 14mm allen key or similar tool easier.there is a spring under compression so undo carefully.i fitted motorcross style gaitors to protect the chrome legs from chips and corrosion.

[jp14]

mm, it sounds all pretty daunting, I think it'll be worth the extra £40 if the MOT station does it cos i don't need to pay for the MOT again so thats minus 28 quid. I can sort out the little problems my self relitivley easily.

And by the sounds of it i'm going to need some specialist equipmet so... I think, this time, the system wins..

Cheers for the advice

[dynamec]

we do forks and headraces weekly
can you support your bike? if it falls over could cause damage, some forks need special tools to disassemble too, plus you need the correct viscosity for oil to the correct level. inner races can be a pig to remove, often needing to be cut off with a disk.
knowing the gear we have and the safety issue. please only attempt if your realy confident mate.
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dynamec motorcycle sales, tyres and service

[mikey 2659]

sounds like £50 per hour bike shop bull.putting weight on rear seat will hold front up,sae 5 or 10 fork oil,use 30p syringe to fill with correct amount then check level from top with ruler.buy the haynes manual,its all in there.last time a 'professional' touched my bike they adjusted the chain so tight i could not turn the wheel with both hands!A HONDA DEALER!!!!!! you only learn by doing.

[dynamec]

funny £50 an hour bulshit!!!
we only charge £35
costs us 4K a month on overheads too! If you have never done it you would never know.
I always encourage people to look after their machines. but only if they are sure of what they are doing.
oh yeah we get free tyre disposal, free oil recycleing, free insurance, free tools and consumeables and we have no mortgages to pay.........NOT.
NOT ALL SHOPS ARE THE SAME.
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dynamec motorcycle sales, tyres and service

[mikey 2659]

WHOOPS,obviously i touched a nerve there!

[clancy]

there both pretty easy jobs, id do them yourslf for the sake of money.
headrace is straight forward, as for the forks....
its not to difficult, id advise using a guide from the internet and following it properly.
its not a huge job, 1-2 hours work.

leigh
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KLX 300r

[1016.5]

Of course you should do it yerself.

If you've got a centrestand, a basic tool kit and maybe some circlip pliers it'll be a piece of piss. It's only a matter of confidence and if you get stuck or are worried about any of it, just post up on here and I'm sure that some will be happy to guide you along a bit.

Just think how satisfied you'll feel for having done it yourself and knowing that it's right and hasn't cost a fortune. You'll also be more confident when the next job comes along.

[dynamec]

mmm yes...... nerve touched. lol
all I am saying is if your confident and competent then go for it.
not everyone is.
the bodges ive seen can sometimes be lethal. some bikes that roll in here are horendous. we have an uncool wall full of it.
I have had pretty bad experiences in the past, just my point is not all dealers are the same.
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dynamec motorcycle sales, tyres and service

[stinkwheel]

[mikey 2659]

no offence meant to dynamec or his motor bike shop but some of the work and advice i have received from 'PROFESSIONAL MECHANICS' in both car and bike dealers(HONDA AND VAUXHALL or should that be fiat?) has been inaccurate,misleading,dangerous,expensive,deceitful and just plain wrong.

[neatbik]

Im currently doing work experiance with Dynamec (martin) to go along with my college course.
As a fairly longstanding member on here i feel i can vouch for him, in that his workshop isnt your typical rip off palace.
We were both sick of getting poor service from dealers and paying way over the odds for tyres and parts, so the company was born.

We are all for people maintaining their own bikes, but there are a lot of people that havent the ability or time to do so.

One of the reasons we are in business? A KTM dealer in our neck of the woods quoted a customer £190 for a rear dunlop qualifier fitted - that to us seems like daylight robbery..

[Mac_Black]

I can also back up Nick and Martin, the point is that unless you are fully aware of what it is you are doing,
what belongs where and how different components behave and interact with each other then something as simple as overhauling forks could become very a very dangerous and expensive task.
I've recently overhauled my forks which are USD's,
replaced both of the races, top and bottom bearings and seals.

There are quite a few specialist tools that you will either need to by or fabricate, quite often the haynes will tell you that you need them, just not what they are.
Finding these tools can be a nightmare and is going to cost and your going to need to be very accurate if you have the skills to make your own.

Another point is about working safely on the bike,
for this sort of job you'll need the bike supported on either axle stands or by a winch, a ramp with a tie would be a very good idea,
you have to be very careful how you treat the forks and sometimes it can get quite frustrating especially if they've been bodged.

You should fully compress the forks before removal and allow them to fully extend for example to take the tension out of the spring, you should then loosen the top cap with only the bottom pinch bolts tight whilst still on the bike.
In this stage alone there is so much that could go wrong if you don't do things in the correct way, for instance there is the possibility that you could destroy the top cap and outer tube threads, failing to unload the tension on the spring can have the top cap shoot of at a devastating speed which WILL cause damage and injury.

Doing this sort of stuff at college in a professional and monitored environment I have to see that even we see allot of mistakes made and I can say I've made a few myself when I haven't been concentrating.
What Martin told jp14 was for jp14's own benefit so take the advice.

[stinkwheel]

It is however an RXS100. It is a motorcycle most adults would be perfectly capable of lifting totally off the ground by themself (every time I take my H100 out of the lockup, I pick it up and carry it sideways 4 feet).

Buy a haynes manual. Read through the instructions, have a crack. A garage will almost certainly charge you more than the bike itself is worth to do both those jobs.

One thing I'd definately do is not waste my time fannying about with special tools and bits of broom handle taking the bottom fork bolt out. Take it to a nearby garage and ask them nicely to remove it for you using their air impact wrench.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[jp14]

I've ended up taking it into the garage; I know I would have just got frustrated with it and probably broken some more stuff, so I gave in .

But.... it is not going to be ready till monday or maybe even tuesday which means I will have been a lovely sunny saturday and sunday without a motorbike !! Meaning i've had to cycle... on a bicycle!! Without an engine!!! And it's been great motorbike weather!!

Sorry, I just had to voice my frustration some how.

Thanks

[Mudskipper]

[jp14]

[stinkwheel]

[jp14]