RXS Forks/Fork Seal Help?

[UnspeedySam]

I've just spent about 3 hours trying everything under the sun to get the forks apart on my rxs as the seals are leaking pretty badly... Got the front wheel off fairly easily but that's where the torture started.

The fork caps are pretty much entirely rust even though they had rubber covers and nothing else around there has any rust on it at all... A 7mm allen key seems to be too small and an 8mm seems too big, despite everything else on the bike being metric. I also tried a bunch of imperial allen keys with no luck. I might just go and buy a 13mm allen key an try and use the big socket...

Any RXS owners have any ideas? I just want to change my fork oil and possibly change the seals for fecks sake!

edit: Forgot to mention that I've also tried to remove the forks all together but despite loosening the relevant nuts on the steering head and being fairly aggressive with a hammer I can't get them to budge!
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Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[27cows]

The notorious RXS fork tops There's a special service tool - kind of like a huge allen key. Even with it, and an overnight soak with PlusGas, they can still be a bastard to get out.

After one nightmare experience, I rebuilt the forks using GS125 stanchions (which have normal chrome fork tops with standard hex fittings). If you manage to get the tops undone, make sure you use copper grease on the threads.

To get me stubborn tops undone I had to resort to using a blowtorch to heat up the end, then use my own homemade version of the service tool (basically a 14mm headed bolt welded to a two foot long bit of scaffold). The fork tops are without doubt the worse aspect of the whole RXS.
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[UnspeedySam]

Good to know it's not just me...I'll see if I can get replacements rather than putting the old ones back in as they are REALLY bad. It's definitely 14mm I want an not 13 then? Might try and ebay an allen key of that size, as I don't have welding gear necessary to build your home made tool...
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[UnspeedySam]

There are some 13 and 14mm Allen Sockets for £5.89 on ebay. Despite being outrageously expensive I think they might be me only solution. Off to measure the socket to see if it's 13 or 14 don't want to buy the wrong one at that price!
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[27cows]

An allen socket might well work, ideally on a breaker bar. Leverage is the key - that and not damaging the fork tops. If they start to round off, only welding something directly to the tops will get them out.

Once you get the tops out, you then need another tool to loosen the damper rod bolts, though you can usually do the job with a long piece of wooden dowelling and the patience of a saint
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[UnspeedySam]

Everything else on the RXS is so straight forward and sensible I don't even have a clue what the damper rod bolts are yet. I'm sure I'll find out soon... The caps are currently soaking in penetrating oil so hopefully by the time I get the right tool I'll have some luck...
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[27cows]

The fork tops are an inexplicable oversight on such a practical bike. It would have been so simple for Yam to use standard hex topped stoppers.
____________________
The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[UnspeedySam]

No ideas about replacing them with something less painful? You were right btw, it is 14mm not 13. My dad has a pretty good socket set I've been using which should give me enough leverage. In fact it has so much leverage that I managed to strip two of the bolts holding the mudguard on with it...still need to sort that out if I ever want to get it off...
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[27cows]

There must be tops from other forks that would fit the RXS, but I've never tracked any down. I had a pair of dismantled GS forks that someone gave me. The width and length was the same as the RXS, so I bunged them it. Pair of RD125 springs, 20w fork oil and suddenly the front end was transformed and the handling improved no end.

There are numerous things you can do to make the RXS better (or easier to work on). Use copper grease on threads. Replace any fasteners that take the brunt of the weather, such as the bolts that hold on the front mudguard, with stainless socket caps (note liberal coating of grease to increase mudguard life LOL):

https://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc223/Funkdooby_album/Dscf0532.jpg

And those often prone-to-seizing barrel nuts can be replaced with larger diameter stainless full nuts (with spring washers):

https://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc223/Funkdooby_album/Dscf0418.jpg

Little bits like that can make all the difference, but it would only really be worth bothering if you were intending to keep the bike for years and years like I have LOL
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[UnspeedySam]

Thanks for the tips. I'll put copper grease on my shopping list and possibly buy some stainless socket caps but although I can't see myself ever selling Smokey I can't justify the cost of replacing the forks. After the cost of the bike, insurance and all the little bits I've had to buy for it, I really just don't have the money. Maybe when I pass my test and get a bigger bike the RXS can become a project and I can do all these cool upgrades
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88

[27cows]

I've been lucky in the past, picking up whole bikes as non-runners for £50 and the like. Then you have a plentiful supply of spares without having to lash out scary money on ebay. Someone once gave me a big box of RXS bits for nowt, including a perfect pair of forks. Should have kept them really but I ended up swapping them and some of the other stuff for an X5 motor after mine snapped a rod.

Most people quickly lose interest in whatever smaller bike(s) they have once the test is passed. I guess I'm some kind of freak to have had mine for two decades LOL
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The RXS100: vehicle of choice for Chuck Norris

[UnspeedySam]

It's probably just because it's my first bike but I'm really attached to my RXS, and every hour I spend in the garage learning how to fix and improve it just makes me more attached to it. Unless I'm really strapped for cash when I pass my test I really can't see myself getting rid of it.
____________________
Riding: BMW R1150RT `02 bought mildly crashed
Fixing: Also the BMW as I get less broken bits
Gone: ZZR600 '00, TRX850 '97, RXS100 '93, JS125-6B '07, BMW R1100RS '93, Kawasaki ZX-6R-J2 '01, Honda Bros NT400 NC25 '88