[baca262]

i stumbled across something looking for seals for my old 888

http://www.ridejbi.com/skf-fork-seals/ - here they have 36mm new skf moto seals made of self-lubricating rubber , supposedly super stictionless (also seems gwin has some of this variety, custom size oddballs)

http://blog.cobramotorcycle.com/product-highlight/35mm-skf-fork-seal-kits/ - and here i found some that would seem to fit my fork. they're a bit pricey though, i dunno if i want to invest in this old heavy chassis and go through **** getting them here. maybe if i could get a new chassis cheaply and convert it to air spring.

just wanted to give you guys a heads up, please do experiment if you find they fit your fork. i'm a stiction fetishist. if the 36mm fit the new dorado then it might just be my ultimate dream fork. oh and i intend to have the moniez to get me new toys by this time next year

 

[Udi]

ID is not the only important dimension, you also have to consider the OD and thickness which vary from fork to fork, and tend to be bigger in motorcycle applications. Those seals may not fit MTB forks.

 

[WestCoastHucker]

...you also have to consider the od and thickness..

bfh...

 

[baca262]

the od and height for the 36 can be found in the first link (kayaba 36x48x8) and i'm pretty sure the 35 are 35x47x10 (not so sure about the thickness but a slight difference shouldn't pose a problem) which fits the older 888s and maybe 55s, i'm not sure if they're the same, perhaps 55 would need a slight dust seal modification.

obviously you should measure your old seals and check with the vendor if the id and od are correct.

bfh...

nah, more like a scalpel. but the bfh is a good last resort method since it cannot possibly fail

 

[William42]

why would you need to replace marzo seals? They're built correctly, they lubricate, seal, and are buttery, and don't leak?

Not that I think boxxer seals are terrible, but they don't lubricate as well and suffer a little small bump for it.

 

[Udi]

Yeah I agree with William, the NOK items in Marzocchi work fine as they are.

The real benefit to SKF seals is if you use the Fox-specific items (pressure and wiper seal in one) to eliminate the dedicated pressure seal - which I don't think should be done in Marzocchi forks because they develop higher pressures and have a circlip-retained + dedicated pressure seal. Some people have done this in their 32mm Boxxers with good results however (Fox 32 SKF's).

The 35mm item linked above is too large to fit a 35mm Boxxer (stock is 35x45x7).

 

[MinorThreat]

In addition, Leak-Proof has made . . . well . . . leak-proof fork seals for motos for decades. They make a handful of 35 and 36 ID sizes. Scroll down Thunder's page to find the chart. If I ran open oil bath forks, I'd turn there first.

http://thunderproducts.com/Leakproofforkseals.htm

 

[baca262]

yes, marz nok seals are proper seals, they have been the only proper seals in the mtb industry for years just until recently. but who says they can't be even better? i thought it were the coatings that mattered but after fox introduced skf made seals it proved that the seals made more difference.

these "pro-moly" leakproofs look interesting (i presume they have molybdenum disulphide added to the rubber - dry lubricant) but their "leakproof" marketing is bs - all the seals that have an oil retaining lip used in forks bind more to the tube when under more pressue.

EDIT - i am proposing all of this because i have tried running my fork with only oil seals for a run, the difference wasn't very big but it felt much different on the chatter, it was completely free-moving. it felt amazing.