DirtFlier
Site Supporter
I had a weeping fork seal on the left side and what is odd is that my bike has been fitted with gaiters almost from the first few months of ownership. Oh well... Anyhow I watched an online how-to-video for the Seal Mate and thought I'd give it a try, before I took the fork completely apart for seal removal/installation.
The Seal Mate is marketed nationally by Motion Pro but I bought it from a private shop, perhaps the inventor? The online prices are all under $8. The Seal Mate tool is a flexible plastic parallelogram with one end serving as the handle and the other end having a nub to snag debris. It is thin enough to make insertion between the seal lip and fork tube easy. After undoing the bottom of the gaiter, and pushing up the dust seal, I inserted the Seal Mate between the fork and seal then turned it several times around the tube, and pulled it out. I didn't see any major crud that came out but 350 miles later, it is dry and clean! You can do the same with a strip of 35 mm film but $8 is pretty reasonable.
I have no financial arrangement with Seal Mate nor were any animals abused in writing this E-mail.
The Seal Mate is marketed nationally by Motion Pro but I bought it from a private shop, perhaps the inventor? The online prices are all under $8. The Seal Mate tool is a flexible plastic parallelogram with one end serving as the handle and the other end having a nub to snag debris. It is thin enough to make insertion between the seal lip and fork tube easy. After undoing the bottom of the gaiter, and pushing up the dust seal, I inserted the Seal Mate between the fork and seal then turned it several times around the tube, and pulled it out. I didn't see any major crud that came out but 350 miles later, it is dry and clean! You can do the same with a strip of 35 mm film but $8 is pretty reasonable.
I have no financial arrangement with Seal Mate nor were any animals abused in writing this E-mail.
