Non OEM seal part number.

[Martin]

I have a mate with a 1993 K75 rt with leaking fork seals. He does not want to use OEM seals. He wants to get the seals from a bearing supplier, does anyone have the part number that will enable him to do this.
Regards Martin

[Laitch]

Provided that that it is a '93 K75RT with its original forks, then it should have Showa forks, the seals of which have the OEM number 31 42 2 312 838. I harvested this from MAXBMW's microfiche and have used the same part in my bike's forks. Was the reason behind the avoidance of OEM seals disclosed to you, Martin?

[Martin]

Laitch OEM parts are ridiculously dear in OZ. When I offered to get OEM from UK, he just said he wanted to get them from bearing supplier. He is not on the internet and I do order some parts for him. Example I got two front master cylinder kits from the Beemer Boneyard cheaper than I could get one from a non OEM supplier in OZ, and that was including freight. He has quite a collection a K100, a K75s, 2x K75rt another 1 1/2 75's in bits, 2 Norton Commandos, a Norton 350, 2 x 750 Yamaha Viragos and various Hondas in bits. Thanks for your help.
Regards Martin

[The Mighty Gryphon]

I would think there would be a number on the seal itself that could be matched at a bearing place.  Barring that, he could take the old seal and possibly one of the fork tubes to the bearing place to have the dimensions matched. 

It isn't rocket science, despite the fact that rocket parts cost less.

[Laitch]

This link may be helpful, too, Martin, and the price is good for comparison.
http://www.bmw2valve.com/motorcycle/7340067.html

[Martin]

Gryph at the moment it's the only bike he has on the road. I think he want's to get the seals before he pulls it apart. If it were me I would do it your way, or use OEM seals. I believe there can be problems with some non OEM seals eg: Pyramid. How's the filing going any progress, shooting the bike is not the answer, if you have got to that stage.
Thanks Martin

[Martin]

Laitch thanks for the information, good price . My mate does not like buying OEM. BMW's price for seals are $25.85 ea and $46.00 ea for the dust seals, just so you know what we're up against. I only get parts locally when I'm desperate I tend to use Motobins and Motorworks in the UK & Beemer Boneyard in the US.
Thanks Martin.

[johnny]

id first try this... the sealmate...


home made...

or store bought...


if no go id also replace the upper and lower fork bushings while in there... its generally debris in the seal or slop  caused by whack fork bushings... 

j o

[Martin]

Thanks a lot Johnny what a great little tool. Will make up two and give one to my mate. How did you go with the Xmas Koala Pie, if you have trouble finding one in the US, you could possibly use a possum. Now heading for the garage to make a couple of seals tools.
Thanks heaps Martin.

[bundybear75]

I used these guys when I ordered my fork seals for the K

http://www.pyramidparts.com.au/pages/fork-oil-seals

They have an online liove chat and they suggested the right seals for my K75C, only about $12 a set from memory but that was a couple of years ago

[Martin]

George thanks for the suggestion. However if you type in Pyramid Seals on the internet there seems to be a lot of negative feedback. As this is for a mate I will just let him go his own way. I was just trying to get the seal numbers for him. However I followed Johnny great little tip and have made two Seal Mates, I will try them out on my mates bike on the weekend. I will post how it goes. I only had to remove the handlebars when I did my bike a K75S. I am glad it all went well, when you've done it once
it's easy. It's always good to hear a positive resolution.
Regards Martin.

[Martin]

Thanks Johnny tried home made Seal Mate on my mates bike, it seemed to fix it. However bike has another problem, and is now unrideable. Mate has now got five herniated discs in his lower back, and can hardly move. I offered to get the bike going, but understandably he is not really interested. Has to wait fourteen months before they can even look at operating.
Regards Martin

[johnny]

rodger that...

if its gonna sit for a while what i do is wipe automatic transmission fluid in the forks and bounce the front end a few times then rewipe the forks...

that should keep the seals in good shape foe a while... thats what we used to do when i was riding flat track... we would even swap out suspension fluid for  a t f   if we had a leaker...

id ride it and get the suspension fluid hot then do a drain and fill with honda ss8-10 suspension fluid and go getts some yeeehaaaa cause your buddy is gonna end up giving it to you anyway...

j o