Water under fork boots? WTF?
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2007
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From: Alberta
Water under fork boots? WTF?
Have always put fork boots on my ride; like the looks and the protection...having said that, I changed springs and oil early this year and put on a new pair of eBay fork boots; they were 49mm tops and, I believe, 60mm bottoms so I removed dust covers and used flat zip ties on top, a touch of contact cement around lowers. They look kinda chintzy; the ribs are crooked, so today I cut them off to replace them with Speed Moto boots; resemble old British boots but are 50mm both ends. When I pulled the boots off the lower legs, a couple of tablespoons of water came out of each...I never pressure wash my bike; did ride some rain this summer, but have never seen water under fork boots before...any ideas??
Novice
Joined: Nov 2015
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From: North Texas in the winter, the Colorado high country in the summer
This is exactly why Jeeper's and serious off roaders don't use boots on shocks. Water, mud and other debris will get under the boots and wear/rust the shock shaft prematurely. IMHO, you don't need them, especially on a road bike.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
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From: New Hampsha
Doesn't the boot have a tiny hole at the bottom? It should face aft.
I don't think it's that simple. I have a bike with 50k miles on it and the stanchion tubes are all pitted just above the sliders.
IMHO, you don't need them, especially on a road bike.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2008
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From: here
Water, the worlds most unstoppable force ... don't try to stop it, just give it a place to go ...
I don't put contact cement on either end and never zip tie the bottoms.
One zip on top of each boot and that's it.
If they're are long enough, even full extension won't pull them off the bottom.
I don't put contact cement on either end and never zip tie the bottoms.
One zip on top of each boot and that's it.
If they're are long enough, even full extension won't pull them off the bottom.
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2008
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From: Belle River Ontario
Only thing I can think of is kind of what Robottom was talking about. By sealing the bottom, any water that might have gotten in...(water can and will get into anything) was trapped in there. There might have been a pin hole leak as well...who knows but I would do the same as what Robo did...leave the bottoms open...
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Grand HDF Member
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From: Alberta
Reading responses and thinking it over, of the times I've used fork boots, this is the first when I merely zip tied the tops...obviously not much of a seal. Next pair will again be glued and clamped on top. Will also make sure there's a drain hole on aft side and make them a friction fit on the bottom. Will machine down a pair of dust caps for bottom to slide over. Still much prefer the look and none of us can say looks mean absolutely nothing in our enjoyment of our bikes...
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2009
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The swept area of the fork tube will be protected by a thin film of fork oil. The rest can be protected by the usual methods like car wax.
I was contemplating turning some boot adapters for a chopper project as I like the looks but if I do they'll have drain holes. If you enjoy machining you could incorporate the adapters into a custom fork brace. Ideally that brace would be split like the old chopper "tweek bars". You could "turn" the cylindrical boot adapter portion of the brace using a rotary table on a milling machine or clamp in a four-jaw lathe chuck. Splitting it like a tweek bar would make test fitting easy and convenient.
Whatever cap you turn, consider leaving a lip so you have more than friction retaining the boots. While stainless zip ties work nicely these classic BSA fork boot straps look even better up close and are easier to tighten. Example: https://www.classicbritishspares.com...6-t120-a50-a65
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2016
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From: Texas
Reading responses and thinking it over, of the times I've used fork boots, this is the first when I merely zip tied the tops...obviously not much of a seal. Next pair will again be glued and clamped on top. Will also make sure there's a drain hole on aft side and make them a friction fit on the bottom. Will machine down a pair of dust caps for bottom to slide over. Still much prefer the look and none of us can say looks mean absolutely nothing in our enjoyment of our bikes...
Remove the damn things..., or be certain to create big enough drain holes - then ensure they don't get clogged
What price vanity
Ghost
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Road Master
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From: north of the south pole
Last edited by fxdlx; Nov 23, 2018 at 06:42 PM.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Aug 2018
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From: New Hampsha
Sometimes I get athlete's foot...
When I first got my T150V I asked this "Trident expert" why they didn't come with boots. His answer: "Americans like shiny things".
Seriously, though, my Legend has 50k miles on it and the stanchion tubes are pitted from sand and stones. Boots can prevent that, but a thin coat of fork oil won't. If the plating is in good shape. a little moisture shouldn't hurt, but if they're pitted, they'll rust even if there are no boots. After all, it's not like we're dragging the boots through the mud and rocks, so it's really not at all like offroad mudding.
JMO, YMMV...
When I first got my T150V I asked this "Trident expert" why they didn't come with boots. His answer: "Americans like shiny things".
Seriously, though, my Legend has 50k miles on it and the stanchion tubes are pitted from sand and stones. Boots can prevent that, but a thin coat of fork oil won't. If the plating is in good shape. a little moisture shouldn't hurt, but if they're pitted, they'll rust even if there are no boots. After all, it's not like we're dragging the boots through the mud and rocks, so it's really not at all like offroad mudding.
JMO, YMMV...