Vesrah

[Dogsled]

I was at my Honda dealership talking with the mechanics and there were a couple guys there hangin around. They were the type of guys that ride around with their back wheel up and rolling on the fronts.
It was funny because they were very knowledgable about parts that were able to take a beating for this extreme stunt riding but knew what OEM parts were best. On my quest not to pay 50 bucks for 2 OEM fork seals, they said all they use is Vesrah, They said they way exceed the OEM seal in quality and durability. I ALWAYS have used and swore by OEM for this application up til now.

Now I sorta got to give a guy a little credence who rides around on his front wheel only that he may know something a good quality front seals seeing as they weren't dead!
I looked it up on line and found a pair for 20 bucks a pair. Everything I read was positive. I'm putting together a set of forks and have a new set of dust seals so I didn't need those.

NOTE; My local Hydraulic rebuilder said the dust cover was as important as the seal as it was the first and only line of defense to protect the actual seal. (so if you're rebuilding an old set of forks bear this in mind).

Anyway, has anybody tried them? The more I read about them the more impressed I am and 20 bucks for an extra set of forks makes me happy to work work on this project. I know Scott has sponsors that sell seals so I won't mention where I got mine for 20.00. It's just in this case I am able to experiment a bit since I have another set of legs.

Hey Scott, if you see a GW flying thru Streetsboro doing an endo, it may be me.......

[WingAdmin]

I know Scott has sponsors that sell seals so I won't mention where I got mine for 20.00. It's just in this case I am able to experiment a bit since I have another set of legs.

I have no sponsors at all, for specifically that reason, so feel free to mention it.

[Dogsled]

Hey, I was just trying to respect your site and efforts.

I will wait and see if anyone has used this brand first. I have one site now saying they're made in Canada and the other Japan.....so does this bring up a quality issue?

Being an advocate of OEM for this particular part....but having the opportunity, with an extra set of forks, I thought I'd give it a shot with the source that was backing it giving it such high kudos.

Scott, have you heard ANYTHING about this product.....I never did.

[WingAdmin]

Hey, I was just trying to respect your site and efforts.

I will wait and see if anyone has used this brand first. I have one site now saying they're made in Canada and the other Japan.....so does this bring up a quality issue?

Being an advocate of OEM for this particular part....but having the opportunity, with an extra set of forks, I thought I'd give it a shot with the source that was backing it giving it such high kudos.

Scott, have you heard ANYTHING about this product.....I never did.

I've never heard of them. Their web site shows them definitely to be a Japanese company.

I asked a guy that I work with, who is a professional Motocross rider, was a factory team MX rider for a while, and also rode professionally on a street bike stunt team up until two years ago. He said he's never heard of them either.

[SteveB123]

Vesrah is a well known (except, apparently, in this thread ) and respected gasket, seal, and friction material manufacturer.

I used the gasket set when I redid my heads last year. No issue.

[Dogsled]

Thanks for the reply, yeah, everything i'm reading about them as a company is they go above and beyond OEM.

[SteveB123]

Thanks for the reply, yeah, everything i'm reading about them as a company is they go above and beyond OEM.

For all you know they are OEM.
Honda certainly didn't (nor does now) manufacture every single part.

[Dogsled]

Scott, this was the best website price I found....

http://www.newmotorcycleparts.com/chass ... s_hon.html

On a long google search I got Japan AND Canada as places they were manufactured. We shall see.....

[Dogsled]

Thanks for the reply, yeah, everything i'm reading about them as a company is they go above and beyond OEM.

For all you know they are OEM.
Honda certainly didn't (nor does now) manufacture every single part.

Steve,
I don't think so, they claim to be made more durable than OEM, both in style and material. Hydraulic cylinders seem to be built spec wise around bearings like Timken, Etc. Only the motorcycle industry would have seals made around their forks.
I just know alot of other known brands have failed prematurely most of the time. I don't know why, I've heard from weak springs failing to bad fits.
Who knows though, like you said, Vesrah really might make the seals, seeing as Honda that doesn't make their own and sells seals with no name on them as OEM.

[SteveB123]

Thanks for the reply, yeah, everything i'm reading about them as a company is they go above and beyond OEM.

For all you know they are OEM.
Honda certainly didn't (nor does now) manufacture every single part.

Steve,
I don't think so, they claim to be made more durable than OEM, both in style and material. .....................Who knows though, like you said, Vesrah really might make the seals, seeing as Honda that doesn't make their own and sells seals with no name on them as OEM.

Every large manufacturer has several different lines of the same products, to meet differing price points. When Honda places an order for fork seals, it's probably a Seacan load, and a few bucks a set difference makes a BIG difference.

[dingdong]

The only product I have used is Vesrah brake pads. They are for sure a quality pad.

[Dogsled]

Well since I just need the seals i'm gonna order them and give them a try.

What the heck is a Seacan load?

[WingAdmin]

Well since I just need the seals i'm gonna order them and give them a try.

What the heck is a Seacan load?

Sea-Can, a container used on container ships and intermodal transport:

[Dogsled]

I been tryin to get a picture on this site site forever and 'NUTHIN!' In five minutes you got a container ship on......good grief.......

Hey I saw a picture of them tossing alternators in bound for the orient to be rebuilt.

I ordered another set of forks for 165 bucks from this place called motolane in Illinois and I ordered the seals. I'll have a complete set of forks with progressives and new bushings to install in the spring. That way if the Vesrah's blow out I can just put the ones I have on there now back on and won't lose any ridin time. The guy at Moto said he heard ofVesrahs and they are real good. He said the forks are super clean so I hope my troubles are over.....(as long as I can manage to not put the seals in upside down )
I'll try to get some pics of the Vesrahs next to the OEM's I took out....getting them on line is gonna be my struggle. Everything should be here the middle of next week.

I saw a picture of a Turkey basting type syringe with a 10" long tube on it. I had a depth adjuster so when you fill the fork up, over fill it a bit and suck out the excess to a perfect amount. Can't remember who the heck was selling it and I can't find a dang tube that thin........good idea though.

Thanks for all the input.

[WingAdmin]

I been tryin to get a picture on this site site forever and 'NUTHIN!' In five minutes you got a container ship on......good grief.......

FYI... Adding pictures to your message

Adding an avatar to your profile

[SteveB123]

I saw a picture of a Turkey basting type syringe with a 10" long tube on it. I had a depth adjuster so when you fill the fork up, over fill it a bit and suck out the excess to a perfect amount. Can't remember who the heck was selling it and I can't find a dang tube that thin........good idea though.

Thanks for all the input.

I used a syringe style 2-stroke oil measure, and a piece of 1/4" copper tubing. Don't overthink it.

Measure up the copper to the depth required, and put a paper spring clamp. Slightly overfill the forks, and remove the excess. Done.

[Dogsled]

Hey thanks, I'll do that since I have quite a few basters. As far as me not over thinking it.....that'll never happen.

Hey I met this woman from Canada on a ride one time and she always ended her emails saying 'cheerio'.......Was she just a nut or is that a real Canadian greeting??????

I'm so excited to build these forks I can't say enough....did I blow more money than I should have.....I really don't think so. I really want a Yami FZ1, after I looked at it and thinking about the times little things went wrong with my wing that were easy to fix, all that computer stuff is above me.....

WHAT AM I THANKFUL FOR THIS WINTER????????????? learning AMP/VOLTS/OHMS..wiring 101..learning about RELAYS.....cleaning up my electrical system to make sure I run down the road trouble free.....Owning a WING and finding this website. Meeting that Candadian chick on my bike......Cheerio or not........

[Viking]

Hey I met this woman from Canada on a ride one time and she always ended her emails saying 'cheerio'.......Was she just a nut or is that a real Canadian greeting??????

Not anywhere I have lived, and I have lived in just about every province and territory at one time or another. Cheerio, to me, is typically a British salutation. We do have folks from the UK living in Canada. Perhaps she was a British retread.

[Dogsled]

Well my order came in a hurry and it is totally WRONG. They're closed today so I have to call the tomorrow.

Here's the link I ordered from and at the bottom is the GW seal
http://www.newmotorcycleparts.com/chass ... s_hon.html

I got a set of PARTS UNLIMITED SEALS from Italy, AND the size is wrong. They are FS-024, 43x54x11 on the back of the package. The billing slip says they're VAR4103 Vesrah 41x54x11.....

Glad I order this early so i'm not nervous about getting the right ones here.

I'll keep you informed as to what type customer service I get from this company in regards to getting the right part. The darnest thing is everything is written in Italian. The only thing I could make out was the seal size....

[Dogsled]

Well I got in touch with the vendor and spent 6 bucks to return the wrong seals. She said that as soon as they get the return they would send out the Vesrahs that should be in tomorrow. This company said they'll credit me for the return shipping.....what is funny to me is that they were at fault in this whole order and I have to make sure I go out of my busy day and get these seals sent back for credit when they admitted sending me the wrong part that wouldn't work......HHHHHhhhmmmmmm. I went thru all of this to see how they handle the transaction. My credit card company said they would credit me for the bad transaction. I didn't know quite what that mean't.....they made it sound like they would take the hit and not charge me, forgetting everything they did. I'm not sure, i'll call my card company tomorrow and see what the heck is goin on.

BTW, the part they sent me (even though the wrong thickness) had double wipers. And springs (according to the picture) on both side although I could only see the one side. This was 'PARTS UNLIMITED' made in italy....I read more poor quality issues about durability just like ALL-BALLS.
The seal seemed well constructed and it made me think if people who did their first job was willing to be critical of leaking seals and call the aftermarket item sub-par, where-as if they screwed up OEM seals they would not be as critical.
This How-to-article that Scott did couldn't emphasize how meticulous you have to be on this installation....Every detail he stresses (I by-passed a few) on not damageing the seal on installation is gona make the seal either a failure from day one or a success.....it's on;y a matter of time that the leaking starts......so lets blame aftermarket for our first f-up, go buy some OEM and do the drill.......and SUCCESS...................................
We really need to get all the aftermarket and OEM seals together. Side cut them. And see what the difference really is, because I sure can't tell
More to come when the Vesrahs get here.....

[Dogsled]

I'm still workin on the picture thing. But it's hard to get a worthy shot of a seal no matter what you do.

I'll give you the details of my impressions looking at the OEM / Vesrah / and the mistaken Parts Unlimited seals they sent me first.

The center rubber SEEMS to be thinner on the Vesrah than the OEM AND the Parts Unlimited seals. Meaning the rubber between the front and back. The sides seem the same. The spring on the Vesrah is very easy to see meaning little rubber curled over to add upper wall thickness (if it's actually needed, i don't know).

In my honest visual opinion the Part Unlimited seals I sent back had more rubber and heavier duty than the Vesrah and the OEM. But Vesrah claims quality of materials as their strong point for durability. Time will tell.

My main reason for doing all this is that OEM wants to sell the whole package of the seal and dust cover. I just bought my OEMS in the fall and the tubes were shot , so my dust covers were good. My friend at Custom Hydronics said the dust seal is JUST as important as the seal itself. So my dust seals are like new. So be aware I'm writing this just to talk about the seal itself. If you have an old worn set of forks that need rebuilt, he recomended going with the OEM SET, it's a delicate system that requires all parts to work together.

I didn't do this because i'm trying to be cheap. I just ended up with 3 sets of forks and can experiment. I've blown more money on dumber stuff than this, I just can't remember their names.....

Anyway, Vesrah came to me with the highest recomendation from riders that ride their bikes hard and fast.