Trying to replace fork seals! Stuck!!!!

[E.Marquez]

The hydraulic lock method of seal removal is almost mandatory on several forks I have done,,, forks that the bushings are notorious for wedging together and locking up the fork, vice pushing the seal out.
Yamaha FJR forks is one of those.

Use the cheapest oil you can buy, makes no matter what it is,, tractor hydraulic lube, used motor oil, auto transmission fluid, anything ...as it all works.... I use a "cap" turned from plastic to push down on the fork top.. It has a recess in the center so we are not pushing on the adjuster, but just the OD of the cap.
5 gal plastic bucket under the press, fork leg in the bucket on top of a piece of wood.... fill the fork leg with your cheap or recovered used oil, protector cap on fork, make sure you remove the circlips for the seal , wrap a rag around the fork leg at the seal to capture the oil as it flies out..and press the fork top down, that seal will come right out... Most if not all of the oil will drain in the bucket.. no mess at all.

[Cadbury64]

Thanks for the previous posts gentlemen. I took the other option with my VTR fork and handed it to the responsible adults at the local Honda shop, and they used heat, two days of penetrating oil and lots of swearing the get the seal out. The PO had allowed the dust seals to fall apart and lots of water and crud had settled in the fork top and caused corrosion.

I really like the hydraulic method of forcing the seal out, I wouldn't have come up with that one.