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By Breezin
#87527
I don't have a garage or shed that I can work in, and I can never work on the bike outside the house because of unwanted audience participation).

I'd love to put fork gaiters on the Interceptor 650, but dropping the forks off and all that palaver isn't really an option. Is there any option to fit split gaiters? I've seen neoprene ones advertised, but they would simply look all wrong.

Incidentally, I think an easily removable gaiter would be a superior choice, because it would make for easy regular cleaning underneath. I wonder how much attention fork seals get in most cases when they are more or less permanently covered by conventional gaiters...
By Duke of Wybourne.
#87530
I've done it on old Yamaha XT's. Front wheel/mudguard ext off, heat up the gaiter (boiling water), washing up liquid on the fork sliders, and pull them on. Don't blame me if they split, mine didn't. :D
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By windmill john
#87533
Personally, there’s never been a need to clean under gaiters.

I always ensured that before fitting the gaiters, I liberally coated the sliders in ACF50. That kept any corrosion away.


John
By Breezin
#87538
Duke of Wybourne. wrote:
Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:35 pm
I've done it on old Yamaha XT's. Front wheel/mudguard ext off, heat up the gaiter (boiling water), washing up liquid on the fork sliders, and pull them on. Don't blame me if they split, mine didn't. :D
Interesting! :idea: :D

Still looking for the laziest possible solution, though. Can anyone think of a reason not to simply slice open the slider and put the split at the back? It could be joined back with our new best friend, the cable tie...
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By PeteF
#87539
You couldn't get anything like a decent job slitting them and trying to fasten them together. Cable ties would look horrible, It would be very difficult to glue them.
It really doesn't take long to get the fork legs out you know.
Haven't you got a mate with a garage?
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By Wheaters
#87542
I fitted fork gaiters to the previously naked fork legs of my 350. They fell apart after about 18 months. I’m aware that modern rubber is nowhere near as good as the old stuff at resisting UV light, but this was ridiculous.

So I fitted new gaiters then asked my wife, who has a sewing business making dog coats, to make some “gaiter gaiters” out of black ripstop nylon. They are rectangles of material which Velcro together down the back and go over the rubber ones to keep the UV off them. The tops are held in place with tie wraps and the bottom edges are left loose. They can be removed and washed if need be.

Point is, they are very durable so they could be used by themselves, I reckon.
By Rattlebattle
#87545
I’ve done the job on my Triumph Thruxton. My guess is that Triumph ones would probably fit the Interceptor. The gaiters seem to be made of the same stuff as in the old days. With a centre stand it’s an easy job, but do one at a time.
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By Wheaters
#87546
Breezin wrote:
Fri Jan 31, 2020 1:57 pm
I think if the neoprene ones would look odd the ripstop might too! :)
Possibly nowhere near as odd as gaiters held together with a bunch of tie wraps! :lol:

I have no idea what the neoprene ones look like but it wouldn’t bother me too much. My bike is more of a green lane, practical fun bike than a cafe racer. The ripstop covers can be removed in about five seconds each side if I wanted to pose for photos.... but I think they look quite purposeful, whilst not glaringly obvious and suit the bike quite well. :D

But it sounds to me like you need to strip the forks and fit traditional gaiters.

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