To do this job, you'll need the following

• BOLT with a 17mm head. (Yes, a bolt)
• Vice Grips
• 12mm Wrench
• 10mm wrench
• A hammer drill or an air wrench
• 8mm Hex Key for the drill
• Slotted type screwdriver
• 4' wooden dowel or broom stick

One very important thing, for a motorcycle owner, is to wash your bike frequently. Not only does it keep your ride looking good, but it sort of forces you to perform an inspection of the parts and workings. One of the things you may notice is an accumulation of dirt on the smooth, shiny tubes of your front forks. The dirt will stick to any little amount of oil that may be leaking from your forks. This is a key indicator of worn Fork Seals. A Fork Seal is a key component in your front suspension. It creates a tight seal around the slider but still allows it to move freely up and down, while keeping out Dirt, Dust and Moisture. The Slider is the shiny, smooth metal tube that moves in and out of the fork tube. The Fork tube contains a quantity of oil, a spring and a device called a damper. The damper controls how much and how fast the oil flows, all inside the front forks. The Virago also has air pressurized front suspension. This gives you control over how stiff the front suspension is.

Please note: Since I first performed a fork seal replacement, I've found a better way of doing things. The following is a witeup of my better way, but some of the pictures may not be exactly right. For example, the picture of me removing the drain screw for the fork oil has a wheel missing, in reality, the wheel would not have been removed yet. And now, on with the show!

Place your bike on the center stand. Locate the air valve at the top of the forks. It's on the gear shifter side. Remove the dust cap and let out the air. Lean on the forks to make sure you get it all. Drain the oil from the forks. Remove the small screw at the base of each fork tube. Let it drain for a while and then pump the fork to help get most of the remaining oil out. At the very bottom of the forks, underneath, is a bolt with an 8mm hex hole. This holds the damper piston in place. It has to come off. Use a bit of muscle to get this bolt turning. Get ready with a rag. Once the bolt is out, more oil will come out.

Loosen or remove the clamp bolts at the top of each fork tube. Use the slotted screw driver to pry off the metal and rubber dust caps covering the top of each fork. You will find a VERY LARGE Butt Screw with a hex shaped hole. This large dark coloured screw holds the spring into the fork. If you've got a 17mm Hex Key, it'll come in handy here. Otherwise, place the 17mm bolt head in the hole and FIRMLY attach your Vice Grips. Stand with the front wheel between your legs, or get a friend to help and then PULL HARD to break the seal for these bolts. Once it gives way, leave them in for the moment.

Place a support under the forward section of the crank case. We'll be removing the front wheel and this support will hold the bike up in case the center stand isn't enough. Remove calipers from the front discs and then remove the front wheel.

Remove the 17mm butt screws at the top of the forks. Slide the lower fork tube up slowly and remove the steel tube spacer, collar bushing and the spring.

At the top of the fork tube is a dust cap. Gently pry that up using a flat screw driver. Slide that cap up and you will then see your fork seal underneath. On top of the seal is a C-clip. Using your flat screw driver, pry this clip out. Now we're ready to pull the tube away from the slider tube. You're going to want to use some "persuasion" to get the tube off.. That's because the old fork seal will be holding things in place. Grip the fork tube, slide it up and then bring it down hard. This will pop the seal out and the fork tube should come right off. Clean everything up and set the fork tube aside.

At the end of the now bare slider there is a set of two split rings. Gently and only slightly pry them apart to so as to remove them. Then slide off the bushing, old seal and dust cover. Inside the bottom of the slider, or inside the fork tube, you'll find a small bushing. If this bushing is inside the slider, put a small screwdriver inside and work it around until the bushing falls out. Also, if you want to clean the damper piston, you'll have to insert a long object to push it out the top of the slider tube. I used a long piece of 1/2" thick wire. Take the time to clean all of your parts.

Now you have to remove the fork sliders from the triple tree. Loosen all of the clamps on the triple tree and carefully remove the two sliders. you need to remove these so we can properly seat the new fork seals. Leaving the sliders in the triple tree just won't work.

Fork Seal is out.	Gently pry open the first C-Clip.	Then the other.
Here's the small bushing	This is what the piston looks like.	Store your parts in a clean and organized fashion.