Thinking of taking my fork gaiters off what do you guise think? as per bmw 650 just don't like them.

IMO no problem in taking them off if you're riding most of the time on road.

If off road I'd just make sure the forks are well washed and cleaned after any mud gets on them. The outer first seal is there just to trap any crud that may arrive...these can be cleaned by running around them with a feeler gauge to extricate any small bits of grit that may get lodged there....consumable item...when oil leaks change them..no great cost and no great hassle.

BUT......at the end of the day....they do keep the forks clean and will also,if off roading,protect against any small stone 'dings' thrown up from other motos ..thus leading to pitting of the forks...which in turn will lead to wearing of the fork seals sooner rather than later....and having to replace fork legs in extreme 'dings'.


{My Gas Gas 300 has the Ohlins expensive fork option(albeit used in an off road enduro environment at all times thus different application)...I run protection at all times with these,to stop the above mentioned occurring. My forks have no 'dings' since I bought the moto....don't fancy paying to replace Ohlins fork legs lol. Maybe for the 'look' it's possible to to get moto cross type guards for the XTZ...like TTR 600 ones????}






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__________________
The Suit:What would you consider to be your greatest weakness?
Me: Honesty.
The Suit: Honesty? I don't think honesty could be construed as a weakness.
Me: I don't give a f**k what you think.

.[IMG] [/IMG]

Thanks for that,poss vintage moto x ones may fit.

Keep posted as to what you find....I like the idea of protection but also able to see at a glance any build up of dust/grit.

(In an ideal world we'd all pull our gaiters up once per week as part of our weekly moto check ha ha )





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__________________
The Suit:What would you consider to be your greatest weakness?
Me: Honesty.
The Suit: Honesty? I don't think honesty could be construed as a weakness.
Me: I don't give a f**k what you think.

.[IMG] [/IMG]

Ohlins,apparently there's short fork socks which covers the seals.

Acerbis also have short and long neoprene fork socks

Right you guise to the top clips off the gaiters counted down 7 rings on the gaiter cut it off the lower part just cut it off slid the top part down over the outer part of the leg.Did not replace the top clip so the piston can slide.O yes there was water in the gaiters.

As written above, there are pros and cons re the gaiter thing. To each their own - personally, if they can be fitted I'll fit them. Dinged fork tubes are expensive to fix.
My TTR250 is entering its 9th year of service and is still on original seals (fingers crossed...). I've replaced its gaiters as needed.
Imo, it's not only big stuff that ruins fork tubes. Ever looked through the high-mileage windscreen of an open-road car? Its got hundreds of little shrapnel marks from road crap. Unprotected fork tubes suffer the same fate, and that shortens seal life.
Just my 2c...

As an aside...if you do a lot of deep forest riding..then the neoprene fork seals will get ripped to pieces from brambles etc.. My protection is standard hard plastic but if I wasn't riding stupid branch/bramble trails then the short ones are an option for sure.

__________________
The Suit:What would you consider to be your greatest weakness?
Me: Honesty.
The Suit: Honesty? I don't think honesty could be construed as a weakness.
Me: I don't give a f**k what you think.

.[IMG] [/IMG]

My X obviously has no gaiters, but the seals have been replaced twice on the left leg & 3 times on the right leg, & mileage is only 10.5k!!!!!!! Dealer has replaced under warranty each time. I don't ride off road, but do ride all year. Either bike was made on a Friday, or somehow muck has got in - it remains totally unclear as to the cause. I keep things very clean & hardly ride in the wet....
So, I for one would go the other way, & INCREASE the protection: removing the gaiters doesn't sound like a wise move.....