Fork Gaiters

[Mike G]

Has anybody used the Daystars boots on the 34mm forks? Do you remove the dust seal? I'm rebuilding my forks and the dust seals are falling apart. I'm getting ready to order parts and would like to put gaiters on it and if I don't need the dust seals then all I need is the fork seals and truck shock boots which would save a couple of bucks.

When I added gaiters to the SG I used Rancho shock boots and they were too big to fit the top of the slider without the dust seals so I installed them over the dust seals and used a black zip tie to keep them secured.

 

[nj1639]

^^^^^^^^
One millimeter isn't much but can be a deal breaker.
On the Daystars that I got the upper narrow end is a snug fit on the 35 mm forks which keep it in place. The lower end is a snug fit, installed without the dust seals, so that stays in place without the need for tie wraps or clamps.
The bellows in between don't ride the uppers at all. If you're not adverse to using something to secure them in place I'd say go for it.
Other opinions may differ.

I'll add that the ones I ordered were F00058, not sure what others have. These were a straight run of the bellows as in no taper. Getting the cut upper end into the bellow below after trimming the excess out was a bit of a challenge but she's secure.....think I removed four excess bellows.

 

[5twins]

The tops of the 35mm fork lowers have a diameter of about 2 1/16", and the Daystar boots I use are a nice snug, slip fit over them. If your 34mm fork tops are near that size then they should fit.

 

[Mike G]

I checked the fork lowers and they are just under 2" (1.975) at the top where the dust seal goes so the boots might be a little loose. Main thing is I don't need the dust seal. Thanks nj and 5t for the info.

 

[5twins]

I'm sorry, I misspoke. The 35mm fork lower tops are closer to 2 3/16" in diameter, so that would make the Daystar gaiters an even looser fit on your 34mm fork lower tops.

 

[Mike G]

Ok, 5twins, thanks for the update.

The dust seal O.D. measures just a little under your 2-3/16" (2.140") so sounds like the shock boots will work better over the dust seals so...

...waiter, I would like an order of fork rebuild with dust seals and fork gaiters please.