My first question is..is there a certain time these should be replaced? i have 14000 miles on my 05 1000 and people are telling me that i need to get the seals replaced...the stock seals are not leaking and i am not have any problems with the front forks.. what are your opinions?

Run the seals until they leak, in my opinion.

Now, if you like cornering, like a good handling bike, I'd definitely say change the fork oil if it hasn't been done before. The stock stuff isn't that good, and it gets dirty fast, and if its the original fill of oil, its already picked up a lot of crap.

Kind of like a motor, when you rebuild one, you'll get more crap out of the first oil change than you will afterwards (until right before the engine blows of course). Most of the wear particles / crap will come out in the first change.

So change the oil, definitely. If you want to be thorough, change the fork seals too (not THAT much more work). And, its a perfect opportunity to change springs if need be.

If you have someone to give you a hand, you can buy a set of fork tools for about $100 that will get the job done. seals and oil dont cost much more.

This is assuming, of course, that you have a front stand that allows you to take the f orks off. If you dont, you can still get it done, its just more work

Yeah mine went at 16k miles. With the mileage you got you could do with a change of fork oil anyway.
I say Go For It - New seals/Fresh oil

is doing it yourself worth it? or should i just pay to get it done..and about how much will new oil and seals run me

You can wait until they leak or you can replace them as a measure of good practice when you are rebuilding the forks. Most people don't give a crap that their forks are more than likely filled with mud and don't clean them out and replace the fluid on a scheduled basis, but I like to know that my suspension is working properly. Anyhow, the seals are only like $20 so when I have the forks apart anyway I just replace the seals with the oil.

I do my forks once a season, and this is why..........

13:00 mark
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5690943

You can wait until they leak or you can replace them as a measure of good practice when you are rebuilding the forks. Most people don't give a crap that their forks are more than likely filled with mud and don't clean them out and replace the fluid on a scheduled basis, but I like to know that my suspension is working properly. Anyhow, the seals are only like $20 so when I have the forks apart anyway I just replace the seals with the oil.

I do my forks once a season, and this is why..........

13:00 mark
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/5690943


how hard is it to take your forks apart?

I don't find it hard, but I've been rebuilding my own suspensions since I was 15 riding MX bikes. Put it this way, the cost of having a shop do it, you can buy all the tools and materials you'll need yourself (and probably have spare change). Then you can do it over and over again whenver you need to.

Get yourself a service manual for your bike, it details it step by step.

Thank you for the advice. I think I will tackle this myself.

i need to get this done too. does anyone know about how much it would be to get this done at a shop?

If you are just riding on the street you should service your forks every two years the fork oil eventually turns to mud. The suspension is the most over looked part on the bike and never touched by most riders due to the lack of knowledge.