Black boots

[bailout]

What are the short rubber boots on my 03 Manitou Black Comp for? The outer seals seem to do an adequate job of wiping crud off the stanchions. I'm afraid I might forget to clean the dust off the fork and stuff would collect around the lips of the boots and scratch the stanchions. Should I just take the boots off?

[MK_]

What are the short rubber boots on my 03 Manitou Black Comp for? The outer seals seem to do an adequate job of wiping crud off the stanchions. I'm afraid I might forget to clean the dust off the fork and stuff would collect around the lips of the boots and scratch the stanchions. Should I just take the boots off?

No. If your fork has boots, it means that the seals are not designed to be tough enough against the elements. You could order a set of Enduro seals, and replace the current ones, then you can take the boots off.

_MK