R1150R Tech question-front forks,etc.

I removed the cast aluminum top triple clamp, that carries the swivel bearing for the front steering and acts as the attachment point for the front tubes, handlebars, instrument panel,windshield brackets & ignition switch. The bike is a 2003 non abs-R1150R.
Question:

The black rubber "covers" for the top of the fork tubes dried out and fell off.Do they actually have a function beyond asthetics? I cannot see that they seal anything but, as they say, now is the time, but of course I must order them in.

I'll share some insight to this problem that developed as a result of someone having used a bolt that was too short, for retention of that top bracket. The 8x1.25mm bolt must gain enough threads to hold the windshield under vibration from wind & road. It also benefits from using Locktite blue thread locker due to the vibration. The bolt vibrated out while at a place far from home(Chiapas , Mexico) and the threads in the aluminum were damaged as a result of it being loose and me not realizing such.

Those caps also help keep water away from the threads on top of the fork tubes. I recently replaced fork seals and all the plastic bits on my forks ('02 r1150r).

And I've also had the same problem with the windshield bracket rattling loose. Seems to be solved now with loctite.

I bought my bike used and the original bolt for the top bracket was a little shorter than the ideal number of threads for a steel bolt into aluminum combined with the extreme vibration on it.Those upper bolts also hold some pressure from the stamped steel black bracket they pass through. The bottom ones never vibrate loose. I changed to a longer bolt and used blue loctite as well and it still came loose. With the triple tree in place I had sprayed brake cleaner into the hole and was following with a tap(8x1.25) to clean out the threads for a redo and a chip from the tap broke loose causing it to snap in place, thus I had to remove the part for a better repair and threads that are not compromised. I am trying to decide now between Loctite professional thread restoration kit-which I already have, or going to a metric heli coil insert. My concern is that the larger hole from a helicoil(what with the larger hole necessitated) will move into the space of the front handlebar bolt threads. I must study that issue further compared to another alternative of moving up to another size of bolt.
As for the black seals I'll argue for now: I fail to see how they seal anything as the tubes are sealed via the aluminum caps at the top and the screws inserted into those caps? Im going to hope somebody else kicks in on this question for further info.
P.S. Talk about wasteful, I went into Sears today with my broken tap on the possibility that they would exchange it for another-well they want the whole metric set to exchange completely and of course thats the only part that has an issue and really I think of taps as expendable anyway.