Front wheel bearings

G-Day,
Took the wheels out of my S4R last Nov and had them re-coated. Bought new bearings at the time. Got new rubber on them and put the new bearings in.
Silly question time:-
The large diameter seal that goes in the front wheel does not seem to seal against anything. Even in the workshop manual there is a picture of it there but nothing that it runs on. My original one also seems to now be a loose fit...got new one coming but am I missing something? Normally take pictures as I take things apart but as this was just a wheel and bearings I didn't......silly me lol.
Feel free to patronise, I feel I deserve it!

:-)