[Anto]

Hello Guys,

I've an oil leak on my front fork.
Is there any documentation to help me repair this ?
I'd like to know what oil to buy, and the tightening torques...

Here are a few pictures of the leak :

And here's one from my last off road ride

Thanks a lot for your help

 

[hasselman]

You may only have some dirt between the fork leg and the oil seal. Before you start disassembling, try this:
1.) clean the leg properly,
2.) take a thin piece of plastic cut in the shape of a hysteresis curve,
3.) loosen the dust seal on the fork,
4.) introduce the hysteresis shaped plastic between the lip of the oil seal and the fork leg,
5.) move the plastic all round the leg,
6.) test ride.
If no more leak, you've fixed it.

Of course, if you want one more gadget to your tool box, buy a Seal Mate Seal Mate - Fix Leaking Fork Seals or a Seal Doctor Seal Doctor - Fix Leaky Fork Seals In Seconds!

 

[Anto]

Hi Hasselman,
Thanks for your answer, I didn't know it could be so easy with such tool !
I'll try it this evening.
Thanks a lot !

 

[bbbelanger]

Just did mine. I used the seal mate. The right leg was loosing so much oil it was leaving a spot on the ground when parked. At BMW price for the seals (80$, not a joke, those krauts are crazy) it was worth a try and it worked wonders. Wholly recomended.

 

[Anto]

Hi guys,
I had a try with a one I made by myself.
I removed all the dust from the inside, pumped many times on the fork.
For now it seems fine, but let's see tomorrow morning if I find splits on the floor.
Hope not, I'll tell you
Thanks for the help!

 

[hasselman]

Hi guys,
I had a try with a one I made by myself.
I removed all the dust from the inside, pumped many times on the fork.
For now it seems fine, but let's see tomorrow morning if I find splits on the floor.
Hope not, I'll tell you
Thanks for the help!

Many fork oil seals get changed un-necesarily, when all that is needed is to remove the grit that's causing the leak. Usually the real need to change the oil seal is on bikes that are not used or used very seldom. The fork oil seals dries and gets stuck to the fork tube. When the bike is taken in use again, after a long stay, the seal cracks at first bump. I've seen this happen many times when I was managing a motorcycle work shop.

 

[Anto]

Hello Guys,
No more leak this morning, thanks a lot for your help!

Many fork oil seals get changed un-necesarily, when all that is needed is to remove the grit that's causing the leak. Usually the real need to change the oil seal is on bikes that are not used or used very seldom. The fork oil seals dries and gets stuck to the fork tube. When the bike is taken in use again, after a long stay, the seal cracks at first bump. I've seen this happen many times when I was managing a motorcycle work shop.

Unfortunately I guess it's the same for so many things, not only with motorcycles.

Have a nice day, ride safe