Fork issues?

OK so after work today I finished swapping out the indicator lights on my '04 Suzuki GS500F to all LEDs and I notice a drop of oil behind my bike and one under it. I checked again after I finished the LEDs and no more oil around the bike but I notice the left side of my front wheel has these streaks on it. The right side doen't have these steaks and the bottom of the fork is not gunked up like the left side.



More Pics

I bought this bike in January-ish and have put 2000 miles on it. I did change the oil about 600 miles ago.

Any ideas on what this might be? I plan on cleaning her up tonight and then bouncing the front up and down to see if anything is leaking, but any suggestions are appreciated.

You might check the left fork for a damaged seal. Do you notice any oil higher up on the fork slider?

there is a bolt going thru the bottom of the forks , it holds the valve rod inside the forks to the bottom of the slider if it is loose you will have a leak thru the bottom . You have to remove the axle to access it . From the looks of that oil it is probaly time to change fork oil anyway . If the fork seal is leaking it will run down the fork and drip off the bottom . Seal replacement also requires fork dissassembly . Good luck SEYA

scratch said:

Do you notice any oil higher up on the fork slider?

Click to expand...

Not that I can remember. I'll check that tonight

Cagiva 549 said:

From the looks of that oil it is probaly time to change fork oil anyway.

Click to expand...

Was thinking of swapping out my springs anyway (stock is a bit soft), so looks like it might be a "now" rather than a "later" project.

Looks like exceesive grease from the Speedo drive or Speedo cable to me.

It's hard to tell from those pics, but I do not see any oil on the lower fork tube.

By any chance could that be brake fluid?

10-4 on the speedo grease. They are packed to the gills on Suzukis. Mine on my SV leeched forever. If you are not doing freestyle jumps or post-wheelie fork bottoming slams, there would be no cause for a for oil leak. An imbalance in fork oil level will lead to NASTY low-speed turn behavior.

Thanks for the replies. I gave her a good wash (which is probably why it rained last night here in the metro-mess) and went out for a ride. So far the bottom of the fork is clean and I cannot see any thing leaking. I'll just keep an eye on it.

So far freestyle jumps and post-wheelie fork bottoming slams are not in my bag of tricks. However, me at 200lbs and the GS500F having pretty soft springs I have bottomed out the fork a few times hitting a bump while braking hard.

If it is fork oil from a leaky seal the fork tube will be "wet". In that case, remove the dust cover (slide it away) and insert a thin feeler guage into the seal (hold it against the tube and slightly force it in, it will "pop" in between the tube and the seal) and work it around in a 360 against the tube. 80% of the time the leak will stop (after riding the bike some) as it is being caused by debris lodged between the seal and tube.