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Fork seal out again?

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Jeff S

Jeff S

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My right fork seal seems to be out. Again. I had it replaced in July 2016, and now the same side that leaked before is weeping a bit again. Does that signal that there's something on the fork tube that's cutting up the seal? Or think it's just random that the same one is leaking again? I don't really wanna replace seals every 2.5 years - but maybe that's just their life span? This is on a 2010 versys - upside down forks that I've done a fair amount of dirt and other mild [ab]use. Is a little seeping a bit deal? I can't feel a difference in the ride...
 
Have you tried the cleaning trick ?
What brand seals ?
It does sound like something is up with that fork .

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
 
No 2.5 years is not a normal service life.

Things can go wrong, but normally they should last a lot longer.
Install
Brand
Use
All can affect service life.

Have you run a seal saver around the seal to try and pull out contaminants?
Have you inspected the stanchion for damage, scratches, dings, dents, straightness?
 
Try cleaning 1st. Did you change bushings last seal change? Worn bushings lead to misalignment and can cause premature seal failure or weeping. You could have a rock dig with a sharp edge on the leg. If the later you could smooth the edge with emery cloth or scotch brute pad.
You stated you have done a fair amount of dirt. If you ride in dirty dusty environments you should be occasionaly pulling the dust seal down and cleaning the area between the dust seal and oil seal. This will help keep derbies from entering the oil seal.
 
E.Marquez said:
No 2.5 years is not a normal service life.
Click to expand...

Well it could be. OP what is your mileage? That is the more important guage here.

I had to do mine at 2 years but that was with 70K miles. I had minor leaks 2 or 3 times prior to that but cleaning stopped it. Now at 125K miles and all is still good. I did start using seal savers though. Even those should be removed and cleaned periodically though.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
 
I just replaced the original seals on my 2008 Versys with @15k miles. The seals were still good, but the dust seals were starting to dry rot. I would look for rust pits on the fork tubes. They are probably slowly grating away the seal rubber. If that is the case, the only real solution is new forks.

Randy
 
Randyjaco said:
I just replaced the original seals on my 2008 Versys with @15k miles. The seals were still good, but the dust seals were starting to dry rot. I would look for rust pits on the fork tubes. They are probably slowly grating away the seal rubber. If that is the case, the only real solution is new forks.

Randy
Click to expand...
The stanchion is available separately, well it comes with seals and bushings so not truly separately... But in any case not a whole fork assembly.

PIPE-FORK INNER,RH,F.
44013-0157-18R1
PIPE-FORK INNER,LH,F.
44013-0156-18R
Street price is about $254 each
 
SilverBullet said:
Well it could be. OP what is your mileage? That is the more important guage here.

I had to do mine at 2 years but that was with 70K miles. I had minor leaks 2 or 3 times prior to that but cleaning stopped it. Now at 125K miles and all is still good. I did start using seal savers though. Even those should be removed and cleaned periodically though.

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Yes , absolutely...I just considered that many miles as "Not Normal" ...But of course 70,000 miles in 2.5 years could wear out fork seals..
 
thanks for the quick / in depth responses!

I've done 10k miles since the first fork seal job.

Ok, so first step is to inspect the dust cover and stanchion. I'll do that today and see what I see...
 
I trailered my bike out to Oregon and showed up with leaking seals onetime.
I wont trailer w/out a spacer or block between the tire and fender any more.

Lot of Riders swear by SKF seals albeit a bit pricey @ $75 a set.
 
If you are riding dirt, there is just always the chance of dirt getting up in a seal and causing it to weep. It doesn't matter if it is a short ride or a long ride. A really thin feeler gauge can be inserted in the seal and slid around the fork diameter. This will often clear the debris and allow the seal to stop weeping. If that fails, then you may have actual damage to the seal. I have had good luck with the feeler gauge trick, but I have also had to have some forks and shocks redone because they were leaking so bad.

My 1200 GS has Ohlins front and rear. The rear has been rebuilt twice in about 20K miles and the front once in that same time. I believe Ohlins recommends a 10K interval for front/rear shocks if they are being used for adventure/dualsport applications.

My KTM 530 EXC rear has been redone twice in less than 12K miles, but it sees pretty rough dirt service with loads higher than it was really intended to see. I've totally rebuilt the forks once. I've never run any kind of seal savers on the bike.

My KLR 650 I used to have leaked at the forks several times and the feeler gauge solved it each time. That was over the course of about 15K miles of mostly dirt riding. The KLR had those rubber fork/seal covers. Dirt still got in there.
 
inroads said:
I trailered my bike out to Oregon and showed up with leaking seals onetime.
I wont trailer w/out a spaceror block between the tire and fender any more.
Click to expand...

In the last twenty years, I have trailered a LOT of bikes, of all kinds and sizes, and I've never had a single issue with forks leaking. I always use four ratchet style straps, one per corner. I make sure the kick stand is UP, because I don't want a nasty bounce compressing the suspension and damaging the stand. I compress the front and rear suspension until the bike sits pretty stiff in the straps. There might be a little play, but not much. I secure the front wheel so it cannot turn side to side. I put bungees on the straps, connecting them in a way to make sure that there is always tension on each end of the straps so the hooks can't pop loose. I have hauled down really nasty roads with things bumping and bouncing, but never had a problem. I have never once used a spacer to keep the forks from compressing.

I am not saying you shouldn't use a spacer. I've seen lots of folks use them. I just wonder why there is so much difference in experience with the issue? It makes me wonder if there wasn't already a preexisting issue that was revealed because of being strapped down?

Think about the loads the forks see if you are riding hard and they bottom out. That impact, and the resulting internal pressure spike, is likely to be much more severe than the constant pressure of simply being held in a compressed state.
 
I cleaned under the dust seal and cleaned all visible oil of the fork tube, then did the meet/greet/eat in Burnet, maybe 150 miles. So far, all is dry. Suspension felt a little harsh though - what does riding with too little oil feel like? The oil I removed from the fork tube was very minimal - but obviously different from the other, non-seeping seal. Maybe the harsh feel was a placebo effect?
 
Harsh is usually the result of oil being too thick (as in a heavier weight oil), dirt/obstruction in valves/ports, or just having the settings adjusted for more compression/rebound damping. A lack of oil usually makes the bike more bouncy, like an old Caddy bouncing down the road.
 
^^^^ Good tip with the feeler gauge go around.
On trailering.... different fork strokes for different fork folks....
I like to leave the sidestand down as it acts as a stabilizer for side to side movement.
Main reason I like for the spacer between the tire and fender is to prevent static
Spring compression for extended periods.
 
Last edited:
inroads said:
Lot of Riders swear by SKF seals albeit a bit pricey @ $75 a set.
Click to expand...
I am one of those riders. As long as SKF's are made for whatever application I am looking for, they are the only seals I will use. So far I would guesstimate that they SKF's last at least double the amount of time as other brands.
 
Humm, in 725,000 miles I've only had two fork seal fails. And some of those bikes had 80 to 90 K miles on them with no fails. Good to keep fork tubes clean even while touring on pavement. Give em a little dust off at the gas station once in a while.
 
There are some bikes with gas charged cartridges and is used as a progressive spring. Using a spacer on them is probably warranted.

On open chamber forks, the spring is a wound piece of steel ... a spring, in other words. So there is no appreciable pressure build inside the chamber.
the dampening comes from oil moving through valving from one chamber to the next and back again as the fork cycles.
So ratcheting the forks down compresses the spring ... no harm in that.

Having said that ... the spacers are cheap and I use them whenever I can. The simple reason is I don't like the straps going slack if I hit a pothole.
I have collapsed the cheap harbor freight wheel chocks because of this hammering and with a heavy bike.

I suggest a quality wheel chock (I invested in Condor brand) and ratchet straps with a spring loaded capture hook.
You have a $10K bike ... don't save $10 on straps.
 
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