Leaky fork seal question

[cmurphy84]

A guy I ride with has a buell xb9 Nd his front right fork seal is leaking slightly. After riding for a while we can stop for thirty minutes or so and it will drip a couple drops.

The question is, is it safe to ride a little bit until he can afford to repair it?

[mcromo44]

Originally Posted by cmurphy84

A guy I ride with has a buell xb9 Nd his front right fork seal is leaking slightly. After riding for a while we can stop for thirty minutes or so and it will drip a couple drops.

The question is, is it safe to ride a little bit until he can afford to repair it?

Yes.
BUT it's sure not "textbook" as a strategy.
Keep and eye on it, and once the leakage rate starts to increase, do something about it.
Also, a couple of drips every ride will end up in a cumulative loss that will adversely effect damping, which means having to add more oil.
The worst part is though, those that let fork seals leak, often let them leak to the point that oil gets on the brake disc and pads, and THAT is a serious safety issue.

[mattf]

I'd agree with mcromo, keep an eye on the oil level and fix as soon as possible.

[Bigdaa]

+1.....but, how long until he can afford to have it fixed? That is what I'd ask the buddy.


My opperandi: Wipe clean often, monitoring rate of loss and consequences of adjacent surface contamination. On the single disc Buell, is it the disc side fork tube or the opposite side? You know if it's the opposite side of the disc there is much less chance of contamination.
I'd pull it asap and get it into the shop for repair, picking a reputable privateer over the Harley shop or any other name brand shop mechanic (that's the way it is with me. tired of shops making all the profit for the week off of ME!)

[Bryce919er]

You can slip the dust seal down then run a thin piece of plastic like a film negative, goggle tear off, or business card between the leg & the seal to see if you can clean any junk out that is making it leak. Old dirt bike trick but if this does not work time to replace the seal.

[dukeriley]

i had my seals replaced at a shop two seasons ago..............woops big mistake ...I was back in a week. Why...they were leaking ok the guy said drop it off we will do it again.so in total disgust i didnt ride much last year as they didnt seem to have the right tools to fix my bike.So this is what i found out this year when i bought all replacement parts to fix it myself.it appears that the tool they use to set seals is a nail punch.The marks on the seal look like it was punched at least ten times or so.the topper to this is the back up ring that goes over the bushing and under the seal . well i can see one when i lift the dust boot up,it sits just under retainer clip.Now i dont know if the other one is under the seal or not installed at all in the wrong place or not so i ordered new stuff and when i get my parts out i will take them to the shop . no i am not going to divulge my plans on what i am going to do with them.Thats between me and my leaky fork seals.i guess this guy was a carpenter before he bought his limited supply of motorcycle tools.

[Ottawa919]

Originally Posted by dukeriley

i had my seals replaced at a shop two seasons ago..............woops big mistake ...I was back in a week. Why...they were leaking ok the guy said drop it off we will do it again.so in total disgust i didnt ride much last year as they didnt seem to have the right tools to fix my bike.So this is what i found out this year when i bought all replacement parts to fix it myself.it appears that the tool they use to set seals is a nail punch.The marks on the seal look like it was punched at least ten times or so.the topper to this is the back up ring that goes over the bushing and under the seal . well i can see one when i lift the dust boot up,it sits just under retainer clip.Now i dont know if the other one is under the seal or not installed at all in the wrong place or not so i ordered new stuff and when i get my parts out i will take them to the shop . no i am not going to divulge my plans on what i am going to do with them.Thats between me and my leaky fork seals.i guess this guy was a carpenter before he bought his limited supply of motorcycle tools.

What kind of bike shop doesn't have such a fundamental tool? I would never go back there again! Do they do the same thing when they replace wheel bearings?

[Ottawa919]

Oh ya, and +1 on what the others said. Fluid on the brakes is the biggest watch out.

[nd4spdbh]

Originally Posted by Ottawa919

Oh ya, and +1 on what the others said. Fluid on the brakes is the biggest watch out.

yup, had that happen shortly after i bought my 919.... leaky fork due to a piece of dirt that ripped the seal, no prob, but i accidently let it sit and got fork oil on on of the pads.

needless to say i actually succeeded in getting the oil out... required a 2 day bath in some 91% isopropol alcohol. then a tortch to heat the pads up hot enough so that the soaked in alcohol would burn off completely taking any contimanites with it.... used those pads for another 8k miles without any probs.