Got a call from a friend that is out on a road trip to see some relatives 600 miles from home. He said the bike (VFR) has been sitting in their garage for the week that he has been visiting. He went out today to get things in order for his return trip and discovered about 6 - 8 drops of oil on the ground. After a quick look-see, he discovered the right seal is leaking a bit. I figure the heat in the closed garage forced the oil past the seal enough to have a few drops make it to the ground. Now, as the original topic questions, is their any concern in riding it home or should he get it repaired on the road before his return? I think it would be OK for now but told him I would ask the crowd here. What say ye?
Riding W/ Leaking Fork Seal
9 posts Started 26 Jul 2007 Last recovered post 27 Jul 2007 Wayback Machine snapshot 14 Feb 2016
An uneven level of fork fluids (one fork had just much less than other) caused my lowside in a "sort ot extreme breaking" situation. He should avoid compresing the forks as much as he can. If the fork are pushed and compress and one of the fork seals is leaking, that will result in different compression 'strength' of each fork and end up in the tank slapper or similar... So probably slow ride home is in order.Got a call from a friend that is out on a road trip to see some relatives 600 miles from home. He said the bike (VFR) has been sitting in their garage for the week that he has been visiting. He went out today to get things in order for his return trip and discovered about 6 - 8 drops of oil on the ground. After a quick look-see, he discovered the right seal is leaking a bit. I figure the heat in the closed garage forced the oil past the seal enough to have a few drops make it to the ground. Now, as the original topic questions, is their any concern in riding it home or should he get it repaired on the road before his return? I think it would be OK for now but told him I would ask the crowd here. What say ye?
As for me, the lowside was unexpected (but the bike was 3 months new to me and I have never checked the forks) since I was not breaking super hard (I did not lock the front wheel) but it probably saved my butt in bigger scheme of the things as there were 3 deer standing in front of me.
Martina
Disclaimer: I am not a mechanic so I could be completely wrong. Maybe some of the more mechanically advanced member will chime in.
It shouldn't be a big deal, unless the oil leaking out is getting on the brakes or front tire. I've ridden long distances with one leaking fork seal (and ridden a motocross bike with no springs in the front forks and blown seals). No biggie at all!
Despite what Martina said, I doubt it would make much difference to the handling - there are bikes that have the each leg performing slightly different duties, with no noticeable affect on steering, braking, etc.
Besides, so far you're only talking about a few drops - it may not get any worse.
Despite what Martina said, I doubt it would make much difference to the handling - there are bikes that have the each leg performing slightly different duties, with no noticeable affect on steering, braking, etc.
Besides, so far you're only talking about a few drops - it may not get any worse.
It's bad to have the oil on the outside of the fork, because it will eventually get on the brake pads. But other than that, he's probably fine for the ride home. It takes a while to lose enough oil to affect the handling.
He could lift the dust cap from the leaking seal, and swab out the oil that is no doubt pooled in there. This might be enough to get him home without any more oil dripping down the outside of the fork. He might also choose to wrap a rag around the fork leg, and zip tie it in place, to catch any oil that is getting out. Then just keep an eye on it, check it when you stop, and change the rag if it's getting slimy enough to drip.
He might even be able to fix the seal pretty easily. Sometimes all that's happening to cause the leak, is a bit of grit on the seal. Take a piece of old film negative, or other similar plastic item, and work it down between the seal and the fork tube. then work your way around the tube, and push the grit out. If it fixes it, yay! If it doesn't fix it, he's going to be replacing the seal anyway, so nothing's lost.
He could lift the dust cap from the leaking seal, and swab out the oil that is no doubt pooled in there. This might be enough to get him home without any more oil dripping down the outside of the fork. He might also choose to wrap a rag around the fork leg, and zip tie it in place, to catch any oil that is getting out. Then just keep an eye on it, check it when you stop, and change the rag if it's getting slimy enough to drip.
He might even be able to fix the seal pretty easily. Sometimes all that's happening to cause the leak, is a bit of grit on the seal. Take a piece of old film negative, or other similar plastic item, and work it down between the seal and the fork tube. then work your way around the tube, and push the grit out. If it fixes it, yay! If it doesn't fix it, he's going to be replacing the seal anyway, so nothing's lost.
+1 on the above responses. If it is only a few drops it isn't leaking too bad yet, 600 miles should be fine, just keep an eye on it during the trip. A paper towel wrapped around the fork leg and zip tied to the lower and upper leg will help to catch oil.
i wouldn't worry too much about this. my l'il 84 interceptor had crusty old fork seals that leaked. i was lazy and road for another 15,000 kilometres. http://www.vfrdiscus...tyle_emoticons/default/wink.gif keep in mind that the juice inside shouldn't touch breaks or tires and you should be fine. unless it's peeing out of the forks 600 miles shouldn't be an issue.
Thanks for the quick responses. He's thinking he will hang out in town and get them replaced there. The dealer has them in stock and he is looking at 600 miles of 100% mountainous twisties from Idaho to southern Colorado. He decided that was too much abuse on the current seals and too far to be worrying about it. He would rather pay now and just enjoy the ride home a day later than scheduled. ++ to all reponses! I love this place!
One thing for your friend to consider. I have often heard of shops installing new seals, damaging them during installation and they end up leaking again in a short time. If he is 600 miles away from the shop he is probably going to be SOL.
One thing for your friend to consider. I have often heard of shops installing new seals, damaging them during installation and they end up leaking again in a short time. If he is 600 miles away from the shop he is probably going to be SOL.
+2 on that one from me. It happened twice from the dealer, when they changed it before I bought the bike, and then about 25 days later. On the second repair I didn't even get the bike back right away because it failed on the test ride. 45 days later the other one failed. Most of my ownership ~3000 miles have been on leaking fork seals. I replaced them ~1000 miles ago myself and still no problem. <knock on wood>
Keep in mind, I think in my case, something can be wearing those things abnormally like the upper and lower slider bushings. The seals can also be installed easily upside down, or easily damaged on installation.
I'd ride it home and do the paper towel band-aid. There is A LOT of fluid in there; over a quart....tell him to save the oil that has escaped so he'll know when he's low..... :thumbsup:
End of thread · 9 posts recovered Wayback Machine snapshot 14 Feb 2016