ES Suspension

[Heen]

Art, depending on the oil, they do degrade. Mineral oils are effected more then synthetics because they are not as uniform and do not handle heat as well as synthetic oil. Usually more important it is there is any degradation of the additive package in the oil. One possible example that is outside of my area of knowledge could be if fork oils have EP additive that could be important in reducing damage in bushing when the bike is ridden hard.

 

[yamafitter]

When Ray did the tear down on Griffs ES forks to replace a leaking seal we found the fork oil quite clean compared to the Gen 1 & II forks with equivalent mileage. This is probably due to the inverted design that makes it less likely for dirt to make it past the wipers and seals.

As Allen C stated there are no user serviceable bushings in the ES forks. To get the forks apart though you need some special tooling to compress the fork springs to remove the stepper motors. I built a compression tool that we thinks works better than the tool we had when we did Griffs. Ray borrowed my prototype and is having someone make up a copy.

 

[mcatrophy]

Back in this post, I said that the rear suspension had leaked significantly. In spite of being nearly two years out of its warranty period, Yamaha picked up the repair tab.

Bike was sold a week or so later.

 

[Fred W]

Congrats on the new 2018!

 

[HaulinAshe]

I don't ride much anymore, well, not on one bike. You guys will have to tell me all about the ES mileage woes before I get anywhere close to my first fork oil change.

I'll make it a point to check back at the end of summer.

 

[Spook]

Looking forward to learning about the new suspension My new bike is at the shop awaiting a nice enough day to pick it up. They are still awaiting the two brothers also. 10 degrees this morning

 

[griff]

When Ray did the tear down on Griffs ES forks to replace a leaking seal we found the change the fork oil, it was quite clean compared to the Gen 1 & II forks with equivalent mileage.

Just noticed this - the seals were not leaking when we changed the oil. At 108 K now.

 

[Fred W]

That is amazing. Over 100k miles and never a rebuild. Im feeling better and better about my 2014 ES all the time

 

[eflyguy]

Definitely think there's some credence to the opinion that inverted forks are less likely to have seal leaks..

 

[griff]

When Ray did the tear down on Griffs ES forks to replace a leaking seal we found the change the fork oil, it was quite clean compared to the Gen 1 & II forks with equivalent mileage.

Just noticed this - the seals were not leaking when we changed the oil. At 108 K now.

I should clarify that we did replace the seals (66k), but they weren't leaking.

 

[Fred W]

Oh well, that’s still pretty good. But It sounds like the seal replacement is a bit more involved on the inverted ES than conventional forks.

 

[griff]

Oh well, that’s still pretty good. But It sounds like the seal replacement is a bit more involved on the inverted ES than conventional forks.

Yes, it is. Takes the special fork spring compressor typically used for inverted forks. And a lot easier with two people.

 

[MartyO]

Update on my rear shock. My mechanic checked the gas pressure and road test and pronounced my shock fine with no problem noted. I guess I've just been on rougher roads when I thought it was harsh. I've done many types of rides since and it feels good except for the resurfaced freeway near me that feels rough in all my vehicles.

I did have the fork oil changed at 60K as a maintenance item along with steering head, pivot points and swingarm service. Bottom line, my ES suspension is still doing great at 79,000+ miles.

Thanks for all the input on this post. Very good discussion.

 

[K_Flyer]

Had a front fork seal on my 2015 ES leak at about 20k miles.

 

[MartyO]

I have original seals in forks and just had fork oil changed. I hope your fork seal problem is an anomaly. Did Yamaha warranty the seal replacement?

 

[K_Flyer]

I have original seals in forks and just had fork oil changed. I hope your fork seal problem is an anomaly. Did Yamaha warranty the seal replacement?

Yes. It was covered under warranty.