Forks leaking?

[Fyrfyghtr]

My 08 FJR has been sitting since Dec. 10 when I injured my arm. It literally has not moved since then. All of a sudden it has developed a fork leak. Is this common. I can't see a new leak starting without exercising the seals at all.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Forks leaking? On an FJR? That is a new complaint... Perhaps you might try a Google search, there might be some information here somewhere on that...

I know I should not be this mean and sarcastic but seriously this one has been beaten to death. I cannot think of anything new to say on this subject.

Yes, it is common. Yes, it can happen without warning. Yes, the oil will just flow out the top and all over the wheel and the floor even without the bike moving. Yes, you may have trouble getting the forks apart. Several of us have been through this and I am not entirely sure why.

Good luck on getting it fixed, please let us know what you find.

 

[rPGoatBoy]

Looks like it was leaking for awhile, and you didn't notice. Same thing happened to me. The dirt/oil combo stuck to the outside of your fork didn't happen sitting in your garage. You should try a Sealmate, or 35mm film negative (or an old milk jug) cut to the shape of a Sealmate. There are threads in the forum with people describing how to and the great success they've had using it.

Or you can do what I did, and took the opportunity to pull the forks, respring for my weight, install Race Tech gold valves, and replace the seals and bushings.

Good luck!

 

[ahchiu]

Yep as rPGoatBoy said, looks like it's been leaking for a while from the dirt on the forks, you can try the Seal Mate first if you have a lot of bugs on the forks it can get stuck in the seal and leak, clean your bike and you can see better where the leak is coming from.

 

[Blue Goose-2]

Just went thru the same issue. 2008-22,000 miles. Bike sat for a couple of months on the side stand. Noticed leak on the right fork leg. Had noticed a little weeping prior to the leak. The decided to have the fork seals & bushings replaced, early April.

After the work was completed, the bike seemed to be more stable, noticeably in the turns. I did not want to be confronted the the problem on an upcoming trip.

Hope this helps!!

 

[60Minutes]

Seals started leaking last fall. Did the Sealmate trick and it worked so well, I went on a 200 mile trip with no problems. Started leaking again this spring., so I decided to have them replaced and figured I'd do the RaceTech GV's and springs while we were in there. Should be finished next week. I'm keen to post my results.

 

[RPrice]

FYRFYGHTR,

Type this into google: fork seals site:fjrforum.com

You will be "hooked up" to so much information that you'll be reading for days or weeks. You'll find that the seal mate/film strip can work for awhile, but eventually, if not sooner, you'll have to go ahead and replace the seals. And while you're at it, you might as well go ahead and "rebuild" the fork tubes either with OEM or aftermarket kits. The DIY information from your search above will prepare you well for this "exercise", or you can just pay the dealer.

Good luck!!

PS: The forum is a bit friendlier of late, a couple of years ago you could have seen some brutal responses to your inquiry (because you didn't search first)!!

 

[Duster19]

+1 on Sealmate it worked for me.

Dave

PS. A big thanks to MCRIDER007 for his help.

 

[not2shabby]

Same thing just happened with my 06; noticed a small puddle of fork oil under the left fork leg. I used a seal mate and couldn't get it to stop leaking and the plastic got bent up and I couldn't slip it all the way around the seal. That plastic fork leg protector doesn't make it easy either. So I cut a piece of plastic milk jug out the same shape as the seal mate and finally got it to stop leaking. I think the milk jug plastic works better, it's not quite as thick and doesn't cost 5 bucks....it's pretty much free after drinking the milk! I'm going to cut a few out and keep them in the tool kit just in case.

Oh yeah, it's a good idea to check your brake pads to make sure they're not soaked in fork oil too. I was lucky.

 

[900gc]

Seals started leaking last fall. Did the Sealmate trick and it worked so well, I went on a 200 mile trip with no problems. Started leaking again this spring., so I decided to have them replaced and figured I'd do the RaceTech GV's and springs while we were in there. Should be finished next week. I'm keen to post my results.

Gee, sounds like my journey. You'll like your new fork.

 

[aharper]

My 04 just started doing this after sitting for the winter. I took it in and had both seals replaced. It wasn't expensive. If the fluid has been leaking down to your brake pads you may want to replace them as well.

 

[RzrBak]

I've got a right fork that's leaking a little so I purchased a SealMate to try and fix it. The problem I'm having is getting the guard moved up so I can get to the dust cover. I've tried prying it up with a flat head screwdriver but can't seem to get it to break loose and I don't want to damage the guard. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to pull the guard up?

 

[RPrice]

Be more aggressive. You might try a plastic putty knife to lever the guard off, if you're afraid a screwdriver will damage the fork. (I just use a screwdriver)

And/or try this: grab the guard with one hand while pushing/twisting and then utilize the putty knife, or screwdriver to "break" the bond with the fork tube. The guard will come free and you can slide it up the tube. After that, you can "deploy" the seal mate. After you're done just force the guard back down until it seats. Again, it might take some effort.

BTW, Yamaha recommends the replacement of the guards after fork maintenance. FYI.

Good luck!

 

[not2shabby]

I didn't move the guard, it's kind of a pain to get the seal mate all the way around the tube with it there, but it can be done.

 

[RzrBak]

Well I got the guard moved out of the way and it took a while. It looked like it was seized on with road crud...gettin' ready to take it for a ride to see if all's well. Stay tuned!

 

[RPrice]

Glad you got the Seal Mate "deployed"

Good Luck!

 

[Fred W]

The vast majority of the time when a modern telescopic fork seal leaks it has just got some debris under the lip compromising the seal and can be cleaned with a seal mate in the right hands. The reason it happens so often is that there is really nothing protecting the inner fork tube from bug splats and road spooge being deposited. Then, the next time you hit a little bump in the road, guess where that stuff gets jammed?

Most of the fork seals that get replaced could be cleaned and they would work just fine again. Even if you have to remove the fork leg to adequately clean and reseal the fork, that is a lot better than replacing the seals.

It is a little fiddly getting the seal mate (or home-made equivalent) under the lip and moved all the way around the seal lip with the forks on the bike and the stock fork guards on there. Since the stock guards are not effective (at guarding the forks) I took mine off and threw them away. That way you only have to pry the dust seal up and have ready access to the oil seal underneath. It will sometime require several iterations of swiping inside of the seal with the SM, and then exercising the fork while wiping the inner fork tube dry to get it to completely seal, but then you are good to go until the seal gets dirty again.

I replaced the stock fork guards with some of the neoprene / velcro fork gaiters from NOJ (mine are black). $20 well spent, IMO. They do a much better job of keeping the inner tube's clean and they can quite easily be removed, even on the side of the road, in the event that a seal does get weepy. I carry a home made milk bottle seal mate in my tank bag for just such occasions.

 

[wnyfjr]

I have done the "seal mate" remedy twice now, once on each fork leg. I managed to pry up the stock guard and then the dust cover, no issues. On the first fork, I had to repeat the procedure about 6 times before I didn't see any appreciable oil after fork compression. Last night I had to do this on the other fork and on the first pass, I pulled a decent-sized chunk of splooge out. I cleaned and compressed the forks and did it one more time, no apparent leaking. Leaving in a couple of hours for KJ's Wellsboro ride, so we'll see how it looks at the end of the day, but I'm pretty confident that it's sealed now. And I didn't have any issues getting the guard back down and in place,

Easy-peasy!

 

[millride]

I have to chime in here, I too had a leak that looked so bad that I ordered all the parts to do the fork rebuild but also ordered the sealmate just to try out and damn if it didn't work!

I have the parts stashed for when I do have to do the fork rebuild.

Always search this site and read the comments, good or bad and don't just read the last comment of any thread unless it's Fred W!