fork leaks

[Darwin_R65]

Well my front fork seal is leaking on the left hand side, and rego is due in 3 weeks.

Looks like i have a few gouges in the very top of the fork stem and I applied the brakes a little hard last week, which I assume meant the forks when deep enough to chew the seals on the rough bits.

So I need to remove forks, remove stem and very lightly weat and dry rough bits, I figure if it destroys the seal it will only be on the very upper part and the only time it will worry is extreme heavy braking that might seep a little fluid but it won't chew the seal next time.

Any thoughts on techniques?

Do I need to remove the steering head to remove the forks, or just lift the bike high enough to slip the forks out?

I've bought some 10W fork oil to do the job, I guess that's OK, it was recommended by the bike shop, but theyre more into harleys and motocross.


John

[weasel01]

I recently replaced my fork seals and it was pretty easy...

The folks here on this forum walked me thru it so now I can pay it forward!

You do not need to remove your forks , you can do the whole deal on the center stand.

First drain all fluids then just remove the front wheel then remove the 2 allen head bolts that are in the bottom of the fork sliders (one in each).
Then it all comes apart out the bottom.

The only tough part is you need to remove the top caps where you pour in the fluid then remove the inner springs.

clean up the sliders and remove the seals I used a flat head screwdriver to pry and a little plate of delrin (soft plastic) to protect my slider.

Drive the new seal in with a jumbo socket and mallet.

put a liitle fluid on the seal and slider and reassemble careful not to damage the seals.
 
Then you need to use a long extension with a 13mm socket (I think it's 13mm) down from the top of the fork to the top of the piston (inside the fork) to hold the piston while a helper torques the allen bolts that go up in the bottom of the forks.

I didnt need to do this to take it apart but I did need to do to reassemble.

Be prepared for a large amount of crap in the bottom of you forks.
Took me some time and elbow grease to get them cleaned back up.

Refill with fluid reassemble and ride.

[Bob_Roller]

After you have removed the fasteners from the front fender, there are only two pinch bolts in the upper and lower triple clamps, and the fork comes out of the bike completely .

Personally I think it's easier to work on the forks while clamped into a vise with a couple of wood blocks, than to mess around with it still installed on the bike .

You might be able to dress out the rough spots on the fork tube, but if you get onto  a rough section of road, you most likely will get full travel on the forks, and subject the questionable area to be in contact with the fork seals .

Only way to know for sure, is to try it and see what happens .

I installed gaiters on my R65, might not look great to some riders, but it sure beats paying for new fork tubes .

Not that it would make any difference, but the standard fork oil for the R65 is 7.5 wt., but that's not widely available outside of a BMW shop .

10 wt oil won't cause any issues, but I wouldn't go with any heavier weight oil .

[montmil]

Kerosene / paraffin works well with wet-or-dry paper. Be cautious that you do not sand a flat spot on the fork tube. Smooth off any small burrs then... STOP.

At reinstall, be certain that you don't have a bit of the sharp edge of the new seal folded under. I hate it when that happens.

Monte

[weasel01]

Does the weight of the fluid rigidity or speed of dampening ...maybe that's the same thing?

[billygoat]

 The po had some work done on my bike.

 The springs have ben cut down and these tubes added.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/3684408143_eaca335a46.jpg

 Order of the guts, you can pry the top cir clip out with an awl

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2611/3685219054_2687d4dc7b.jpg

http://fuchsias18thcdress.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/rosewood20awl.jpg


 I used Bell Ray 10W oil with great results.

[Justin B.]

Check out the following link about fixing small pits in the tubes:

http://www.stephenbottcher.net/BMW/dakar.htm

[nhmaf]

10W is probably fine unless you are a very small/lightweight rider , but will give a bit of a firmer, "stiffer" feeling ride than the 5W that is often sold for use in motocross bikes.   You can mix equal parts of 5W and 10W oil of the same mfgr and get something close to the 7.5W

[Darwin_R65]

10W is probably fine unless you are a very small/lightweight rider ,

At 6 foot 3 and 125Kgs, do i qualify  as a small/lightweight rider?  

John

[weasel01]

Darwin you and I are the same size ...it's what the sears and roebuck catalog used to call "husky" .
I am currently running 10w but am considering a change to 7.5 as the 10 feels a little stiff.

[Bengt_Phorqs]

it's what the sears and roebuck catalog used to call "husky"  

and in Texas we would either call you a linebacker or "Sir", probably both!