Off Topic : Oilhead Fork Seal Leaking

[Bob_Roller]

Found a small puddle of oil under the left fork on the oilhead this morning.

I know we have a few oilhead owners here, so what's involved in replacing the seal ?

I know the forks are not part of the suspension system, just something convenient to bolt all of the front end parts to.

[Justin B.]

Is yours a Telelever?  Is there even any dampening oil in there?  I thought that was in the shock assy...  Man, I have just realized I know absolutely nothing about these...  

[Bob_Roller]

It's the telelever with a shock absorber, there is movement between the outer and inner parts of the fork, I finally got onto RealOEM.com, and it looks like there is a regular fork tube seal in the assembly .

Appearantly there is a small amount of oil in there to keep the moving parts lubricated.

I didn't get a chance to look at it, as I'm at work until 11 pm tonignt.

There also is a filler port at the top, what are the chances the filler plug is loose or the o-ring is bad there ?

[Bob_Roller]

It definitely is the oil seal on the fork tube, I could see oil flowing out of it on the way home tonight with the driving lights on.

One good thing, it won't be leaking for very long with the amount of oil that came out in my 11 mile ride home !!

[Justin B.]

Dang!    You didn't catch a rock, or something, where the tube and seal interface, did ya?

[Bob_Roller]

I pulled the 'dust cover' off of the lower fork leg, and it looks like a simple job to replace the seal.

The seal is held in by a wire 'circlip' that fits into a groove in the lower fork leg, but there are two 'ears' bent into the wire to aid in removal.

If the local dealer has the part, I should have it done tomorrow, it doesn't appear to be much more than a few hours work, and most of that will be removing and re-installing the fork tube in the bike.

I don't see any damage to the inner fork tube surface, but I will give it a good inspection  when I get it apart.

I think I will wrap a shop rag around the area and ty-wrap it into place, it's a nice, but windy day here in Phoenix (clear, sunny, 55 F.), and I don't get too many holidays off, so I think a Christmas day ride is in order !

[Bob_Roller]

Got the seal replaced today, after you get the front wheel off, it's only about 30 minutes of work.

Four screws hold the front fender on, one bolt secures a brake line bracket to the lower fork tube, two allen head bolts that secure the lower fork tube to a brace that connects the two forks together.

Then just pull the lower fork tube out, the inner tube stays in the triple clamp.

Remove a wire circlip, that has two ears bent into it, so it's easy to remove, pry out the old seal, and then back together again.

The fork holds 470 ml of fork oil, its just to lubricate the parts, there is no damping action done in there.

From what I've been told that it is common to have the left fork seal leak, it has something to do if you leave the bike on the side stand with the fork locked, it puts a side load on the fork seal and flattens it slightly, causing a leak.