Can I ride the bike with oil sweating from one front fork?

[Guest]

Well color me suprised. I went to deal with this and the tach, but I forgot the steel wool. I did however have a stack of plasticy playing cards.

So I removed the rubber cap, cleaned it and the surface around the seal and everything, and then I pushed a playing card in and around. I ruined two of the cards this way.

Pushing the suspension up and down while on the footpegs with it on the center stand for several minutes didn't yield a single speck of oil. I did get one obvious piece of grit out with one of the playing cards.

I didn't have time for a ride, I figured I will bring it for a spin after work (evening sun is nice, and roads are DRY), to verify it is still holding oil.

Thank you all for your help. This is great, now my trip is saved.

[dorkburger]

and how about the flexible thin plastic hook (carved milk container?) that you sneak in between upper fork leg and seal, and do a 360 deg 'scrape' just in case there's a grain of dirt, sand, norwegian basalt, that you can remove? (approx 5% success rate )

This method bought me about a year, but I used piece of 35mm camera film instead. I think there is a specific tool just for this.

[ptegsotic]

Well color me suprised. I went to deal with this and the tach, but I forgot the steel wool. I did however have a stack of plasticy playing cards.

So I removed the rubber cap, cleaned it and the surface around the seal and everything, and then I pushed a playing card in and around. I ruined two of the cards this way.

Pushing the suspension up and down while on the footpegs with it on the center stand for several minutes didn't yield a single speck of oil. I did get one obvious piece of grit out with one of the playing cards.

I didn't have time for a ride, I figured I will bring it for a spin after work (evening sun is nice, and roads are DRY), to verify it is still holding oil.

Thank you all for your help. This is great, now my trip is saved.

I believe the true test will be riding. That seal rubber, is WAY harder than dust cap rubber ... meaning, it would probably take a while to 'bounce back' ... (reform around upper fork tube) ... like overnight.
good luck.

(great idea re using 35mm film! I never woulda thought of that. But then, never was photo guy ...)

[LAB3]

That's a tip definitely worth keeping in your pocket.

[Guest]

This method bought me about a year, but I used piece of 35mm camera film instead.

(great idea re using 35mm film! I never woulda thought of that. But then, never was photo guy ...)

When I raced MX every toolbox in the pits had a couple pieces of 35mm film in it for exactly this purpose. Cutting a V shaped notch in the side of the film makes it more hook like and makes it easier to catch and sweep any junk up out of the seal lip.


Mark

[Guest]

I believe the true test will be riding. That seal rubber, is WAY harder than dust cap rubber ... meaning, it would probably take a while to 'bounce back' ... (reform around upper fork tube) ... like overnight.
good luck.

(great idea re using 35mm film! I never woulda thought of that. But then, never was photo guy ...)

It appears to have held up. I rode for 80ish kilometers today (maybe 100), and it seems completely dry.

[RichDesmond]

It appears to have held up. I rode for 80ish kilometers today (maybe 100), and it seems completely dry.

Excellent!! Enjoy your trip, and make sure you post lots of pictures for us.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

It appears to have held up. I rode for 80ish kilometers today (maybe 100), and it seems completely dry.

Just pull up the cap every once in a while and look for a puddle of fork oil on top of the seal.

[Guest]

I have now gone 8-900 km, and its leaking again. Good thing I have an appointment at the shop on friday.

[Rob S.]

...its leaking again.

These bikes don't leak oil. They sweat horsepower.

[RichDesmond]

I have now gone 8-900 km, and its leaking again. Good thing I have an appointment at the shop on friday.

You can still try the steel wool.

Seriously, you should do that regardless. If the fork legs have much in the way of dings the new seals will before long. You need to knock the sharp edges off of them.

[Guest]

You can still try the steel wool.

Seriously, you should do that regardless. If the fork legs have much in the way of dings the new seals will before long. You need to knock the sharp edges off of them.

Yeah, that makes sense.

But it feels smooth (maybe not in the top, but I don't think it ever bottoms out?).

[Gorminrider]

If using steel wool, use finest steel wool.0000#grade Or not- try the gentlest first-use a polish like pumice based brasso or autosol .Chrome is harder than steel wool, but that first dulling of the sharp edges of the steel can nevertheless wear it and scratch it noticeably using coarser grades... (think:water wears stone-cutting lead with a steel chisel despite the steel being the harder, it'll dull the steel after some cuts.....)

Nicks that contact seals -yes, it's just the areas that slide that count, use a fine grit small wetstone on it's narrow edge to take them off. Again, use the softest grit that does the job, even if it takes longer.

I've got rubber boots on all my stanchions now.

[Guest]

If using steel wool, use finest steel wool.0000#grade Or not- try the gentlest first-use a polish like pumice based brasso or autosol .Chrome is harder than steel wool, but that first dulling of the sharp edges of the steel can nevertheless wear it and scratch it noticeably using coarser grades... (think:water wears stone-cutting lead with a steel chisel despite the steel being the harder, it'll dull the steel after some cuts.....)

Nicks that contact seals -yes, it's just the areas that slide that count, use a fine grit small wetstone on it's narrow edge to take them off. Again, use the softest grit that does the job, even if it takes longer.

I've got rubber boots on all my stanchions now.

I think I know some of those words...

Wetstone like what you use to sharpen knives?

Stanchions?

I dont think steel wool comes in grades here...

[Gorminrider]

Stanchions are the chrome tubes. For RUST, Steel wool comes in at least two grades everywhere I bet if you look for it. But again, try metal polish first.

For SCRATCHES and GOUGES use a "Sharpening" stone if you like. but try the fine ones. The ones you'll find easily are a "carborundum" material with two sides-coarse and fine. get a small stone so you can use it with precision but a single- grit stone is better because you can use it's edge rather then whole surface. Or you can wrap a block with "wetndry " sand paper. It doesn't stay sharp long but you just put fresh paper on.... as an aside, you can sharpen a knife this way too if the block used is hard and smooth..a sheet of glass can be a base to sharpen drill bits in a pinch!

Main thing is,for a SCRATCH start fine and in a small area-just the scratch, not the surroundings. you can even MASK around the area using plain masking tape as sacrifice for 'Out-of-bounds"