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Leaking fork tube


Luis RT12

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Howdy all, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all happy thanksgiving!!

 

Here is my consult, I got early this year a new to me R1200RT 2006 with a little over 70K miles on the clock, the bike was always properly maintained and coming from one owner only, a couple of months ago I noticed that the upper rubber seal of the left fork tube was leaking a bit of oil, I took the bike to a local mechanic that only works on BMers and he told me that the seal was gone, he had the bike for a couple of days and when I go to pick it up I noticed a little puddle of oil on the ground just below the left fork.

 

I mentioned this to the mec and he said that they probably over topped the forks and this was residual oil (...weren't they supposed to change the seals to prevent this..??), anyway they advised me to take the bike and tested it for a few weeks, I noticed that the fork kept leaking for a while and then it stopped, is this normal? do I have a potential issue using the bike with low level of oil in the forks? is there an easy way to confirm how much oil or if the level is right on the forks?

 

I read some where else that the forks on these bikes do not have actual springs so there is really nothing to lubricate inside that could go bad by having a low level of oil.

 

I will appreciate your comments.

 

Saludos!

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Howdy all, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all happy thanksgiving!!

 

Here is my consult, I got early this year a new to me R1200RT 2006 with a little over 70K miles on the clock, the bike was always properly maintained and coming from one owner only, a couple of months ago I noticed that the upper rubber seal of the left fork tube was leaking a bit of oil, I took the bike to a local mechanic that only works on BMers and he told me that the seal was gone, he had the bike for a couple of days and when I go to pick it up I noticed a little puddle of oil on the ground just below the left fork.

 

I mentioned this to the mec and he said that they probably over topped the forks and this was residual oil (...weren't they supposed to change the seals to prevent this..??), anyway they advised me to take the bike and tested it for a few weeks, I noticed that the fork kept leaking for a while and then it stopped, is this normal? do I have a potential issue using the bike with low level of oil in the forks? is there an easy way to confirm how much oil or if the level is right on the forks?

 

I read some where else that the forks on these bikes do not have actual springs so there is really nothing to lubricate inside that could go bad by having a low level of oil.

 

I will appreciate your comments.

 

Saludos!

 

Afternoon Luis

 

It shouldn't have had any oil leaking at the seal , or under the bike , after the repair if the repair was done properly with good work ethics.

 

It is very difficult to tell how much oil is in the fork without taking it back apart.

 

You are correct in that there is no spring or valving inside the fort tube but it still needs to have oil in it to lubricate the tube sliding through the bushing & keep the seal lubricated.

 

If you have concern about the fork having any oil left in it I would suggest that you take it back to the repair shop & have them verify that you still have the proper oil level in it.

 

 

 

 

 

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Clive Liddell

Hi Luis

 

I think the repair shop replaced the seal upside down which is an easy mistake to make. (Don't ask).

 

The large seal on the fork seal must face down and the smaller seal must face up. As I recall the writing on the seal faces up.

 

It definitely leaks if incorrectly fitted :>)

 

I just replace the one that's leaking

 

 

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Thank you all for your comments, I will take it back to this guy, but just to have him do the right think.

 

Dann, what is this vent screw that you mentioned? is this part of the fork assembly close to the seals area? or is it at the top of the assembly where the handle bar and forks join? I will take a good look at these to see if I can spot something unusuall.

 

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Recommend that you have your mechanic put in NEW oil and NEW seals FOR FREE as it should never have leaked any appreciable oil if the repair was done properly.

 

From a practical standpoint there is so much excess oil in the fork that the amount you described as leaking likely will have no impact on fork performance. However, you may face premature seal failure in the future when you will have to pay again so best get it fixed now FOR FREE. But, if you have to pay for this seal repair I would just ride until the fork is again leaking some serious oil.

 

BTW, I did a post on seal replacement - it is not that hard nor are parts that expensive.

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Thank you all for your comments, I will take it back to this guy, but just to have him do the right think.

 

Dann, what is this vent screw that you mentioned? is this part of the fork assembly close to the seals area? or is it at the top of the assembly where the handle bar and forks join? I will take a good look at these to see if I can spot something unusuall.

 

It's at the top of the assembly

 

Fork_bleed_screw.jpg

Edited by Dann
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