Forkin nuisance

Right then, Last March i bought my bike ( 99' naked) and mid july the left fork seal went pop. Had them both replaced along with oil for £75.

May 2006, Left fork seal again goes bang, get both replaced and oil changed for £85.92.

June 2006, Right fork seal has just bust and it's throwing oil out quite rapidly. I've been on holiday for 2 weeks out of the 7 weeks since they were changed aswell

There are no stone chips on either fork when each set blew and there are no curvatures to the forks at all.

Firstly:

A, How long would the *average* fork seal last for on a bike
B, How many times you had yours replaced on the Sv i.e 1nce in 4 years
C, what other than stone chips would cause the seals to pop ??

I can't afford to keep replacing seals at 3 sets a year really putting me off my bike and i love her to bits. But she's become a very expensive mistress

[Sid Squid]

Originally Posted by Stormspiel

A, How long would the *average* fork seal last for on a bike

A long time, example my Kwak just started weeping at 70,000 miles, SV650 never did in 26,000, SV1000 still fine at 20,000ish, GT550 has original seals at 160,000, (gaitered).

Originally Posted by Stormspiel

B, How many times you had yours replaced on the Sv i.e 1nce in 4 years

N/A

Originally Posted by Stormspiel

C, what other than stone chips would cause the seals to pop ??

Dirty forks, bugs etc dried on can be surprisingly rough. Badly fitted seals, not a tough job, but done carelessly about as good as not bothering in terms of seal life. Not replacing the shrouds when fitting new seals if they're worn too, they clear a lot of crap off of the sealing surface so the seals don't get prematurely worn. Forks need not be apparently pitted to have damage that will knacker seals, also don't forget the condition of the uppermost part of the leg - the seal must pass over this when being fitted.

If the stanchions are not damaged and the seals are fitted properly they should last several years.

When they replaced the seals did they use proper Suzuki ones or aftermarket ones??? I have had varying lifespans if using pattern seals, but genuine ones do last for years.

Do you wheelie a lot??? This will kill the seals.

I'm wondering about what's damaging mine. Did a fork rebuild in the winter months including a new stanchion and seal it's leaking again after less than 3000miles.

The dust seal isn't perfect but I've seen much worse. Is there possibly something else I might have missed that's damaged them?

Got an MOT booked for next Wed. and it's a borderline pass just now.

Too much oil? It's sounds as though you are doing something wrong. Seals should last for many years. I'm on 65000miles and they are still dry.

my CBR seal went at 34k,

but i am quite heavy handed on the front brake to be honest.

Originally Posted by Graham

Too much oil? It's sounds as though you are doing something wrong. Seals should last for many years. I'm on 65000miles and they are still dry.

I dont think so as it took a gnats nob less than a litre for both forks, still got the empty bottle.

Originally Posted by haggis

I dont think so as it took a gnats nob less than a litre for both forks, still got the empty bottle.

Hmmmm, had a thought about this today.

Is the air gap different for forks with preload spacers compared to without? My manual only states it for older forks. Or is it too small a difference to worry about?

They've been repaired yesterday gratis, he'd previously used pattern parts for them ( i didn't know this ) and said they were usually good quality and lasted years on his bike. I made sure they were Suzuki ones this time and the forks are ten times better now they're repaired.

Hopefully they'll stay good this time.