Hey guys! So I've been having a rather expensive and frustrating problem with my ZXR.... When I first got the bike rego'd I was told I needed new fork seals, which I duly had done by my mechanic. being a full time uni student/3IC for work means I have no time to tinker so I just left it in their hands to sort. Wind forward about 2 months and I realise that the left fork is leaking oil, not badly but it leaks while I ride so there is a noticable smear over the lower part of the fork when I pull over. So I take it back to have to fixed AGAIN. It's been 6 weeks at the mechanics, while they did an assortment of various jobs that I simply don't have time or competency to do. Now, I rode it around the day I got it back and F*CK ME DEAD, the same fork is leaking again after I ride. Anyone got any idea why 2 brand new sets of seals leak like a freaking siv!?
Yea ... the mechanic is friggin useless .... he either hasn't changed it even once or theres unevenness on the leg causing a fail
Grrr, I hope that's not the case - the dude I take it too is a genuinely awesome guy, good mechanic too. In terms of unevenness on the leg, you mean that the chromed leg is rough or not straight? I am pretty cluey with most mechanical stuff but forks/suspension still screw with my head
That's exactly what I was thinking. It is unusual to have a seal fail twice, sourcing the cause can be difficult. I have had forks with serious rust pitting that I have rubbed down as much as I dare that have given no further problems once new oil and seal fitted.
The only thing i would want to know is why has he not investigated more into the issue.... This is just me talking but if I was in his shoes i would be curious as to know why the seal keeps failing... this leads me to 3 conclusions.. 1. all he sees is the $$$ signs and will just keep replacing them as long as you bring it back to him.. I have had bike mechanics actually say to me "why would I explain what is wrong and how to fix it? that's taking away from my business"... ever since then I do not trust mechanics.... 2. He wipes the fork leg down, grabs the front brake and bounces a few times and when he sees no oil. gives it back to you... 3. there is a fault in the fork leg just my 2 cents tho
We've had a run on leaky forks over the last 2 yrs & have done them all ourselves. The ZXR, GSXR, CB,CBR RR, RGV, FZR Not such a big job once your familiar with them & you must have the right parts & oil qty or distance from the top to the oil. Some of ours have has questionable pitted forks & haven't leaked. Back to the early days & we changed seals on the ZXR & re used the BUSHES, leaked like a seive. Suffered the leaking for 12 months till there was little oil left & ordered all the parts again incl the BUSHES & no more leaks. did another 2 bikes bushes & all & no problems. Sam wanted his done on the 98 CBR250RR & he got all the parts & turned up on the day with them & no BUSHES, so we did them anyway, re used the old bushes & guess what, leaked worse than before. Didn't wait this time, ordered new bushes & did it all again a few weeks later & like magic no leaks. So weve learnt that you cant stop the leaks without replacing the bushes. Nothing nicer than a fresh set of re built forks. Don't be scared to do them, have a go it's the only way to learn, take pics as they come apart, get a workshop book, be sure of the oil quantity or the depth from the top ( oil qty is often too much, the air gap in the top is more critical) Use the recomended oil weight in road bikes for that factory feel, different story on the track where the road conditions are predictable. You'll need a rattle gun to un do the bolt in the end of the fork, you'll need a long allen tool to fit in the gun to reach up into the bolt, we just cut down a long one & use a socket that fits it. When you put it back together do it up by hand if you can, rattle guns are savage & you mightn't ever get it off again. You also need a slide tool to knock the seal & top bush down with, we use a 50mm piece of PVC pipe or whatever size fits, cut a piece out to squeeze it up to fit, nice & soft so it doesnt damage the outer ring of the seal. Get a mate to help it's a 2 man job unless you've got 3 arms. Ask the mechanic if he replaced the Bushes, Use genuine parts if you can, that way you know they'll fit exactly, less swearing & throwing of tools, weve used both & genuine is the only way to go, some of the aftermarket seals just aren't right, dust boots that slip off cause theyre too loose, tight inner seals & bushes too big & have to be fitted.
big thumbs up fella..this is number four or five times i'm doing the exact same job..air guns have been in all before..as per will I 2nd the motion do up by hand, use genuine bushes (yes they cost a mint grrrr) but thereafter they never come back
Hmmm, in that case does anyone have information on what parts / sources I can get these from? Because I have had a look and I can't seem to find them :/
Theres exploded views & part numbers in the Resourses section. You have to be a contributing member to download, easy to do, great value.
So I took your advice and I've now got the part number, but when I google it there are several different suffixes. Like XXXXX-1056 or XXXXX-010 etc. Are these all the same part but referenced for different models, or are they infact different parts?
can we get this post put into a sticky thread saying "what else to replace in forks" or something like that.. great info
did you have to get new seals as well or was the bushes just replaced.. i have done seals before and never run into this issue...
We replace seals & bushes every time, when we did the CBR again we replaced the seals as well a second time but we had a spare set. It's a few hours work so we didnt want to have to do it all over again. It's just what we found but it's got to be more than coincedence when we didn't replace the bushes they leaked. As far as those part numbers go I'm not sure, keep up the research & you'll get it right or visit your dealer & order the genuine parts.
