my right hand fork seal has gone again. I don't wheelie or abuse the bike. The previous owner had it done in march this year. I had it done by southern cross in june this year and now it's leaking like a good un. Is it worth carrying on or can i source a fork fairly easily?
my 56 plate RSVR with Ohlins have gone twice.........now replaced them with Suzuki K4 Seals
Hang on a minute!!
You had it done in June and it's gone again already, that's not right mate. Is there any damage on the forks that's causing the seal to fail, did they report anything to you when they overhauled them?
How many miles have you covered since they were last rebuilt? (Just checking you're not doing 40,000 miles a month :devious)
You had it done in June and it's gone again already, that's not right mate. Is there any damage on the forks that's causing the seal to fail, did they report anything to you when they overhauled them?
How many miles have you covered since they were last rebuilt? (Just checking you're not doing 40,000 miles a month :devious)
Something not right there, should last a reasonable time.. Mine went at 21k for the first time and still ok, though dealer screwed forks up as rock hard even with everything set to zero..
Joined Aug 2008
196 Posts | 0+
Gloucester
Can you go back to Southern Cross about it? Have the forks done again and use GSXR 1000 K4 seals. They have 2 lips on against 1 on ohlins, and the dust seal has spring around its lip to help it bite against fork leg. You will get a little bit more stickshion, but unless you can ride like Rossi (GOD) you wont feel the difference.
it's not an r? I've done about 3k on it. The dust seal has a spring round it. There is a slight scoring on the front of the fork but nothing bad. I'll speak to southern cross and see what they say.
they can't fit me in til next week but it sounds like i'm either really unlucky or there is something causing it so i might need a new fork. Anybody know where i can get one fork cheaply. Non ohlins. Seen pairs for 250 on ebay!
The showa fork seals generally last very well so i would check to see if there's anything on the fork thats' causing the seal to fail.
i'm gonna let southern cross have a look but i think rather than buy a used set for 250 i may as well send them to philpots and have them recon for 295! 5 day turn around they say. Just need to find some way to support the front end then. . . . .
thanks. Heard good things about ktech. Would choose mct for an internal rebuild though thats not what i'm after. Philpots will rechrome the legs and fit new seals, so they'll be good as new. The legs are probably causing the seals demise. Internals should be fine.
Have a crack at them yourself,you might find a stone chip on the stanchion Ive always smoothed them out with an oil stone,doesnt matter if there is a dip in the chrome,as long as there is no sharp edges to destroy the seals,do this & never have any more problems,comes in handy on motox & trials bikes
Quick fix sometimes
Was informed awhile ago on this forum that the aprilia seals are single lip and sometimes a bit dirt can get trapped under seal causing it to leak and a quick fix with no cost was to get hold of a old style photo film negitive and to push it up under seal and rotate it round the fork stantion to dislodge the obstruction. i did this on me 04 factory and never leaked since. its worth a try
Was informed awhile ago on this forum that the aprilia seals are single lip and sometimes a bit dirt can get trapped under seal causing it to leak and a quick fix with no cost was to get hold of a old style photo film negitive and to push it up under seal and rotate it round the fork stantion to dislodge the obstruction. i did this on me 04 factory and never leaked since. its worth a try
I had no end of trouble with fork seals going pop on both my zxr's, so stripped the legs down myself and sent them off to be rechromed.
Philpotts was who i used, the chrome they use is a hard chrome, which as the name says, is alot harder than the show chrome that bikes have as standard, and is only slightly more dull.
And 12 years on, my zxr250 is still on the same seals, No brainer really :biggrin
Philpotts was who i used, the chrome they use is a hard chrome, which as the name says, is alot harder than the show chrome that bikes have as standard, and is only slightly more dull.
And 12 years on, my zxr250 is still on the same seals, No brainer really :biggrin
Never had a problem in my Honda, unlike the Kawakacky 
Don't dance around the bush, send them away and get sorted once and for all
Don't dance around the bush, send them away and get sorted once and for all
thanks for some good answers as always. Gonna let southern cross have another crack first. 300 quid is a lot of money but i reckon it's only a matter of time before i have to go down that road
Joined Aug 2008
196 Posts | 0+
Gloucester
Never had a problem in my Honda, unlike the Kawakacky
I never had a problem with the Honda's I've owned. But owning them is boring as hell, even a blade will never give you a sence of ownership/love you get from owning even looking at bikes like the Ducati/MV Agusta/Aprillia that i have had since.
