Fixing constantly leaking fork seals - 86 Honda VF700

 My 86 Magna's fork seals constantly leak, or should I say seal... as
only one of them leaks, and it is always the same side.

I replaced the seals last year, and put 20w fork oil in. (I'm not a
small guy... around 250... so 20w was recommended.) The seal lasted
for about 4 months, and then "blew" again.

There are little rust spots on the fork tubes, so I assume this is
what is causing the seal to fail, but the other fork is the same way,
and it doesn't leak.

Can anyone recommend a way to keep the seals from failing, or a way to
remove the rust spots w/o damaging the fork tube? Someone recommended
using a fine sandpaper, but never said what grit.

Also, what would be the best wt oil to use? Factory recommended fluid
is automatic transmission fluid, but I think that is too thin...

Does the TRAC anti-dive ever work?

Thanks for any help offered....

 Homer Simpson wrote:

20W is pretty thick for most damper rod forks, no matter how much you
weigh-  increase spring rate and/or preload to deal with your weight,
your forks will work better with less viscous oil.


That might be it, but it could also be that you have overfilled the
forks with oil, or you have a worn upper bushing on that leg that
is letting the fork tube wiggle back and forth enough to kill the
seal.


Better off using a very hard Arkansas stone to knock off the high spots,
and fill in the voids with epoxy, or so I've been told.


I'd start with 10W fork oil.  If that is really too thin (I don't think
it will be) then and only then go up to 15W.


Yes but it doesn't do what you _want_ it to do.

--
'01 SV650S  '99 EX250-F13  '98 ZG1000-A13
OMF #7

 

So true, and such a short-sighted strategy.

Old bikes need *more* attention, not less. And the margin on parts and
accessories is way better than on new bikes.

And an owner of an old bike who's been well treated will bookmark the
shop, and use it again and again and again.


--
BMW K1100LT  750SS  CB400F  CD250  SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5  The bells, the bells.....

 On Wed, 4 Apr 2007 22:32:40 +0100,
chateau.murray.takethisout@dsl.pipex.com (The Older Gentleman) wrote:


There was one of those shops here in Daytona. (More like South
Daytona).  If your bike was over 10 yrs old, they didn't want to deal
with you.

There is another place, in Holly Hill, that is more than happy to
order parts for ANY bike. They would even order parts for my old 83
Nighthawk I had....

 

I'd echo Mark Olson's comments, except that if you really do have rust
spots, then the only sure long-term fix is to replace or re-chrome the
stanchion. Epoxy works, for quite a while, but in the end the pitting
gets worse.



--
BMW K1100LT  750SS  CB400F  CD250  Z650
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5  The bells, the bells.....