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2019 F850GSA - Right Front Fork Leaking

Front fork leaks are nothing new to me, I had them about every 10,000 miles on my 2007 F650GS. Living in SW Idaho, I ride a 55/45 mixture of secondary roads and gravel, dirt and BDR. I am not hard on my bikes as I don't push them, but enough dust and washboard will kill seals. I have a bit over 9K on my F850GSA and noticed that my right fork seems to be leaking. I had scheduled a service appointment at the end of October to get the bike ready for it's winter layover and this seemed like a perfect time to look into upgrading the front Suspension. SEE ATTAC HMENT: View attachment Front-End upgrade - Beemershop.pdfTPBS02.JPG
Once I have it installed and some miles on it, I will update this post with my evaluation.:brow
 
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Interested in your experiences and impressions with this upgrade. I may consider a fork upgrade on my own GSA at some point.

As for the seals, your failure rate seems high. After an early seal leak, I started using the neoprene fork covers on my F800GS and now on my F850GSA and have not had a seal failure since. They help to keep the seal killing grit out.
 
Front Fork Cartridge Installed and tested

1105201346a_Sml.jpgI got my bike back today from DD Power Sports in Boise. I had them install the front fork cartridge while doing a fall service on the bike. During the pre-service inspection, it was noted that the leaking front forks had completely coated the front brake pads with oil and that the rear brake pads were at 15% and should also be replaced. The front fork repair and upgrade cost $247 for labor and $77 for parts, I provided the new front fork cartridge, which I got from the Beemer Shop. The Beemer Shop set the cartridge for my weight so for now I am not changing the settings.

First Impressions: No more front end dive, even at max emergency stop, the front end now gently settles, not dive. It is the difference of driving an old car without shocks and driving a sports car with a tuned suspension. The Ride on a good paved road hasn't changed that much, but the bike does feel more planted. On dirt with potholes and washboard, the front is stiffer, not eating the washboard quit as well, but again it feels more planted and it doesn't appear likely you will be able to bottom it out. The pre-load and rebound are completely adjustable and this is how this bike should have been configured when your order the all inclusive factory package. I have not messed with the adjustments yet and it is very likely I can soften the front end for better washboard performance.

Adjustable compression damping allows absolute control of fork tuning to give you the precise handling characteristics you want in any conditions. With 20 clicks of adjustment you can control how fast the fork compresses. If it feels too firm, you can reduce the compression damping. If the bike is going through the travel too quickly, feels too soft, or is bottoming out, you can increase compression damping.

You should not have to go after market to get this level of performance. .1105201209-sm.jpg

Installation Instructions
Fork Cartridge Kit Owners Manual
 
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TracTive X-TREME Fork Cartridge Kit (one leg) / F850GSA

I got to take my GSA out for a good test ride today on a section of the Idaho BDR north of Boise. The section is a good cross section of hills, tight turns, dirt, gravel, ruts, rocks and because of some rain the night before wet and mud. I have ridden this section before and I can tell you the difference in how my front end responded was noticeable. If you are not happy with the relative soft front end that the stock F850's have, but otherwise love the bike, then seriously consider upgrading your forks with a TracTive cartridge Kit. :clap
 
my 09 F650GS was blowing the right seal also. Its a normal type fork not upside down. Left seal never leaked in 10,000 miles since I bought it with 46,000 on it last year. 55,000 on it now. Person I bought it from had to replace the seal also a couple of times. I used one of those thin seal wipe tools to go in and clear out any dirt that was in the seal. I noticed as I wiggled the seal wipe tool into between the seal and fork tube that oil would come out like it was under pressure a little bit. I took the fork caps and drilled a small hole in them to let air bleed out and havnt had any more leakage ?????
 
my 09 F650GS was blowing the right seal also. Its a normal type fork not upside down. Left seal never leaked in 10,000 miles since I bought it with 46,000 on it last year. 55,000 on it now. Person I bought it from had to replace the seal also a couple of times. I used one of those thin seal wipe tools to go in and clear out any dirt that was in the seal. I noticed as I wiggled the seal wipe tool into between the seal and fork tube that oil would come out like it was under pressure a little bit. I took the fork caps and drilled a small hole in them to let air bleed out and havnt had any more leakage ?????

The column of air above the oil is part of the designed suspension system, as that air compresses. In fact, altering the volume of oil fine tunes what is in effect an air shock. You just eliminated this as part of the suspension system, for better or for worse.
 
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