1986 R80RT- slight fork oil leak one side- any remedy short of replacing seal?

[tallcanuck]

very slight leak right side.
maybe 2 drops on ground after 3 hour ride.
Seals not expensive but looks challenging to pull it apart.
Any way I can press down on seal #2 with Fork seal driver tool to seal it better?
Thank you

 

[omega man]

There is information on “cleaning” a seal in this thread with a commonly available seal wiper tool-

Front fork seal leaking

I have a 2016 R1200GS with 42,000 miles on it. I just discovered the seal is leaking on my left front fork. I see the parts breakdown shows "sealing elements". Looks pretty straight forward. Anything I should be on the lookout for?

forums.bmwmoa.org

OM

 

[tallcanuck]

Holy Smokes Omega man I had no idea.
I will try that first.

THANK YOU from Canada!!!!!

 

[omega man]

Holy Smokes Omega man I had no idea.
I will try that first.

THANK YOU from Canada!!!!!

Happy to help!
Some have sliced a milk jug for the plastic. When it’s important, I like the proper tool. This from Motion Pro has been highly recommended here on the forum.

Seal Mate - Motion Pro

Motion Pro - High quality cables, tools and controls for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft.

www.motionpro.com

Good luck.

OM

 

[stevenrankin]

If you decide to replace the fork seal and have things apart, I suggest installing gaiters. I installed them on my RT and RS and drastically lowered the wear on the fork seals. St.

 

[beemerguru]

It's actually an easy replacement.

Front wheel off, loosen the two fender brace bolts on the side with the leak

Go in from the bottom of the fork lower with the correct size fallen, preferabbly using an air impact to spin the bolt right off. Have pan under to catch all the fork fluid.

Remove the two brace bolts and the lower will drop right off.

Pry old seal out, clean and examine the fork tube for pits or scratches where the seal moves. Deep scratches or stone pits, the new seal will leak too. Replace for tube.

Install new fork seal if tube surface checks out. Smear of grease inside the seal so it slides right up. Install fork brace bolts but not tightened. Install both bolt with new copper crush washer. Tighten to around 12lb.

Install front axle..it should go smoothly into both sides..or maybe a little push on the rebuilt side so you can tighten the two brace bolts.

Axle should slide in and out easily.

Install front wheel and brake calipers. Leave the floating side clamping bolt loose.

New fork oil, replace top bolt crush washer, squeeze the brake lever until you have a firm brake again.

Bike off center stand and squeeze and hold the brake. Now bounce the front end up and down. Should move freely in both directions.

Back on center stand, tighten axle clamping bolt and the two fork brace bolts.

Off center stand and bounce a couple more times to confirm no stiction.

With the right tools, a little over 30 minutes....unless the fork is no good.

If you want gaiters installed, leave the fork brace bolts in and just remove the bottom bolts and the lowers will fall down and off...and fork fluid with it. Install gaiters, new seals, wiggle the fork lowers up, install both bottom bolts, new fluids, wheel, etc, and bounce again to check for stiction.