fork seals/oil

[rodh]

HI all, I have a very slight leak from one fork leg oil seal. Any ideas on how long they last before they need replacing. The chrome is excellent so no problem there. Atf shouldn't be much affected by temperature either should it? It is thin stuff. Anyone used anything else? A touch thicke to stiffen the action a bit? Thanks, Rod

[jup]

I seemed to be replacing the seals on my NTV600 every 6 months or so.
However it seems that the original Honda seals I got from Wemoto are holding up better than the aftermarket ones I was using before. Only been a month sinmce I did them though.
And I put Halfords 10W30 fork oil in them this time round. Handling is much improved after the half full forks....

[McF]

Hi Rodh, how long have your seals been in? Were they Honda Original?

I'd be very surprised if temperature had any bearing on the oil, there is an air gap when you reassemble

Jup - you're the resident expert on fork seals with that amount of experience!
Are your stanchions in good condition?

[jup]

McF: Yeah they are in very good nick, which baffles me more!
I've either been reassembaling poorly, or the 'Japanese quality' seals were poor ones to use.
I say seems like every 6 months, but I've had the bike 4.5 years and done them 4 times. They do feel loads better this time round though, and went together easier, so think practice may have made perfect!!

[rodh]

I don't know how long the seals have been in I'm afraid. Sounds like seals are almost a service item! I am getting mot in the next couple of weeks. Sure it won't be a failure item as there is nothing to see with a quick wipe around but I want to try and plan the replacement. They vary a lot in price too so the Honda originals may be worth the extra cost. Thanks for replies. See what else is posted.

[rodh]

I have finished replacing the oil seals, thought it prudent to do both sides while I was at it. The offside one that wasn't leaking showed absolutely no sign of oil passing the seal, it was bone dry. Probably find it leaking in six months! However, not a bad job to do, no real problems. The most difficult part was tightening the damper rod seating bolt. it is prevented from turning by friction only so turns with the bolt instead of being locked and allowing you to tighten the mounting. Haynes suggest putting the spring back in or using a broom handle to push down as you tighten up the bolt. I had to reassemble the spring and then still bounce down on it while tightening the bolt. It just gave enough pinch on the seating to get it locked up. Both legs were the same. Once that was done, no real difficulty. The fork action is a little better now they are correctly filled with oil but not a dramatic improvement. No signs of wear in the bushes after 35K miles. So that's it. When will it stop raining?

[vtwinfan]

Hi guys, dont waist your time fitting pattern parts, altho they are cheaper they are not honda quality and dont last as long. seals , gaskets and even break pads all work out cheaper in the long run and do the job better. so you save £4.00 by using a pattern oil filter, how shallow is the love for your bike.

[ED-CASE]

Please don't take offence if I suggest one possible cause of a leak on a shiny stanchion
I bought a scrapped NTV, and revived it on a shoestring
Both forks leaked
The worst one had the seals in upside down..........
To be fair, it took me standing in bright sunlight with my wrinkly-special print-magnifying glass.....
To finally realise which way up was correct on these new-fangled modern seals
('cos they have a dust-seal facing upwards and an oil-seal facing downwards - {I think!})
The only difference I could make out was the manufacturer's name was embossed on the upside
In tiny letters, only saw it with the magnifier
And maybe the cross-sectional wiper-blade shape of the seal edge is a mite sharper downwards
{I think}
HTH
(or at least does not infect others with my inherent confusion.....)
Atb
Ed