Author Topic: Forking seals!  (Read 1339 times)

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Offline MrBear

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Forking seals!
« on: September 12, 2019, 15:38:22 »
Hello all,

Just 4000 miles and one of my fork seals has gone (on my DL650X). It is 3 years and 4 months old, but only 4000 gentle miles. As far as I'm aware these are the original seals.

Is this just bad luck or am I not looking after them properly?  I did notice some pitting higher up the fork that suggests dirt or something may have hastened the seal failure.


Offline UK_Vstrom650

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Re: Forking seals!
« Reply #1 on: September 12, 2019, 21:58:14 »
I've done mine twice in 7 years, although the second time was my fault for using Pyramid seals rather than OEM. The Pyramid ones lasted 1 year only, and on both times they failed the week before the MOT. The only good thing about the seals going was they gave me a good excuse to refresh the fork oil.

I keep meaning to fit fork gaiters esp as I ride all year round, but haven't yet...

Offline Gert

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Re: Forking seals!
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2019, 07:00:12 »
That pitting needs to be addressed. Gaitors have been suggested, to help protect the fork seals, https://www.v-strom.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=16469.msg146207#msg146207

Offline Hugo Magnus

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Re: Forking seals!
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2019, 07:26:15 »
I've heard it said that the dried on bodies of insects that get splattered on your forks can damage the seals. So keep your forks clean.
The interruptions ARE the journey  (Ted Simon)



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Offline Brockett

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Re: Forking seals!
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2019, 20:45:56 »
I like gaitors. I think they keep the stanchions clean and will prolong the life of the seals. I may be wrong.  Anyhow as they have air bleed vents ( they would otherwise burst on compresion) they will allow damp air in. I pull them down ( and up) to check for corrosion in the spring and the late autumn and give the stanchions a liberal coating of ACF 50. Although you should make sure it is cleaned off before taking it for an MOT in case the tester thinks your fork seals are shot.
This doesn't last forever, so do it while you can.

Offline bako

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Re: Forking seals!
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2019, 00:28:00 »
Do the forks on the 650 have rebound and compression adjusters? One cause of premature seal failure is people winding the adjusters all the way up for a firmer ride, in doing so preventing oil from passing through the valves creating excess air pressure. the wrong type or quantity of oil will also have a negative impact.
My DL1000 is just coming up to its 3rd birthday with 23,000 on the clock, including some hard off-roading and still on the original seals, although I have changed the oil. So I would expect more than 4000 miles out of a set of seals with "normal" riding.

Offline MrBear

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Re: Forking seals!
« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2019, 09:50:50 »
Yep, the forks have pre-load adjusters, and they're still set at the same factory setting (#3 out of 5) as they were since the start, as far as I'm aware.

Oh well, getting fixed tomorrow anyway.