leaking front right fork

[Kaizer]

I am sorry to bother you guys with this but  I am super pissed. this is the THIRD F$%^$ing time I have to have my forks redone. the previous owner of my gs500 2001 had the same problem and I had this problem exactly this time last year. It cost me over $180 to redo my front forks. WHAT THE HELL is the problem? The forks were smoothed out and they are a little pitted but what is wrong with the seal? Why does it keep breaking? Why on that side and why every damn year? Should I go ahead and replace the forks on both sides or just the bad side and add 15W oil? The mechanic added 10W. I didn't like that. Anyhow, it is not bad but it is dripping at a slow rate. I just don't want it to get on my front brake. Your input is greatly appreciated. I am ready to torch the damn bike. hehe.

[ben2go]

It maybe the way the seal is driven in.If the tube is pitted at all in the travel area it will leak.It maybe the way it was reassembled.Tube could be out of round.Where are you located?

[average]

Story of my life. The exact same tube on my forks was leaking hence the upgrade. 

[Kaizer]

I am in Florida. Any idea where I can get a set of new forks? Let me know. I am not sure if there are any left on ebay. thanks. btw, finished my FIRST oil change. Had to take the damn pipes off. Why is it such a piss-poor design? hmm. in the wiki it says nothing about taking off the pipes but hell, you can't fit the filter in without taknig them off. sigh. story of my life.

[GSnoober]

I am in Florida. Any idea where I can get a set of new forks? Let me know. I am not sure if there are any left on ebay. thanks. btw, finished my FIRST oil change. Had to take the damn pipes off. Why is it such a piss-poor design? hmm. in the wiki it says nothing about taking off the pipes but hell, you can't fit the filter in without taknig them off. sigh. story of my life.

Check this thread for forks, which include new Race Tech fork springs, and 15-wt. fork oil:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=40690

Make the man a nice offer, and keep the old forks for spare parts, or maybe ULTRA-LONG paperweights... As long as you take care of the new forks, and keep them from being damaged, you shouldn't have any more problems. The 15-wt. fork oil might not be suitable, depending on your weight... so you might have to drain it and refill with an equal amount of 10-wt. fork oil...

[The Buddha]

Oil change - no need to take pipe off ... on 99% of stock bikes in fact and the GS is no exception.
If you have a idiotic aftermarket pipe, well its not suzuki's fault. They have plenty of flaws mind you, but this is not 1 of them.
Cool.
Buddha.

[bucks1605]

I am in Florida. Any idea where I can get a set of new forks? Let me know. I am not sure if there are any left on ebay. thanks. btw, finished my FIRST oil change. Had to take the damn pipes off. Why is it such a piss-poor design? hmm. in the wiki it says nothing about taking off the pipes but hell, you can't fit the filter in without taknig them off. sigh. story of my life.

pm sent

[The Buddha]

Story of my life. The exact same tube on my forks was leaking hence the upgrade. 

I may have found out why dude ...
Yours has 1 rough spot possibly due to rust right under where the lower triple would be. You may have scraped the seal there. I'd take it to a crankshaft polishing place and get the top part all pristine and then put new seals in.
Cool.
Buddha.

[ben2go]

I am in Florida. Any idea where I can get a set of new forks? Let me know. I am not sure if there are any left on ebay. thanks. btw, finished my FIRST oil change. Had to take the damn pipes off. Why is it such a piss-poor design? hmm. in the wiki it says nothing about taking off the pipes but hell, you can't fit the filter in without taknig them off. sigh. story of my life.

You may have a Vance and Hines header.Those have no cross over tube and run down in a V shape.

[Kaizer]

YES YES YES!! you got it. damn vance and hines v shape. no stock on this baby. as for the forks, damn it, the mechanic DID polish them and found some snags. but WHY every friggin year? i can't find anything pitted or rusted. the problem is, and here is my hypothesis, is that when it goes from very cold to very hot, SOMETHING happens to the seals and bam, they crack or break or whatever. what kind of seals are weather proof? she stays covered outside. and i check my forks DAILY for anything. it just seems one season, all is good and the next season, leak. weird.

[GS500F-K8]

When you had the forks done did you have the springs, both seals replaced or maybe the case is that the tube (stanchion) has been over done on the inside to the extent that the seals are not big enough to keep it sealed when heat makes metal expand? Remember sometimes the oem tube (stanchion) needs to be grinded a little bit to fit properly as my pals bike kept getting leaking fork seals even when he replaced them on several occassions over 2 years it would never remain sealed. He cured this problem by buying a new set of tubes, seals and springs just for once everything this time was new and two years on there has been no leaks  !

[Kaizer]

you got it. that is what i need to do. buy the entire set new and then have them professionally installed and voila, no need for anymore brain-aches. thanks for the advice. will do.

[The Buddha]

Just get yours really really polished by a crankshaft polishing place. You can also then smear vaseline on it to keep it from getting bad with water. I however believe most of the damage is from installing the seal over the top of the leg. The sliding part usually is OK. The uppers are really F%^ked. usually.
Cool.
Buddha.

[ben2go]

Just to cover everything.There are the fork seals that are driven into the fork sliders and there are dust seals that are visable.I would replace all four and have the legs polished per Buddha's direction.

[The Buddha]

Dust seals cannot keep oil out of the thing. They are nothing. Heck our fork seals are nothing ... glorified dust seals.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Kaizer]

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   Re: leaking front right fork
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2008, 01:52:21 AM »
   Reply with quote
Quote from: Kaizer on April 14, 2008, 12:25:57 AM
I am in Florida. Any idea where I can get a set of new forks? Let me know. I am not sure if there are any left on ebay. thanks. btw, finished my FIRST oil change. Had to take the damn pipes off. Why is it such a piss-poor design? hmm. in the wiki it says nothing about taking off the pipes but hell, you can't fit the filter in without taknig them off. sigh. story of my life.
Check this thread for forks, which include new Race Tech fork springs, and 15-wt. fork oil:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=40690

Make the man a nice offer, and keep the old forks for spare parts, or maybe ULTRA-LONG paperweights... As long as you take care of the new forks, and keep them from being damaged, you shouldn't have any more problems. The 15-wt. fork oil might not be suitable, depending on your weight... so you might have to drain it and refill with an equal amount of 10-wt. fork oil...


Should i buy these forks? will they fit my gs500f 2001?