I noticed a ring of dirt on the top part of my front right fork.. looked a bit closer and there was oil on the fork above the seals (on the silver part of the fork that goes into the fork housing when you brake hard or w/e)
How would I fix this? Is this not normal? What parts would I need and where to get them?
or should I just upgrade to a better front fork .. id do it if it was like .. 150-200$ for a new fork set that would be an upgrade I guess.
Hi Andy,
Yes, you need to replace your fork seals and the fork fluid. That's the oil you see there.
Before you do that, though, you need to carefully inspect the inner fork tubes to see if they are chipped or dinged and causing the seals to be cut up and leak.
It's not an easy job, but it's not a terrible job. You need some special tools, like a fork seal driver to install the new seal, but it can be done using a piece of large PVC pipe and the old seal to cushion the new one. (Check the Wiki for this stuff) You have to safely prop the bike up, remove the front wheel and disassemble the forks (remember to loose the top fork cap nut BEFORE you unbolt the fork legs from the bike) and you'll need an impact driver to remove the allen screws holding the bottom of the fork legs together).
I'd replace the stock fork springs with Progressive Suspension springs too, for a giant improvement in ride quality.
There are others here who will tell you to swap out a different front end, but it's lots of work and aggravation, especially if you are new to working on your bike.
It is definitely something you should fix soon. It affects handling and ride quality and safety.
Best wishes,
Trwhouse
There is a small chip on the front of the fork, looks like a rock hit it or something. Should i try to grind it down or something before i replace the seals?
Also do you have a link to where i could buy the seals and the progressive springs? thanks very much
I had mine done at a local shop a few months ago, it was about $160 all said and done. My situation was different than yours though. I was riding along (maybe above the speed limit :icon_rolleyes:) and hit a pothole. Stopped immediately, tons of smoke coming off the front of the engine. I had no idea what had happened to my engine, but soon realized that the fork seal had completely given way and all my oil had splattered over the front of the engine. Moral: REPLACE IT BEFORE IT BLOWS
Andy,
Don't "grind" anything.
If the nick is significant, the inner tube will have to be replaced or it will leak again.
I have lived with a nicked tube on my bike. I gently polished the nick with wet emery paper to smooth it a bit and lessen its tearing effects on the seal. Every year I had to drain and refill the oil, though, which is a pain because the GS500 does not have lower drain screws on the sides of the lower fork legs.
Eventually I found a used set of forks and replaced mine.
These tubes are delicate and won't take kindly to serious "grinding."
Good luck,
Trwhouse
i did hit a small pothole recently, it didnt feel too violent but mabe it was just absorbed well by the soft shocks
i looked closer at the nick and its very minor, shouldnt affect anything i suppose
i saw a few drops of oil under where the forks were when i parked my bike , i cleaned it up and wiped off my shock and it no longer seems to be leaking? wierd..
is there any way to check the oil level of the front forks?
Hi Andy,
You really need to get a service manual, bub. :)
It's all in there.
There is no way to check fork oil level in the front forks with stock junky springs unless you take it all apart, clean everything and then dump in the proper amount of fork oil.
I know how much fork oil goes into my fork legs because I've replaced the fork springs with Progressive Suspension springs and know what amount of oil goes in there. Also I was able to mark the fork oil capacity on a homebuilt "dipstick" when I had it apart.
The problem is that with stock springs there's no way to measure that.
If oil is coming out in droplets from your fork seals as you describe, it will continue to come out.
You might want to get a manual and learn how to do this if you are considering the job.
Also do a search here on the site. Lots of people have written about fork seal replacement here.
Best wishes,
Trwhouse
Not to discourage you from doing this yourself but I personally hate doing fork seals. That is one of a handful of repairs that I'd rather pay someone else to do. If you decide to sub out the job you can lessen the cost by removing the forks yourself and taking them to the shop.
-Jessie
Quote from: Andy13186 on November 30, 2009, 03:38:06 PM
..................is there any way to check the oil level of the front forks?
Oil level can be measured for proper fill. Should be 99 mm (3.9") from top of fork tube to the oil level with the fork ass'y vertical, oem spring & spacer removed, and fork fully compressed. Takes 382 ml if measured and poured into drained fork. Easy to unscrew top plug to pull spring and spacer with 1/2 drive ratchet.
I put in a new left fork seal and oil this spring and just measured it on the angle on the bike using a metal yard stick I had in the garage. Neither the new seal with 7k miles on it now or the old seal in the other fork with 76k miles on it have leaked a drop since, both are still dry. I measure 5.5" from the top as specified for my heavier Progressive springs. It's important to not get the oil level too high but a bit low will never be noticed.
Hi Jack,
Your info is all true, but not complete.
This fellow doesn't realize that while he can physically measure the oil in the tubes once he pulls the stock springs and spacers that he'd have to carefully clean all the old oil off of the parts before reinstalling them, less he want to add more oil than he wants to. The reason -- all the oil that is still left on the springs and parts.
Also, he still has to take it all apart to replace the oil.
So while he can technically check the level as you describe, it's really pointless at that point. He might as well get it all out and start fresh with nice new oil in the fork legs. It's probably never been done on the bike.
Best wishes,
Trwhouse
Trw, I was just describing the oil filling and level checking in my post above which I did after installing the new seal to get both forks to the proper oil level. Since I have a rather shabby little garage with broken concrete floor and without electricity, workbench, or a vice to hold the fork tubes while working on them I decided to try Blueknyt's method of doing it on the bike:
http://www.gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=16318.0
Using my triple clamps as a vice I managed to drain the oil and disassemble the left fork assembly as he suggested. At that point it seemed easier to slip the fork tube out of the triples for reassembly. I used a dull screwdriver and very light hammer working around the seal to seat it and the wiper without a seal driver. I put the assembly back in the tripples to finish up the job. I had put parts in the oil drain pan so cleanup consisted of wiping off the excess oil with a rag as I reassembled. I didn't have the luxury of the air tools Bluenyt had but it all worked out well for me.
Jack
Andy13186, here's a 89-99 Suzuki GS500 Service Manual you can download and use, courtesy of oobyscoot who originally posted it here on gstwins. It's 62 MB:
http://www.carlsalter.com/aaman/Suzuki_GS500E_89-99.pdf