Topic: What are the tell tale signs your fork seals are gone,and need replaced?

[jesus freek]

I went out to start the bike this evening and proceeded to put it on the centre stand. And I hear this little tick,and feel a little pull as I pull back on the handle bars.  I then proceeded to push down on the handle bars and the fork seem to go down quite far with ease but do return up on their own.I havent noticed any fluid on the forks or around the ground. I know its the little things,but I am still a NOOB. I ordered the clymer for it,hopefully should be here this week. any help would be great. Thx

[mattcb350f]

If you've never serviced the forks before (changing the oil at the least) than it's probably a good idea to do so. It's cheap to change the oil and you won't need alot.

That being said, the oil controls the amount of rebound like a shock absorber does on a car through orifices etc. internally. If the fork isn't rebounding (returning) all that well, it could be too thick of oil, or possibly a broken spring.

 Matt.

[PxTx]

Forgive me from asking some obvious questions, like details abut the bike.  Year, stock, modified, etc.  

I've owned a bunch of CB750s, and they all seem to have fork seal failure on the brake leg.  I've never owned a bike that had a blow fork seal on the side which did not have the brake caliper attached.  Sure the could be instances such as rusty for tubes, but typically both do not fail at the same time.  

How long since your last ride on the bike?

[Gordon]

The telltale sign of bad fork seals is that they no longer do their job of keeping the oil in the forks.  Evidence of this is oil on the outside of the fork lowers and sometimes on the brake calipers, pads and discs as well, which is not a good thing when you want to stop.

[jesus freek]

It is a 75cb550 nothing really modified other than the exhaust. 19 inch rim on the front 18 inch on the rear. My first and last ride was on Sun. The front end did feel a little heavy when I would go around corners,but I have been riding a D/S the past year and it is new so I think I may be a little anal.

[jesus freek]

I didnt have any probs stopping maybe it is just low? Hopefully not a spring,but it did rebound without a problem

[mattcb350f]

The telltale sign of bad fork seals is that they no longer do their job of keeping the oil in the forks.  Evidence of this is oil on the outside of the fork lowers and sometimes on the brake calipers, pads and discs as well, which is not a good thing when you want to stop.

  ...I needed that.

...in extreme cases it may also end up on the driveway, or pant leg(s) at prolonged highway speeds.

 Matt.

[Gordon]

Yes, can't forget the pants leg!!

[Alan F.]

There's a sticky thread at the top of the SOHC4 Bikes forum for downloading manuals, you don't have to wait for the Clymer you ordered.
Cheers.
-A

[PxTx]

Okay, so a 75 has the fork boot covers.  They have been known to hold moisture and cause rust pits on the for tube.  What do yours look like?

As for the symptom being that the forks did not easily re-extend from being compressed, I would think a broken spring could be the culprit.

[jesus freek]

Fork tubes have no rust,they do re extend easily,but feel some what spongy/soft.

[City Boy]

Hi there.If you have seen no evidence of oil leakage at the seals,check for leaks at the copper washers at the bottom of each fork leg,and at the drain bolts on the side of each lower leg.If nothing seems amiss,go ahead and drain whatever if anything is still inside.A bunch of muck is likely at the bottom and I would suggest you flush a bunch of varsol inside and then fill with the correct amount of ATF or fork oil of your choice.If the seals were in fact not leaking you should be good to go.If they leak,not so good and dissassembly will be on the menu.Good Luck and Rock On

[PxTx]

I just helped a guy do seals on a KZ 750 LTD and was surprised how smelly, dark and cooagulated the fluid was in there.  At this point, I would try starting from there.

Drain the old fluid.  Open up the tops next and check out your spring.  Clean things out as best you can and re-fill your oil.  

[754]

Ummm,
 sounds a lot like your steering neck bearings need lubing & adjusting..

[City Boy]

Hi.After another look at your original post,I think 754 has put you on the right track.Change the oil too though,cheap and easy maintenance.  Rock On

[jesus freek]

Ok got up this morning to let the dog out, I noticed at the bottom of each fork is 2 nuts on each under side. Both nuts on each under side have oil on them, possibly leaking from the forks? What is the procrss to repair this?

[754]

You should get a manual for the bike and do a lot of reading on it, if you plan on working on it yourself..