UPDATE !!!

Finally got my bike back from the dealership, after 50 miles seems dry as a bone. They reported that when they took the left front fork apart there was a small piece of thin clear tape where the seal moved, obviously was there when the fork was assembled (who know where, probably by the fork supplier).

Long story short...taken off, cleaned up, no leaky.

 

I was riding the bike yesterday and notice my fork seal was leaking.I tried to clean the seal out with a thin piece of plastic but no luck! I never had to replace a fork seal so I don't know too much about it. So I called the dealer and they said to bring it in. I hope they don't keep it too long. I WANT TO RIDE!!! Dose anyone know about changing the fork seal? Is it a hard job? Will it take long? thanks any info would be great..

 

I just bought mine on Saturday and when they rolled ‘er out, I noticed a lot of oil on the one of the inner tubes and sure enough, there was some sort of packing material jammed in the seal. They pulled it back in the shop and supposedly took care of it. I guess time will tell. They also didn’t route the speedo cable in the black bracket on the front fender but fixed it after I pointed it out. Oh, and it took them 4 ½ hours to prep the bike. I was there when the doors opened at 10am and left at 2:30pm. What a pain. My first bike took over four hours too! My point is, go over the bike, they obviously made mistakes with mine.

 

They assumed it was the seal before taking it apart so by the time they ordered the seal and took it apart I was out of a bike for 8 days......[&o]

.....so I had nothing to ride ! Fortunately, I'm picking up my V-Rod on Friday so I'll always have at least 1 bike to ride on the street.......[sm=happy046.gif]

 

So, has anyone actually replaced the seals? I am experiencing "the leak" in one of my fork legs now. Been about a year. I am going to try the "plastic card" trick, but should that fail I'm looking at new seals. Dealer says 2.5-3 hours @ $70 per, and they are 3 weeks out on service. Boo.

Looks to be about a 10-15$ worth of parts (new oil seals), and I'm somewhat mechanical/have basic tools. How hard is the process? Any special tools needed?

Thanks for any advice/help!

 

Just to clarify, the thing you lsee when you look at the forkat is a dust seal/fork wiper, not the fork oil seal. Pull that down THEN do the clean under the seal with a business card or thin piece of plastic.

 

Dear Colleagues,

Last week I got my new KLX 250 S 2014. Today I tied it up with straps (with ratchet) to my trailer and after I untied it up there was a leakage in the one of the arms of the front fork.

Based on that I would like to ask you for the following advice:

How many compression to the front fork is safe for transportation (maybe in mm).
How the 16 clicks system works (maybe this is the reason why one failed and the other one not).
Tips for tying up the KLX to a trailer.

Thank you in advance for your help and support.

Best regards.

 

I'm not understanding the connection to the external compression clicker adjustment as it relates to your apparent oil leak. I'm going to assume you have a fork seal leak from the description. It sounds like you're attributing the leak to a connection to the way your compression adjusters are set. That should have no bearing on a fork leak like you might be describing here. Pressure from compressing the forks with straps to where the forks are fairly highly compressed in their travel "can" contribute to fork seal leaking but usually only where the seals are nearing the end of their life or are compromised by some other issue or damage. It's the pressure in the forks from the volume of air being compressed that can push oil past the seal...not the how the compression valve stack is adjusted. The adjustment of the valve stack is doing its work during the actual movement of the fork oil as it is pumped past the compression piston and its attached valve shim stack. When you pull the motorcycle straps down to compress the fork, the fork is stationary and not acting upon the valve shim stack anymore.

This thread has lots of info about toting motorcycles with straps and opinions too. I'm of the opinion for straping motorcycle handlebars down with a fork chock for two reasons. (1)While good fork seals shouldn't leak as a general rule when cinched down without a fork chock, older seals and/or seals with some grit or crud can be challenged a bit by having the forks compressed strongly with the straps. The compressed air creates unnecessary pressure on the oil against the seals. (2)Maybe the bigger reason to use a fork chock with straps is the possibility of the unchocked bike "pogoing" on rough roads or bumps that can unhook a strap from the handlebar or trailer. USD forks like the KLX can be more prone to fork oil leakage as time and use go by for obvious reasons. Why make it any easier?

On fork leaking, on my recent 2 week trip riding in the Texas Big Bend area desert, I had a right hand fork seal weep after the first day's ride. I haven't changed seals since January 2010, and the bike has a lot of off road use. About a year ago I purchased a Risk Racing Seal Doctor and kept it in my kit. In camp I pulled the leaky side dust shield down and snapped on the Seal Doctor to the fork. I eased the tool up into the fork seak and did a 360 turn. I then lowered the tool and did the same to the dust shield. Noticeable crud on both ends of the tools was removed. I finished the next 12 days without a fork seal leak or weep.

Yes, you can use all manner of objects or devices to attempt to clean the seal and shield, but this thing requires no concentration or exact placement. It's shaped and snapped into position on the fork leg to go in exactly at the correct angle, with the exact cleaning edge exposed for the oil and dust shield, and all be accomomplished very quickly. I like that tool.

 

Hi TNC,

Thank you for your support, now I understand the function of the compression clicker.

I will try to get the fork saver in order to reduce the straps effects.

On the other hand, yesterday I cleaned the front fork leg with a piece of cloth and I removed the dust seal and I found oil trapped in the gap between the oil and dust seals, I cleaned and pumped the front fork against the wall (30 times) and there was no oil leakage, however I will try to sweep the oil seal using a negative film.

I will let you know if the problem was solved or not ;-)

Thanks a lot for you guidance.

 

TNC, that Risk Racing Seal Doctor looks like a nifty device. Thanks