Fork Seal Failure Report: Anyone Else?

[Dave Lunden]

I think it is time for a serious fork seal failure analysis. I purchased an S10 specifically for a trip to Alaska this past July. It performed beyond all expectations, except...
At about 4200 miles, a film of oil was showing on the lower fork legs. At 4500 miles, there was a drop of oil on the bottom of the fork legs and dripping on the pavement at stops. At 5000 miles the forks were both dripping enough oil to significantly hinder the stopping ability of the front brakes, and splashing back on the bike. The problem was reported to my Yamaha dealer back in New York, who tried to find new seals at a dealer in Alaska, but the parts were not available without a couple days wait. I added fork oil every day to get back to the States, and finally found a dealer with parts to do a warranty repair, including new front brake pads.
While in Alaska, I met another S10 rider in Fairbanks who also had leaking fork seals. Searching this forum, there are many other owners reporting fork seal failure, but there has yet been an analysis of the cause of the problem. Is the seal to blame for not cleaning the leg and allowing dirt to build up inside? Is the wiper not stopping dirt before the seal? Have there been any changes to either the wiper or seal to improve either part over the years? With the number of seal failures reported (and repaired under warranty) on this forum, I would think Yamaha is aware of a problem.
I did not ride the S10 anywhere off-road, so that is not to blame for the seal problem. After owning KTM's for the past 40 years, I haven't had any fork seal failures on the upside-down White Power forks.
I have not tried the x-ray film trick of cleaning dirt out from under the lip the seals, but WHY should this be necessary? I now have a set of the neoprene fork wraps to try and make the seals last for more than 5000 miles.
Let's hear from other S10 owners about their fork seal experiences, and welcome any thoughts as to the seal improvements and solutions. Maybe our group can find a solution. Maybe its already been solved on new models with a new part. Thanks!

 

[bob dirt]

My fork seals leaked when I rode to Alaska also. It was caused from the road grime from construction in Canada. I did not use fork seal savers. I tried my seal mate a couple of times on the way up but they kept leaking. I replaced the seals when I got home. They were pretty easy. Yes I have fork savers n my bike now.

 

[Juan]

I had one fork seal failure after a couple of hundred kms. The dealer started dismantling the fork to replace the seal and informed me that the cause was a minute scratch on the fork leg, which was tearing the seal as it rode over it. The scratch was facing backwards and therefore could not have been damaged through riding. The complete fork leg was replaced under warranty.

 

[Madhatter]

just takes a thin film of dried dirt dust road muck to start a leak , for me all that has been done is take a fork seal cleaner tool ( film etc ) and the leak has stopped. I have to be careful to keep the lower tubes clean . sometimes I remember to actually do that. because we have the upside down fork any compromise of the seal creates the leak, simple gravity doing what it does . this summer on its 5th birthday I am planning to have the forks reworked , seals, bushings , fluid , maybe respring with fresh springs. if you keep the lower tubes clean should have few issues. and some covers are not a bad idea at all.

 

[EricV]

I've used fork seal covers since the bike was new on both my S10s. I put 109k on my '12 including a month long trip to Alaska and the IBR and never had a fork seal leak. Ever.

Kriega and Shock Sox both work great. I now prefer the Shock Sox since they are a little longer. Remove and clean now and then and hit with some WD40 after drying and before re-installing.

Shock Sox

 

[Checkswrecks]

Upside down forks like ours are stiffer at the top, due to the thicker tube, and lighter at the bottom, making the suspension work better.


The issue you describe is totally normal for upside down forks, because anything which gets into the fork falls into the seal. Again, totally normal. If you found a fastener starting to loosen, would you just let it keep going until something broke or fell off?


Throw a piece of camera film or a SealMate into your tool kit and you would have been good as new at the first sign of leakage, without the angst and drama.

Shock covers used by Eric and others can help a lot and are a good preventive, as well.

 

[Shipwreck]

Hey Guys,

I am having intermittent issues with my forks leaking as well. I try to stay on top of wiping the forks off periodically and I use my seal saver to get the crud out. Now my shocks have leaked so much with the bike sitting in the garage for the winter that I am concerned that I am running too low on fork oil. How hard\difficult is it to refill these tubes?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mebgardner]

I've used fork seal covers since the bike was new on both my S10s. I put 109k on my '12 including a month long trip to Alaska and the IBR and never had a fork seal leak. Ever.

Kriega and Shock Sox both work great. I now prefer the Shock Sox since they are a little longer. Remove and clean now and then and hit with some WD40 after drying and before re-installing.

Shock Sox

What size, please?

 

[switchback]

Mine are starting to go at 23k Miles.

 

[EricV]

What size, please?

The Shock Sox are all the same size. Pick your color. 36-50mm fitment. We have 46mm forks. Kriega, you want the larger of the sizes, for dual sports rather than dirt bikes. They may only offer one size now, which would be the larger one. I ran thru a few of the earlier ones and they all cracked over time, even after putting sun screen on them as directed by Kreiga. Just too much of a stretch over the larger forks. They sent me the larger style when they started offering them and they worked great and never cracked.

 

[mebgardner]

The Shock Sox are all the same size. Pick your color. 36-50mm fitment. We have 46mm forks. Kriega, you want the larger of the sizes, for dual sports rather than dirt bikes. They may only offer one size now, which would be the larger one. I ran thru a few of the earlier ones and they all cracked over time, even after putting sun screen on them as directed by Kreiga. Just too much of a stretch over the larger forks. They sent me the larger style when they started offering them and they worked great and never cracked.

Any advice on 13 inch, or 6 inch length selection?

Thanks.

 

[EricV]

Any advice on 13 inch, or 6 inch length selection?

Thanks.

I have the 6" length. That leaves me approx. 4" of exposed lower fork tube. Of that, perhaps 2" or less shows dirt. There is only approx. 7.25" of exposed lower fork tube when the bike is at rest. I don't think the 13" would be feasible on USD forks as you'd have to mount them high, cover the entire exposed lower fork tube, and they they would push up or constantly be binding the bottom of the fork cover as you rode. That doesn't make sense to me. My assumption was that the 13" might be great for regular forks or dirt bikes.

 

[mebgardner]

I have the 6" length. That leaves me approx. 4" of exposed lower fork tube. Of that, perhaps 2" or less shows dirt. There is only approx. 7.25" of exposed lower fork tube when the bike is at rest. I don't think the 13" would be feasible on USD forks as you'd have to mount them high, cover the entire exposed lower fork tube, and they they would push up or constantly be binding the bottom of the fork cover as you rode. That doesn't make sense to me. My assumption was that the 13" might be great for regular forks or dirt bikes.

OK, Thanks. "We return this broadcast to your regularly scheduled OP"... please excuse the hijack.

 

[limey]

I've used fork seal covers since the bike was new on both my S10s. I put 109k on my '12 including a month long trip to Alaska and the IBR and never had a fork seal leak. Ever.

Kriega and Shock Sox both work great. I now prefer the Shock Sox since they are a little longer. Remove and clean now and then and hit with some WD40 after drying and before re-installing.

Shock Sox

Same 140,000km without a fork seal leak, 2 trips to Alaska and a couple of BDR.

 

[Cycledude]

Mine also started leaking last year on the way home from Prudhoe Bay , a little over 20,000 miles on the bike when the leaks started, after getting home with about 25,000 miles on the bike I replaced the seals and bushings with All Balls parts, that was 12,000 miles ago and so far no leaks. I have been using All Balls parts on Goldwings for years with excellent results. For me the upside down forks seem quite a bit more difficult to work on, I actually had to get someone to help when putting them back together because I simply didn’t have enough hands to do it alone. It rained EVERY DAY on our trip so we rode in a lot of slop so that might be what made the leaks start, but mt friend was riding a BMW 800 GS with 100,000 miles and upside down forks and it’s never had a fork leak.

 

[Dave Lunden]

It seems to be the consensus that fork wraps are beneficial to seal life. So can we conclude the wipers are not doing the job and need improved?
I do not buy the proposal that upside down forks are prone to leaks, mostly because of my years of racing KTM's and never having a problem as experienced on the S10.
My leaks appeared on both fork legs at the same time, around 4500 miles, and it was near Whitehorse on the way to Alaska. Here is a pic of the fork leg of at 5500 miles in Fairbanks.

 

[Cycledude]

It seems to be the consensus that fork wraps are beneficial to seal life. So can we conclude the wipers are not doing the job and need improved?
I do not buy the proposal that upside down forks are prone to leaks, mostly because of my years of racing KTM's and never having a problem as experienced on the S10.
My leaks appeared on both fork legs at the same time, around 4500 miles, and it was near Whitehorse on the way to Alaska. Here is a pic of the fork leg of at 5500 miles in Fairbanks.

I think plain old good luck has a lot to with fork seal leaks. My friends 800 GS did come from the factory with fork guards so that may have something to do with his good luck.

 

[Checkswrecks]

It seems to be the consensus that fork wraps are beneficial to seal life. So can we conclude the wipers are not doing the job and need improved?
I do not buy the proposal that upside down forks are prone to leaks, mostly because of my years of racing KTM's and never having a problem as experienced on the S10.
My leaks appeared on both fork legs at the same time, around 4500 miles, and it was near Whitehorse on the way to Alaska. Here is a pic of the fork leg of at 5500 miles in Fairbanks.

There is no ""we" in "can we conclude the wipers are not doing the job and need improved?"

As Limey and others have noted, we've put a lot of miles on these bikes with no fork covers and no problems. Limey, myself, and many others here run the Tenere through all sorts of mud and gravel roads on a regular basis. fwiw - I do wipe my forks off regularly. Since you are in PA, look up the Romney Camp-N-Ride thread and come join us next May in Romney WV.

The reason the KTM comparison is invalid is that you probably never had your KTM in the volcanic mud experienced in Alaska. I've been up there a number of times and it's a magical mix of concrete and diamond-hard grit that is harder than heck to remove and sharp enough to shred any seal. I just Googled "KTM seal leak Alaska" and this was the first of many returns about people taking their KTM to Alaska and having the seals leak there. http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/blown-fork-seal-and-good-dealer.708554/

So yes, fork covers are an additional measure which can help seal life without much negative. But the majority of owners run without them and without problems.

 

[bob dirt]

I'm sure the calcium chloride used on the dirt roads and construction zones in Canada messed my fork seals up. It dries like concrete and was a pain in the ass to clean off my bike.

 

[scott123007]

There is a reason why motocross bikes and most adventure bikes have fenders or guards that almost completely block all but the rear of the fork tubes. Not only do they keep the tubes from damage from impaling rocks or gravel, but they keep off the majority of the crap that tries to stick and then dry on them. It's too bad the Tenere's don't wrap around just a wee bit more, because they do an inadequate job of keeping crap off the tubes. The first thing I do is put shok socks on mine. Easy to do, convenient, and inexpensive.