1150gs forks / seals

[niko]

hi guys
changed my fork seals about 1500 miles ago and just had to change them again
,Ive checked the stanchions etc and all seems fine
but one thing that puzzles me is when the seals went the front of the bike dropped by a good few inches
now would that fit with a fucked front shock? and would that explain why the seals blew so quickly ?
btw i set the air in the forks by lining up where they sit then tightening the bleed screw(on centre stand) if that matters

 

[Colban]

hi guys
changed my fork seals about 1500 miles ago and just had to change them again
,Ive checked the stanchions etc and all seems fine
but one thing that puzzles me is when the seals went the front of the bike dropped by a good few inches
now would that fit with a fucked front shock? and would that explain why the seals blew so quickly ?
btw i set the air in the forks by lining up where they sit then tightening the bleed screw(on centre stand) if that matters

Did you use proper BWM fork seals?.
Are you sure you fitted them correctly and didn't damage them?.
The forks should contain 470cc of oil,which is only used for lubrication.
The front dropping sounds worrying.The fork seals going shouldn't,i thought have anything to do with that.Have you checked front shock for security/broken spring/leaks etc.
Has the bike been involved in any crashes or had anything done to it to affect the steering?.

 

[niko]

Did you use proper BWM fork seals?.
Are you sure you fitted them correctly and didn't damage them?.
The forks should contain 470cc of oil,which is only used for lubrication.
The front dropping sounds worrying.The fork seals going shouldn't,i thought have anything to do with that.Have you checked front shock for security/broken spring/leaks etc.
Has the bike been involved in any crashes or had anything done to it to affect the steering?.

thanks for your reply

seals from moterworks
fitted correctly and undamaged
just left the old oil in them ,the level was about four inchs above the mudguard/fork brace
as soon as i fitted the new seals(yesterday )it sits higher again
shock apears ok ,but i cant think what else could do this
as far as im aware no

 

[dancata]

Check with the manual for the distance between fork legs down at the wheel spindle. 190mm or so.

Did you set that correct?

 

[niko]

Check with the manual for the distance between fork legs down at the wheel spindle. 190mm or so.

Did you set that correct?

thank you
i haven't removed the wheel ,and to be honest i don't see how that would cause the problems im having although i will check

 

[Colban]

just left the old oil in them ,the level was about four inchs above the mudguard/fork brace

Could it be someone has overfilled them in the past and now,when the forks are being compressed,there is no space for the oil to be displaced into and is being forced past the seals.
The air should be bled from the forks when they are compressed by the weight of the bike i believe.

 

[niko]

Could it be someone has overfilled them in the past and now,when the forks are being compressed,there is no space for the oil to be displaced into and is being forced past the seals.
The air should be bled from the forks when they are compressed by the weight of the bike i believe.

theres roughly a foot of space between the oil and seals ,when the stanchions are out does that sound about correct?
if the bike didnt drop so much when they blew id of thought the same
could it be the shock is weak and needs the pressure of the seals to stay up ,if that makes any sense

 

[Colban]

theres roughly a foot of space between the oil and seals ,when the stanchions are out does that sound about correct?
if the bike didnt drop so much when they blew id of thought the same
could it be the shock is weak and needs the pressure of the seals to stay up ,if that makes any sense

When i last had a set of forks out,i didn't measure any gaps,just made sure i poured the correct 470cc of oil into each leg.
"Pressure of the seals"-are you thinking that the bike has some kind of air-ride suspension?.All the suspension work,springing and damping is carried out be the front shock absorber;all the stanchions do is hold the wheel in and move up and down.

 

[niko]

When i last had a set of forks out,i didn't measure any gaps,just made sure i poured the correct 470cc of oil into each leg.
"Pressure of the seals"-are you thinking that the bike has some kind of air-ride suspension?.All the suspension work,springing and damping is carried out be the front shock absorber;all the stanchions do is hold the wheel in and move up and down.

lol no i don't think its air ride
I'm just trying to work out how fitting new seals could bring the ride height back up again ,with the fucked seals my feet are flat on the floor and after replacing them im on tiptoes so its quite a difference
maybe the two things are unrelated but its seems a hell of a coincidence

 

[niko]

well it was unrelated it seems
my rear shock is fucked ,sit on the bike and you can hear the air escape

thought it handled a bit funny
how the hell it self sealed ,and the ride height came back up for a while is strange ,could a knackered rear shock damage the fork seal ?weight transfer and all that?
have pm'ed steptoe on rebuild costs ,and in the meantime anyone got a cheap wilbers /hyperpro ect