Hey all! I thought I had a bad front fork seal. After searching however, I found a nifty suggestion (clean under the seal with fork--lots of dirt there) and it worked. However, I am pretty sure I lost a bit of oil...

My question is this: Do I really have to do all the stuff outlined in the fork oil change procedure outlined in the shop manual, like taking the fork off, etc. Can I just pop the cap off pour in the oil till it measures right?

As soon as I can, I am going to change the oil (12000 miles on a 2009!) but it will be at least a week before I do because I am waiting to get all the special tools needed, and I would like to not run the fork dry as this is my only mode of transportation. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

To bring the fluid level back to spec., you will have to put the bike on a stand, remove the fork cap and remove the spring. Next, the fork must be fully compressed. Bring the fluid up to 100mm from the top of the fork.

Another option would be to remove both fork caps, slowly compress the forks until the fluid in the good fork can be seen and add fluid to the dry fork to match.

Ride on
Brewster

 

If you lost a very small amount just ride it and see how it is you might be ok until you can tear into it.

 

You should notice it if the damper isn't saturated by oil.

It will start to top out hard. Possibly clunking at full extension.