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Damn That Leaky Fork Seal
Blog Date - 13 September 2011
When I got to work yesterday I noticed there was a few small drops of oil on my waterproof pants leg, on the left. Ahhh, I thought, no worries, there's a small leak from the rocker gasket on the 125, it'll be a few drops from that, no worries. At lunchtime I had a quick look at the engine to ensure the leak had not got any worse, nope, nothing to concern myself there. In fact the leak is so tiny I was surprised to think enough had got out to place a few drops on my pants. Oil does that you know, a few drops looks like a gallon when it's on the floor or on your pants. When I finished work I removed the lock and chain from the front wheel, and noticed the nearside fork leg was awash in fork oil. Damn.
That nearside fork has been a bugbear since I got the bike. I weeped slightly for the first year but not enough to worry me. At MOT time I replaced the seal and the bike passed with no problem. It did pass, but the seal was still weeping but not enough to attract the attention of the MOT inspector. I let it weep for another year and for the next MOT I cleaned it all up and passed another MOT. Up until yesterday the amount of oil coming from the seal was miniscule. Yesterday it was a flood. Damn
I had planned a nice quiet evening watching a bit of TV, talking to the gf online and taking a walk to the shops for supplies. Although I am in the very fortunate situation of owning 2 bikes and 1 car I decided the leaking fork would bug me until I'd got it fixed. I decided that if I could find the spare fork seal I'm sure I had and if I had enough spare fork oil I'd do the job. If I didn't have these items I would still remove the fork leg and get it stripped in preparation of acquiring the necessary components. When I got home I found both the spare fork seal AND half a bottle of suitable fork oil. Damn
20 minutes to find suitable bits of wood and an old car battery to jack the bike up. 10 minutes to remove the front wheel, mudguard and fork leg. 10 minutes to strip the fork leg enough to get the seal out. 10 minutes to drain the old oil and clean the stanchion and ensure there's not nasty bits of rust to rip the new seal. So far so good. 30 minutes to suss out I need to drift in the copper coloured slider thingies BEFORE your try and insert the seal. Damn.
10 minutes to find the correct fork oil level from my photographed then saved as a PDF workshop manual. 10 minutes to fill with oil to the correct level. 10 minutes to make sure I've done it all correctly. 10 minutes to replace the fork leg, wheel and mudguard then finally 10 minutes smoking a ciggie and double checking everything to make sure I've not forgotten something. That's just over 2 hours to do the whole job. I can't imagine I'll get a position as a Moto GP mechanic. Damn.
I took the bike for a shakedown ride last night and all was well. What has come as more of a surprise is that...so far...the fork seal is not leaking. I'm not holding my breath though. I'll feel like I've finally got the upper hand on the dodgy seal if it's still not leaking after this winter. The offside leg has never given me a tot of trouble. I often wonder if the offside leg is not leaking as there's no oil in it. Damn.
The fork seal, on the right in this image, which is now replaced and hopefully fixed. Notice the piece of old inner tube over the front of the offside leg. This is the soon to be patented "Ren" fork protector. It works a treat in protecting the fork leg from stones and road muck, whilst still allowing access for cleaning and inspection. I'll be replacing the similar protector on the nearside when I'm sure my work is successful.
Reader's Comments
Ben said :-
Hi mate just reading your post and I've got the same thing happen to me left leg soaked in oil , plan on changing it Saturday but can't find the oil fill level on line just wonders if you could help me out with the specs on the fill level would help a lot cheers mate ben
29/11/2017 20:52:06 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Ben
I CAN NOT recall where I got the data from for the CLR125. I've had a look online and found this information which I cannot guarantee is correct...
https://www.louis-moto.co.uk/rund-ums-motorrad/bike-datenbank/honda-clr-125-cityfly/jd18/1060
Other than that I suggest you visit your nearest Honda Motorcycle dealer. Hopefully they should be able to furnish you with the correct details.
30/11/2017 14:12:34 UTC
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