Fork seal again. WTF?

Bought my 2014 VFR800 brand new. At 10k the left fork seal blew. Now almost exactly 10k later the same seal is blown again. Has anyone else blown their fork seals or am I just unlucky?

 

Sounds like you might have a slight nick on the fork tube that is causing the seal to degrade with a certain amount of use.

 

Yes just what Allyance says. Fork seals in my experience don't start leaking for no reason. Take a good close look at the fork tube and you may find a nick from a rock that has proud edges that have torn the seal. If so, you can take a fine file or stone and dress the tube down so there are no sharp edges.

 

I would have to agree with Allyance, or perhaps too much fluid in the fork tube. Not trying to be funny but how much do you weigh? Is it a deluxe model with the adjustable forks?

 

Put a tie wrap around the tube kust above the seal, go for an aversge ride, then see how far it moves. Chances are the nick will be between the seal and the tie wrap..

 

Before you do anything, spend $5 and buy a Seal Mate. Chances are you just have some road grit in your seal causing the leak. The last 2 used bikes I bought had a slight leak in one fork, and I fixed in in 3 minutes with this simple tool. You can buy at Cycle Gear or most other motorcycle parts stores. Here's the YouTube video showing how it works:


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Better yet, I've gotten the same results using a business card.

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Back when I had similar issue with my 1100, I used emery cloth wrapped around the leg, and lightly gave the surface a finish, eliminating whatever little bur that was cutting the seal.

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They never worked for me. I couldn't get it to slide under the seal, it just crumpled up.

 

Lint, I'm assuming you watched the Seal Mate video before trying, and also slid your dust seal down first. It is important to be moving it around the fork while you're pushing it up into the seal. Anyway, I haven't had a problem with it on two bikes so far (savings of $600-$800).

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Took my bike to a family owned local Honda dealer for repair. There was a nick on the left fork tube. They polished it off and replaced the one leaking seal all for less than $200. Thanks Aurora Honda.

 

Glad you got it fixed properly, worth the peace of mind, now you can stop worrying about that.

 

if it was my job to replace a fork seal, I'd make it a habit to look over the tube surface and look for just that. But, that's just me.
Glad you got it fixed