Shadow Rider Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I have a 2000 R11RT and have recently noticed that the seal on one of the front forks is leaking slightly. After reading about seal replacement in my Haynes manual, it is unclear to me what effect the small amount of leakage might have on the operation of the front forks. I've not noticed any negative effects in the bikes operation/performance at this point and wonder about the urgency and importance of changing that seal. I'm hoping some of you mechanics out there can lend some advice. Also would like to hear from you regarding the difficulty in changing the seal. Can a reasonably proficient do-it-yourselfer handle this one or is it more difficult than it looks in the book? Thanks for your help. Link to comment
smiller Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Unlike most motorcycles the fork oil in the BMW telelever suspension isn't used for damping or any critical suspension functions, rather just for lubrication of the sliders. A slight leak here won't have any effect of suspension performance, but you will want to fix the leaking seal eventually since it will make a mess, and if all the oil leaks out (which will take quite some time unless the leak is very bad) then it might not be all that good for the fork slider. Luckily the repair is pretty easy, as a reasonably proficient home mechanic you should have no trouble at all. Do one fork leg at a time, and don't worry about fashioning a tool to drive in the seal over the fork tube as some of the books describe... you can just pull out the upper stanchion (or some even leave the upper stanchion on the bike) and easily replace the seal. Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Unlike most motorcycles the fork oil in the BMW telelever suspension isn't used for damping or any critical suspension functions, rather just for lubrication of the sliders. A slight leak here won't have any effect of suspension performance, but you will want to fix the leaking seal eventually since it will make a mess, and if all the oil leaks out (which will take quite some time unless the leak is very bad) then it might not be all that good for the fork slider. Luckily the repair is pretty easy, as a reasonably proficient home mechanic you should have no trouble at all. Do one fork leg at a time, and don't worry about fashioning a tool to drive in the seal over the fork tube as some of the books describe... you can just pull out the upper stanchion (or some even leave the upper stanchion on the bike) and easily replace the seal. +1. I just did it on Lisa's R1100RS. Piece of cake. Link to comment
Shadow Rider Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 Appreciate the response. Thanks, Link to comment
eddd Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I recently completed this project on my 96 RT. Very straight forward and actually quite simple. I was going to take photos, but it was so quick and easy I didn't bother. I worked off of directions found on this website. Try a search for the link to the directions. Link to comment
W8NONU Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 What all do you have to take apart on the 1100RT to get to the fork and seal? Link to comment
sevenup Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I took off the handlebars, unclamped the top sliders and pulled them out on my r1150rt. I had the bike on its centre stand and the front wheel removed. I moved the forks from side to side to acess the seals. It would've been better taking the fairing off and the lower sliders from the ball joint and the brake calipers off .... but saved me a lot of time Link to comment
W8NONU Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Thanks for the info. I think I will replace my seal this way also. Link to comment
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