New fork seals - still a problem?

[richrock]

Well, finally, after four days and the help of you guys, I've manage to replace the seals, reassembled the fork, and put it all back together with fresh fork oil, etc.

However....

I checked the stanchions, they're smooth, for inners are good (as far as I can feel, yet there's still a ring of oil appearing on the stanchion after compressing the fork.

This, understandably, is driving me nuts. So I have a couple of questions:

1. Would this be normal? My thoughts are that the fork is just moving the oil used to lube the fork on reassembly.
2. Would this fail an MOT? According to the MOT Manual, light misting is not a reason for rejection. How much makes an oil seal fail?

Sorry for all the questions, but I've learned loads, and want to do more. I think I've got a tinkering bug
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I has a motorbikes: Kawasaki GPZ500s (1999)- theory passed 12/06/12, test passed 10/07/12

[Fizzer Thou]

Some oil after reassembly would be okay,but a stream of oil would be a fail on the MoT.

Did you use genuine seals or pattern aprts?Were the seals a tight fit when you installed them onto the forks?Pattern ones tend not to be as good a fit as genuine ones.
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Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[Vincent]

Clean any trace of oil off the stantion, (above and underneath the dust seal), and take the bike for a spin. When you get back, have a look and see if the stantion has any more oil on.

It's very easy to damage the seals when sliding them down the stantion, (if that's how you replaced them).

As mentioned above, OEM seals usualy give the best results.
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Space Is Deep

[richrock]

They were a tight fit, and as far as I can gather, pattern parts that were recommended to me.

I've been as careful as I can in doing this job - hence four days to do one fork leg.

Doing some research after I posted (duh) found that some oil will be present on new seals as you use it to lube up (no dirty jokes you lot) the parts when assembling.

I've played around with the shock and the amount of oil seems to be reducing, but my bike could be playing tricks on me.

Other fork tonight, a lot quicker. When I get the wheel back on I'll take it up the private road we have and see how it goes.
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I has a motorbikes: Kawasaki GPZ500s (1999)- theory passed 12/06/12, test passed 10/07/12

[Vincent]

[richrock]

Just finished the other fork - it was a snug fit. The first fork has dried up - phew!!

Just got to sort out the strange creak I have at the front now... It's the mudguard, but not sure why...
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I has a motorbikes: Kawasaki GPZ500s (1999)- theory passed 12/06/12, test passed 10/07/12