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showa fork oil leak, mille gen 1

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nation View Drop Down
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    Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 09:59
Morning, recently changed the oil, oil/dust seals on my Showa forks, not ridden the bike since, I've just noticed one fork leg is leaking oil ? any ideas what this can be ?

cheers Ross. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote wigginsjp Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 10:11
Hi Ross 
Unless it’s just residue oil from the rebuild I can only assume the oil seal is either not seated correctly or has some dirt under it. Even a small stone chip or mark in the fork finish can cause a leak. 
You could try a seal mate or fork scraper, clean the leg up and pump it up and down several times and monitor. 
If it still does it you need to strip and check again. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tfcoulson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 16:18
apologies to slightly hijack, but need to do my own showas. Did you need any special tools and is there a decent guide with pics anywhere?
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nation View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nation Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 17:23
hi there, it was the first time I did mine without spring compressor etc was a bit of a struggle to be honest without correct tools but straight forward enough,  however I did buy a sealey fork seal driver to drive in the oil seal straight , Showa forks on a gen 1 are 43mm I believe so will need a seal driver 42-43 in the sealed range. I hope this helps, 

To be slick buy a fork spring compressor and a damper rod if your going to do this regular, I will be investing as mine is a track bike and will be tinkering with my forks a lot.

Ross
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IanG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 18:39
If you want the quick ghetto version of the fork strip watch this and it's sequels as it's basically the same Showa fork as the Mille uses


You can make or buy the few tools other than the aforementioned seal driver,namely a spring compressor and some way of holding the damper rod for bleeding.

I made a compressor collar from a short piece of steel tubing and tapped a couple of 180o opposed holes to take caphead screws,the holding rod was just a nut from a spare fork leg with a length of bar threaded to it.

There are also good pictorial steps shown in the workshop manual available on here with pictures of the tools needed

It's great fun exploring and modifying the (incredibly basic) damping cartridge internals and finding cause and effect on handling.

Best course of action is to source a pair of tatty or even bent fork legs to give a supply of shims and valves allowing you to juggle shim packs easily. Wink

You can turn the lumbering old Mille into a scalpel that'll turn inside a 6oo supersport just by some careful shim re stacking between the compression and rebound valves if you get your hands dirty and dive in.

If it doesn't do what you want first time it's easy enough to strip out the cartridge and make adjustments when you've done it once and know what's what.



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Looking forward to the next track day
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote legend88 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Aug 2021 at 22:58
Looks just like a Moto GP workshop!   LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tfcoulson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Aug 2021 at 10:37
Perfect thanks, also looks like my workshoo.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tfcoulson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2021 at 11:50
Sooo....
Not sure if somethings wrong, but was playing about, (havent got the spring compressor yet), and I've taken it all apart without needing the spring compressor.
I undid the bolt at the bottom for the damper rod and unscrewed the top of the forks and whole lot comes apart without needing to undo the top two nuts to take the top part off (that you need the compressor for).
Am I missing something here? All the internals are out?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spoonz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2021 at 12:39
Originally posted by tfcoulson tfcoulson wrote:

Sooo....
Not sure if somethings wrong, but was playing about, (havent got the spring compressor yet), and I've taken it all apart without needing the spring compressor.
I undid the bolt at the bottom for the damper rod and unscrewed the top of the forks and whole lot comes apart without needing to undo the top two nuts to take the top part off (that you need the compressor for).
Am I missing something here? All the internals are out?

Nope thats about it. A spring compressor just helps access to the damper rod nuts but I just putt a screwdriver through the spring and pull it down. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote IanG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2021 at 12:41
Yup,that's all you need to do a thorough oil change

The fun is in dissecting the cartridge and getting into the shim stacks and valving,which incidentally can also be done without disturbing the the top rebound assy if you don't want to. Wink


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Looking forward to the next track day
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tfcoulson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Sep 2021 at 13:48
Don't think I'm interested in that level of fun ha, Ill stick to replacing the seals and oil!
Thanks,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tifa Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Sep 2021 at 01:16
Before you pull them to bits again, try running a piece of old 35mm negative up into the seals and work it around the stanchion. If there's any debris preventing a perfect seal this should dislodge it.
Did you cover the top of the stanchion with a bit of oily plastic bag when you slid the new seals onto the stanchions, if not the machined top edge of the stanchion can sometimes cut into the sealing lip.
Also...how long has the bike been standing? Seals don't like to be left to dry out.
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