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OK, took the /5 out for first time this year to see if there was anything I was unaware of that needed looking at. I have been financially challenged (PC terminology for broke...) this year and knew she was not safe for a rational rider without new tires.

OK, stop one, front brake - seems pretty normal. Several other stops on my trip around the block and the forks begin to feel like slinky springs. Hmm... OK, so I shut off the bike then and there. Now don't get me wrong, Duane's test for slick tubes through the gators is fine and dandy, but for extreme cases such as this...

When I looked forward at the gators, they did not look right and one push down on the bars with the brake on I knew I had no forks under the front of the bike. Hey, why are those gators looking weird??? A tap/rattle to the side of either one caused a SLOSHING SOUND!

All the fork oil had evacuated to the gators... Just about as funny is that, naturally I parked it, but as I walked by 5 minutes later, the forks were now stiff as a board again and while sure, those fork tubes felt slick as snot inside their gator-like protection, I realized that in that short period, all that same oil that had filled them had swiftly drained right back into place. I do not think the complete absence of seals would blow oil either direction any faster!

One more thing to add onto the short list. Maybe I should consider walking to Ken's???

dwire wrote:Maybe I should consider walking to Ken's???

Buy my R65 and ride it to Ken's.

Oh - right, you are broke.

When 0*X > = 0, I'll be there for the title! (the imaginary number bit such as "J" does not count.)

No, its not hopeless at all - I never think that way. Truly, I did think it rather humorous though as seriously, those forks would have evacuated that oil at the same rate with not a seal in sight - and I knew them to be in place. Only now I know they must be about as hard as the porcelain insulators in the spark plugs. Surely those simple wiper/spring seals cannot cost much at all, particularly when compared to the two round pieces of rubber the rims require!

Actually, I am going to do my best to show up this year regardless if I show up in a Jeep, Yugo, rental etc. but that date is a bit in the future for me to be "RSVP'sing" yet in all honesty. Hopefully Ken will allow me a bit of latitude with my confirmation (which means I need to make and bring good stuff to tame the natives with!)

Yeah, Steve it was first a bit confusing as all it took for them to go from pliable NOT leaking seals in LA to essentially non-existent was sitting in a cold Ohio garage from October/November till now.

I have not even looked at their prices - I agree they have to be cheap knowing what they are and changing them is a piece of cake - now fork realignment is a shame to have to go through for those couple buck seals that were A-OK and did not leak a drop; both when I did the front end last spring and the last ride before loading it on the trailer. Makes me ponder that sort of older BMW fork oil... Surely that would be a first wouldn't it? - And was it not here that the oil thread took place about shelf-life and the like???

Well all that could be said of the seals, regardless of rhyme or reason, it is my fault in the sense that I should have changed them even though they were "good" at the time I did the front end. Such is life. That ride was a Heck of a lot more fun knowing I was going to only go a "small town block" rather than finding that out on a super-slab or on the way to Ken's this year! I re-learned what I already should know of such things, but apparently have not listened well enough yet.

The only other thing I can think is that I did rotate and "fix up" the tubes just as you suggest - dumb thing to do if I was NOT putting in fresh seals at the time - I know better than that too... (Wait I guess I do not yet!)

Cheers mate!

I've never before heard of such a thing happening. It's a pretty damn funny story . . . as long as it's happening to someone else...

dwire wrote:Yeah, Steve it was first a bit confusing as all it took for them to go from pliable NOT leaking seals in LA to essentially non-existent was sitting in a cold Ohio garage from October/November till now.

<snip>...both when I did the front end last spring and the last ride before loading it on the trailer.

Did you just move to Ohio, or did you just buy the bike in S. Cal. and bring it back to Ohio last year?

a) the freezing temps in northern Ohio could have been what pushed what were possibly the original seals over the edge.

b) the 2000+ mile trailer ride, if you had the front end cinched-down, might have put enough pressure on them to cause them to fail, especially, once again, if they were the originals.

Did you just move to Ohio, or did you just buy the bike in S. Cal. and bring it back to Ohio last year?

a) the freezing temps in northern Ohio could have been what pushed what were possibly the original seals over the edge.

b) the 2000+ mile trailer ride, if you had the front end cinched-down, might have put enough pressure on them to cause them to fail, especially, once again, if they were the originals.

Yeah, glad I posted this anecdote. Both I, this bike and another identical '70 R75/5 made the trip from OH to LA (Louisiana) and back again without any known issues. Transport both ways was indeed accomplished the only way I knew/know how; on my trailer by strapping down/compressing the front forks - BUT...

Since you mentioned it, I now know when and why this happened, and it WAS on the trailer, only not that trip. Ohio forced me to roll all of my titles, plates and license within 60 days of arrival. Here that was the middle of a very cold and yucky 10-20 degree winter. No longer so shocking now. Pictures for everyone's amusement and maybe a bit of closure are below. My statement about the fork tubes not leaking out and refilling any differently sans seals completely was spot on with the left tube at least, for I doubt it was abductded by aliens, but I cannot feel/find it at all in the gator - but know full well it's in there somewhere.

I think, from moving bikes on trailers and trucks with the forks compressed since before I was old enough to drive a car, that is what to do, just NOT when the fork oil might be the viscosity of molasses, what do you bet? (Please tell me if this transport practice has been wrong all of these years! - My 1976 120cc SACHS powered RUPP motocross racing bikes never seemed to mind any, albeit in the SUMMER ONLY). Go figure. I knew the what, just could not think of the why at the time. As G.I. Joe used to say in those old PSA's, "...Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!" Enjoy the pics and thanks for mentioning that, for I am sure it was that 10 degree transport day, that had to have done this.

I think it worthy to mention, while the majority of the experts here, perhaps could have noticed this in their pre-ride inspection. Yet before I took the bike around the block yesterday, I did my normal routine of inspection. This included locking the front brake and diving the forks several times to assure proper operation and they felt perfect. I now am shocked I did not hear the oil blowing out of them as I did it. Also, maybe something to remind everyone that the time to "feel up" the gators for leakage as Duane suggests, IS NOT BEFORE YOU BOUNCE THE FRONT END UP AND DOWN - IT IS AFTER - (and prior to ever placing one's butt on the seat for a ride of ANY LENGTH!)

Thanks guys. Guess I dropped both the ball and my drawers on this one, but at least no harm done and another valuable lesson learned (and more than just about our old bikes too.)

Douglas

Indeed, you accomplished one of the disassembly steps for a lot of the forks I've dealt with with nothing but a trailer and a ratchet strap!

Well done!

Update to an old subject... I made substitute rubber bumpers for the bottom of the stansions from the crumbling remains of what was left of the originals. Boy did thy look fine! Troubles was, I made them the same size as the warn out 30+ year old ones that came out - not wanting to wait to get them from Germany and pay $25.00 each for them from my local dealer. Well it would appear they had gotten shorter!

So when I tightened the triple tree down to hold the bike on the trailer in mid-winter and take it to the nearest small city for an inspection, the fork tubes went down too deeply and this allowed the top of them to push the top seals right out. Live and learn (the hard way sometimes...) I'll post some pics when I have time - they add to the humor, but as well the seriousness of doing such a stupid thing, If I would not have noticed they had popped right away on that first turn around the block and took the bike out of town for a one mile warm up it is not that unlikely I could have crashed the bike - thought I might crash it just making it around a city block! So anyhow, once updated with the pics, all can learn from my mistake and I hope none of you encounter such a thing EVER!

OK, since I cannot edit prior posts - and we know the story of the failure mode on the blown out fork seals on a freshly rebuilt front end (by my idiot self) was my reluctance to wait 2-4 weeks to get replacement parts from Germany from my local dealer, here are the rubber bumpers I fashioned to the SAME SIZE as was in there that had degraded - screen capture from ETK... I'll circle it in red.





And by simply fashioning my own to the tired out size the OEM ones were (now all squashed down and useless, I reaped the result of the following after a round trip trailer ride of 30 miles to get the VIN certified back here in OH.





AND





Take the time, spend the money. I was in a fix as I was going to need pay cash at the time and naturally all the usual online sources wanted to dig into a Credit Card affixed checking account which simply was not happening (also I think those bumpers cost only a couple of bucks online) - my local dealer want over $25 each for them and 3-4 weeks out from Germany! Can't win for losing some days, but win from learning. Where am I now? A lot more in the hole both financially and labor-wise than I ever dreamed over a couple little rubber bumpers!

Moral of this story? Don't be a Doug...