Leaking ohlins

[pikfee]

Hello guys
Yesterday I was looking at a black second hand streetfighter S
It's one off the firsts dated at 04-2009 and it has 13000km (about 8500 miles)
I noticed that the right hand fork was leaking.
The seller said he didn't noticed it before , but that he allready had to replace the left hand side seal last year , but it was under warranty.
I have heard it from "ducatisti" that the production ohlins have a bad reputation of oil leakage!
So here is my question at what price tag am I looking to get the job done
at a duc garage(I will offcourse deduct from his asking price) and is there a permanent solution for this problem , because I don't wanne change seals every 5000 miles or so.
cheers
Peter

[ltsnipe]

Originally Posted by pikfee

Hello guys
Yesterday I was looking at a black second hand streetfighter S
It's one off the firsts dated at 04-2009 and it has 13000km (about 8500 miles)
I noticed that the right hand fork was leaking.
The seller said he didn't noticed it before , but that he allready had to replace the left hand side seal last year , but it was under warranty.
I have heard it from "ducatisti" that the production ohlins have a bad reputation of oil leakage!
So here is my question at what price tag am I looking to get the job done
at a duc garage(I will offcourse deduct from his asking price) and is there a permanent solution for this problem , because I don't wanne change seals every 5000 miles or so.
cheers
Peter

I took my forks off for the dealer and brought them to them. They charged me one hour plus parts. Approx $200. I change both even though only one was leaking.

[flynbulldog]

fork seals leak. doesn't matter if they are production forks or the high-end racing forks -seals wear and then they leak.

There is no permanent solution and it will happen again. Get them fixed under warranty if you can.

But understand that it doesn't matter what brand of bike you own or what forks are on it this is part of life owning a motorcycle.

[pikfee]

Originally Posted by flynbulldog

fork seals leak. doesn't matter if they are production forks or the high-end racing forks -seals wear and then they leak.

There is no permanent solution and it will happen again. Get them fixed under warranty if you can.

But understand that it doesn't matter what brand of bike you own or what forks are on it this is part of life owning a motorcycle.

I read you bulldog but the perticullary the ohlins have a bad rap over here
I have had plenty off motorcycle"s and mostly leakage appears at around30000 km
And my current bike is an f4 agusta 1000 mamba with 55000km (all ridden myself) with showa forks and still no leakage so far..
I think at 13000 km that both will allready have to be replaced not a thing that should happen , and evenmore at a top off the range suspension like ohlins should be.
I also go on my holidays with the bike (me and the boys living it out in the alps.)and if leakage suddenly occurs in a mountain road desend I would rather not think what could happen if oil reaches the tire or break disc.
cheers
Peter

[flynbulldog]

Originally Posted by pikfee

I read you bulldog but the perticullary the ohlins have a bad rap over here
I have had plenty off motorcycle"s and mostly leakage appears at around30000 km
And my current bike is an f4 agusta 1000 mamba with 55000km (all ridden myself) with showa forks and still no leakage so far..
I think at 13000 km that both will allready have to be replaced not a thing that should happen , and evenmore at a top off the range suspension like ohlins should be.
I also go on my holidays with the bike (me and the boys living it out in the alps.)and if leakage suddenly occurs in a mountain road desend I would rather not think what could happen if oil reaches the tire or break disc.
cheers
Peter

I don't know what you expect. Seals can leak at any time.
The forks on my MV Brutale were leaking at 1700 miles. Got them replaced under warranty.

I've owned Ducs with Ohlins for years and don't experience them leaking any more than other type of forks.
In fact I think I've experienced less frequent leaks with my Ohlins forks than with other brands.

Believe what you want but why ask for opinions and experience from others if you're just going to discount the answers you get?

The bottom line is that a leaking fork seal is not a good reason not to buy a bike unless you think the fork is damaged and causing the seals to wear prematurely.
If you don't want to buy a bike with the best suspension on the market because of some BS rumors then that's up to you.

I think you should let the dealer fix the seal and go enjoy the bike.

[whoopazz1]

So my fork seals are leaking as well at 11000 kms on the bike. I have warranty on the bike still but doubt that my dealer will replace them as I see it as a wear and tear item.

My mistake to ask them if they are covered under warranty as I assumed they wouldn't be, but they quoted me $200 for seals and $400 for for seal package. Anyone know where I could get them for a bit less?

Not sure what the diff is between the two and parts guy didn't either...

Any input would be great.

But I will prob go talk to the service department and see what they say.

[Simeone]

I have the same problem by 9800km. I will try to fix this at home.

[FlyingQ]

Just adding fuel to the fire here, but...
While your Ohlins specialist has them apart, you can have him upgrade the rebound dampening valve (there's an Ohlins kit for it) for about $350.

[springer1994]

My bike is one of the first in Europe, seals leaked at 25000 Km and then again at 33000. Some experienced people here say that it is better to change them with GSXR seals (dont know wich specific ones) that last a lot longer, but haven t done that yet.

[lardawge]

One way to get a longer life out of a fork seal is to wipe down the fork tube after every ride taking care not to scratch the tube itself. Even with the fender covering the fork tube I find bugs find there way to the tube which could wear on the seal. Even with that, you will still be replacing seals. It's the nature of the beast.