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[CliC]

As an old thread on here somewhere details, my DS developed a bad fork seal leak in the right fork within a month after I got it. I took it in for repair once, the seals were replaced, and it was improved, but still leaking. I took it in a second time, and the seals were replaced again. The bike doctor told me there were metal shavings in the fork oil (I was all warm and fuzzy then), but he cleaned it all up and told me that if the leaking persisted, he would order a new fork.

Well, since then I changed jobs and I now have to drive too far to commute on the bike as I was doing before. Further, I've had little time to ride on the weekends (I probably have the record for lowest mileage/time-owned for a Zero). But the last two weekends I've managed to get some 5-10 mile rides in. I'm still getting little oil rings on the right fork, and now even some faint ones on the left fork. It doesn't seem to be getting worse, but then again I'm not riding all that much.

Which brings me to my question. What would be considered "normal" oil deposits on a fork tube after, say, a 10-mile street ride? The Harley I used to have had none. But the DS is more akin to a dirt bike than a Road King, so maybe I am getting worried over "normal" behavior. And if this is normal, how do I know when to add oil? There is no dipstick that I can tell . I'm trying to get this resolved as I'm trying to move closer to my new job, and will be commuting 20-30 miles each way in the 4th largest city in the US.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[Richard230]

I wish I had good news, but the fork sliders on my "S" have been completely dry since the day I bought the bike.  So I don't think the oil ring that you are seeing after only a few miles of riding is normal.  Plus, my recollection from the oil change instructions for the Fast Ace fork that I posted about a year ago is that the forks only contain something like 75cc of oil, whereas most (right-side-up) forks that I am familiar with typically use between 200 and 300cc of oil in each fork.  I would say that the Fast Ace forks don't have a lot of oil to loose. I also don't like the sound of metal filings in the oil.  That should not be happening.  It sounds like there was a manufacturing slip-up at the Fast Ace factory. Time for a compete overhaul of the forks, in my opinion.

When I took my bike down to Catalyst Reaction Tuning to have them adjusted, I asked about servicing the forks and the proprietor said that it would be no problem and that all forks are pretty much the same.  So my suggestion is to locate a suspension expert near you and have them check out the forks and maybe give you their written professional opinion.

Then, since the bike is still under Zero's two-year warranty, the forks should be fixed by one of their dealers.  If that is not practical, perhaps you could take the forks off your bike and either ship them to Zero to repair at the factory, or get them to approve the cost for the work to be performed at a shop near you.  In any case, I would get the problem resolved before your warranty expires.

[WindRider]

There should be no oil on the fork tube.   

[CliC]

Thanks guys for the responses. The dealer has so far been helpful. It's just that I have to drive about 400 miles round-trip to get there. I'll call next week and see if we can just get a new set of forks coming this way, so I don't have to make any more trips for this.

[sgmdudley]

I had the fork leak last year.  Final fix was Zero sent out new forks.

See this thread:

http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=2146.0

[dahlheim]

new forks is what i was going to suggest going for also.  or, at least be patient as a fork refurbishing may not fix the issue if there was a manufacturing error.

[CliC]

I got word from the dealer that Zero authorized a replacement set of forks. Just waiting on a scheduled service date. Hopefully I can start offsetting my dino-juice usage soon :-). Seriously, I'm happy they came through. This will certainly encourage me to come back for my next bike.

[Richard230]

That is great news, CliC.  I really give Zero a lot of credit for responding to their customers concerns and for standing behind their motorcycles.  Not every manufacturer would be so accommodating.  Many would say (without even looking) that the failure is the customer's fault or the issue is a "wear" item and not covered by their warranty.  That is what BMW likes to say about their steering head and wheel bearings when they fail and what they said about my cheap stock CZ drive chain when it spit out its O-rings and went all limp in about half the distance that most name-brand O-ring chains go.   

[CliC]

Got the bike back yesterday. It took the guys at AF1 Racing all of 30 minutes to swap out the forks . I'm now searching for one of the suspension settings threads to initially dial it in before riding.

On a side note, they had a few 2013s on the floor. Man, it was tempting The seat is definitely more comfy. Wonder what I could get on a trade-in, hmm

I definitely need a more suitable bike ramp for the truck, but that's another off-topic story. I also PO'd a driver of a new Mustang who was cutting through AF1's tight parking lot to escape downtown Austin traffic because I wouldn't disassemble the ramp I had just set up. Had he been driving a Tesla, or Leaf, things might have been different

Anyway, here's to hoping this thing is put to bed.

[Richard230]

These setting are working well for me, provided that your fork seals have broken-in and are not still "thunking" when going over a bump.  If you weigh more than 150 pounds you may need to up the preload and damping a bit, but you can start here and see how it works for you.  Catalyst Reaction said that the Zero could use more preload in the forks, but that requires some disassembly to install a longer spring spacer.

2012 ZERO “S” SUSPENSION ADJUSTMENT SETTINGS FOR A 150-POUND RIDER AS RECOMMENDED BY CATALYST REACTION TUNING

Fork compression:  3 clicks out
Fork rebound:  2 turns out
Preloaded shock spring length:  137 mm
Shock rebound: 1 click out
Shock compression:  4 clicks out

Note:  shock damping dials are to be turned clockwise until they reach their stop and then backed off counterclockwise as specified.

[CliC]

Thanks for the info, Richard. I started with 5 clicks out on the forks  (from CCW/minimal compression and rebound), but it seemed a tad harsh on bumpy tarmac. I ended up with 3 clicks out and am going to try that out for awhile. I'll probably readjust it after 1000 more miles or so, once everything has loosened up a bit. We don't have a lot of bumpy hairpins here in Southeast Texas, and I wanted it compliant enough to go trail riding without losing any dental work or bike parts (though standing on the pegs alleviates the dental work risk).

I never played with the rear shock, as it felt OK to me already, and I never have asked an assistant to hold the bike and/or help me measure the squat.

The good news is I rode about 20 miles today, on and off road, and the only rings on the sliders I see are dirt

EDIT: I just realized I am using the opposite end of the dial scale for reference of the one you are - wow. Maybe it's because I have a DS?

[CliC]

Well, some bad news to report.

The other day I found oil next to the front tire. I examined the fork tubes, no oil on them, so I wiped it up thinking I had just neglected to do so after the forks were replaced (though I was surprised I had't seen the spot previously).

Fast forward a couple of weeks to today. I found another oil spot next to the front tire. I was out of town for a week, so I don't know how long it took to develop.

Again, no oil on the fork lower tube, so I got down on the ground with a flashlight. I found the bottom of the axle bracket covered in oil, and a large drop about to break free from one of the axle clamp bolts. I popped the rubber cap off the adjuster screw, and apparently this brand-new fork is now leaking from around that screw.

Woopee. So much for my riding today. I don't know how much oil is in there, or how much has leaked out, so I don't want to chance it. I've decided, though, that I'm not driving back to Austin, at least if the new Houston dealer can fix it. I'm really disappointed that a cheap low-tech part has caused me so much trouble on this otherwise marvelous machine. If I keep the bike for very long after the warranty expires, I'm changing out those damn forks.

[Joseph]

please check the surface of the fork tube, if there is damage of the surface caused by foreign objects with sharp edges.
My experience:
A view years before every 100 km on my BMW K100 the fork lost oil although the fork oil seal was replaced immediately.
Cause of the glitch was the damage of the fork tube surface probably by a sharp edged grit.
The damage was hardly to be seen, but you can feel the shape with the finger. The defect surface of the fork tube itself
destroys the fork oil seal.

wish you to get the problem solved soon
Joseph

[WindRider]

Clic,

Of course, lawyers would advise otherwise, but I would ride it if you want to go for a spin. 

Both fork tubes work together so even if you lost all oil from one leg you still have some damping from the other.   

I was on a road trip once and lost a fork seal completely on one fork.   I rode over 1,000 miles that way to get home.   It was not optimal but I did not feel it was dangerous either.   

All motorcycles can lose a fork seal, especially if you ride in dirt.   

[dahlheim]

hardened dirt on the forks left over from a "rode hard and put away wet" episode have ruined more than one set of fork seals for me.  usually, a _small_ puddle under the bottom of the fork doesn't represent enough fluid loss to cancel a good ride over.  it just needs to get fixed "soon".