Scary moment

[texas-ss-tornado]

Just had my 97 out today after an oil change and almost dumped it! Luckily, I was only going about 10 mph but one of my front fork seals gave out! I've never had this happen before, where it completely let go like that, but it made the bike pull hard to one side, I'm afraid if I were going any faster I probably would have lost it! They've been weeping a bit from both sides, already have the parts in hand to fix it, just been waiting on a warmer weekend. Guess I "almost" waited too long! Anyone ever have this happen to them?? I was really caught off guard by the way it made the front end feel, friggin' insane!!!!

 

[PATMAX]

Never heard of this and would not have thought a seal blow out would cause this. A head scratcher to me.

 

[NHSteve]

glad your ok......crap i have a leaky seal..... need to fix very soon.

 

[dmax1]

If you have progressive springs you would not have any air in them to blow out. IMHO I think it sounds more like a possible broken spring. :confused2:

 

[Fire-medic]

I don't think a broken spring would have collapsed, it would drop a bit onto the next coil & would have made a noise, but that's it. By no-longer sealing, the oil would have poured-out & the front end may have dropped a bit. I think I would be more concerned about oil on the tire contact patch & the calipers.

Glad it was a low speed event.

If you have progressive springs you would not have any air in them to blow out. IMHO I think it sounds more like a possible broken spring. :confused2:

 

[naughtyG]

Yea glad you're ok!! Do find out if it was the seal and report - sounds like we need to know about this one.

 

[texas-ss-tornado]

Yea, there was fluid all over the place on the one fork leg, but it didn't even make it to the wheel, that's not what I was feeling. It was a weird deal, the bike just wanted to go in one direction, I limped it home at about 5 mph down the back alley, I've never felt anything like it before. I was half expecting to get home and see the front tire completely flat, or something worse! I guess it was just the difference between one shock still holding pressure, and the other one completely collapsed. Will report the findings once I do the new seals!!!

 

[PDWeyand]

Glad you was near home and not going that fast. This could have different ending. Sounds like something gave up the ghost.

 

[[email protected]]

Thats really odd. :ummm:

 

[95spfldmax]

Never heard of this and would not have thought a seal blow out would cause this. A head scratcher to me.

+1. Wow......never heard of that happening like that before....

 

[Miles Long]

Yea, there was fluid all over the place on the one fork leg, but it didn't even make it to the wheel, that's not what I was feeling. It was a weird deal, the bike just wanted to go in one direction, I limped it home at about 5 mph down the back alley, I've never felt anything like it before. I was half expecting to get home and see the front tire completely flat, or something worse! I guess it was just the difference between one shock still holding pressure, and the other one completely collapsed. Will report the findings once I do the new seals!!!

I never could understand the logic behind Yamaha's decision to drop the manifold system, when they did the fork upgrade. So much easier to fill, automatically balances the pressure between the forks. If a sudden collapse of pressure in one leg turns out to be the cause of your near-miss, add SAFETY as an advantage of the manifold, as well. Do you happen to know what pressure you were running in the forks, when this incident occurred?
Glad you're O.K.!

 

[texas-ss-tornado]

I never could understand the logic behind Yamaha's decision to drop the manifold system, when they did the fork upgrade. So much easier to fill, automatically balances the pressure between the forks. If a sudden collapse of pressure in one leg turns out to be the cause of your near-miss, add SAFETY as an advantage of the manifold, as well. Do you happen to know what pressure you were running in the forks, when this incident occurred?
Glad you're O.K.!

No, I never checked the pressures on them, I did put a fingernail over each one when I replaced the fork caps, and heard a little "squirt" of air come out, so I knew there was something in there. I didn't bother adding any air, because I knew both seals were leaking and would be done soon. I've only been riding the thing around the block as I've worked on stuff, haven't taken it out of the neighborhood yet.

 

[one2dmax]

The complete loss of fluid from one side and not the other should have no effect on the ride height of the bike. If the fluid got on the tire (front or rear) that can cause an effect as well as if it got on the brakes (though stopping would be the issue at that point).

The springs do the job of supporting the chassis. The fluid simply controls the bounce.

Sean

 

[texas-ss-tornado]

Well, I guess I won't know what exactly happened until I tear it apart, I will report my findings here though!!!

 

[one2dmax]

Now, if you were running air pressure in the forks and lost the seal on one then you would have half the support the air pressure provides. So, it could change suspension height some but it should be minimal unless excessive air pressure was used.

When I got my first vmax years ago the thing rode like it had struts on the front. We found out after I got home and beat on it some (keep in mind it was my first one) that the forks had over 50psi in them!

Sean

 

[texas-ss-tornado]

Well, I can tell you this, it dropped for enough for the rear of the front fender to scrape up against the radiator! I just checked, the side with the fluid all over the place has ZERO air pressure, the other side still had some.

 

[one2dmax]

Sounds like a spring gave up.

 

[KJShover]

Could be a little air pressure too. On my Venture and Goldwing I would change the ride height by over an inch. More noticeable on the Venture where the front had 2" of height +/- depending on how much air was in it.

 

[COP RUNNER]

i IN MY OPINION , THE FRONT AXLE BOLT GOING THROUGH THE RIM AND TIGHTENED AND THE FORK BRACE THAT THE FRONT FENDER IS BOLTED TO HOLD THE FRONT LOWER FORK TUBES TOGETHER AS AN ASSEMBLY , SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO BEND TO ALTER THE HANDLING OF THE BIKE , MEANING ; TO MAKE IT PULL IN ONE DIRECTION OR ANOTHER THE FRONT WHEEL WOULD HAVE TO BE OUT OF LINE WITH THE REAR . IF A SPRING BROKE SURLY THE BIKE WOULD DROP DOWN BUT IT STILL WOULD NOT PULL , IT WOULD JUST BE LOWER , NO DIFFERENT THEN A BIKE WITH A SINGLE SIDED SWING-ARM , OR A CUSTOM BIKE WITH A SINGLE SIDED FRONT-END , HELL SOME BIKES ONLY HAVE A FRONT BRAKE ON ONE SIDE OF THE FRONT WHEEL AND THEY DON'T PULL BECAUSE IT STOPS THE WHOLE WHEEL , NOT JUST THE SIDE ITS ON . .. IS THE BIKE ALREADY LOWERED ? .. IF NOT , I'M PUZZLED AS TO HOW IT DROPPED DOWN ENOUGH FOR THE FENDER TO HIT THE RADIATOR SCREEN . ... I'M GLAD YOUR " OK " , AND I AM VERY INTERESTED AS TO WHAT YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS ! .. IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE FORK STOPS INSIDE THE FORK TUBES TO BREAK OR COME UNSCREWED ? . . :confused2:

 

[one2dmax]

Correct, The entire front end changed and not just one side. BUT, if the spring collapsed or the air left (and was too much to begin with) then the support was reduced by that amount so it would bounce farther down or sit lower.

Sean