Shinko tire travesty

[Courtney]

What's all this talk about safety anyway? Aren't we all fearless low life bike scum that strike fear into the hearts of mild mannered sissies and panty wearing scooter riders? Oh wait a minute..... I ride a scooter too.........

[jjz28]

Well, I used the bars leak jack oil with stop leak but its still leaking a little. It had stopped leaking so I thought it was dry but about 2oz came out. what came out was kinda grey, probably very dirty. Anyway, I changed both schraeder valves and they both hold air now. I didn't really notice a difference in ride, maybe its a little stiffer. I figured I would notice a big difference since one fork was about empty and both almost out of air. I don't drive aggressively though so maybe I don't push it enough to feel a difference.

[Bonz]

If I understand you, one tube is out of fluid, still leaking after the bars leak, but the tubes are holding air now? Of course the ride will stiffen up with air in them, but the fork control is jacked up without oil in there.

You probably want to take a few hours and do the forks now... Unless winter starts tomorrow! That goes above the level of dirty fluid or stemming a leak, to the point as to question safety.

Aggressive or not, you need to brake, accelerate and turn, go over bumps in the road, etc. what you described begs attention, and that's the way I see it in recommending that to you.

[jetmechmarty]

Just to elaborate on what Bonz said, properly functioning forks and shocks are what keep the tire in constant contact with the pavement. Yes, they are very important to braking.

[jjz28]

The forks stay on the road like they are supposed too, if they didn't I would not ride it. One is all that is leaking but the leaking one didn't have air and they other had hardly none in there. When I hit the little compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter, the bike jumped up with the air I put in the leaking one. It holds air but still leaking fluid It may be leaking the air too, I could check it today and see if it still has the same pounds as yesterday. I've road the bike like this since I have had it and it handles good and the tires are firmly planted on the road. I would hope knowone would ride with the forks bouncing off the pavement, my bike never got like that, I guess because the other fork don't leak and the bad one still had a little fluid.

[jetmechmarty]

Jeff,

Air can't leak out the bottom if there is fluid in there. The air can only leak out the top. Air pressure on top of the fluid may make it leak worse. There is a bigger problem with your fork leak. That fork oil will find its way to your brake pads. I don't have to tell you what that does. I am writing this from experience. I neglected my forks until they helped me to a fall. After that, I went all out on the fix, but that's another story.

Your best coarse of action is to fix it. After you do, you'll be telling yourself, "That wasn't so bad!" Once you've done it, you'll know all about it and you'll get right to it the next time.

[Bonz]

What I said before, and jetmech restated...

It's a morning worth of work, take the time you would spend on your next ride with bike in it's current form and stay home to do the work.

I am sure there is a forum member in your neck of the woods down there to lend a hand if there is any trepidation doing it yourself. Crappy forks do nothing to help our already fragile riding condition of being a target out on the road.

In fact, when I rebuilt the leaky forks on the 80G, I ended up with a much better riding front end than the pristine 80SG sitting next to it in the garage. It's been a couple years since I did the SG forks, but it is obvious they need to be serviced riding them back-to-back.

The tire "probably" won't lose contact with the road riding around, but hit an unexpected bump, get HARD on the brakes, have to make a quick evasive maneuver, just once, and it might be one time too many.

[jjz28]

yeah, I really do need to get them done. I haven't ordered them yet or I would do them this weekend. I am sure I could do it never had a problem with doing anything else. The reason I wanted to wait until winter was so I could have plenty of time to do it. Does anyone know of a good source or part number for our fork seals. I need the 79 special. A lot I have found only has f instead sf.

[Bonz]

Now you are talking! Good deal.

Here's a link to some on ebay... these were the first ones I came to, might find some that offer free shipping if you look at more listings.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/79-81-XS1100...#ht_565wt_1328

Otherwise you might find them at a dealer, but usually they will have to order them as well, so ebay is about as simple as it gets.

Glad to help and talk you through anything you run into if needed!

[bikerphil]

Make sure you order the seals for the Special and double check to make sure they are 37X48X10.5, many vendors get them mixed up with the seals for the Standard (37X49X8) and won't fit your special. Georgefix sells the K+L brand which have worked fine for me, your best choice would be OEM seals but pretty sure they are NLA.

[jetmechmarty]

OEM seals

They're available.

Yamaha Motorcycle Parts 1979 XS1100SF FRONT FORK Diagram
#5 on the list.



You may have your own favorite place to get OEM parts, but now you have the part number.

FWIW, this seal fits only the SF, not the SG or SH. Those are available too, but show a different part number.

[Rasputin]

I thought it was dry but about 2oz came out.

The recommended amount in the manual that I have open here states 225cc (7.61 oz). That is very dry my friend when it comes to the handling of a motorcycle. It also does not take into account the amount of jack oil stop leak you put in it.

It's a morning worth of work, take the time you would spend on your next ride with bike in it's current form and stay home to do the work. .The tire "probably" won't lose contact with the road riding around, but hit an unexpected bump, get HARD on the brakes, have to make a quick evasive maneuver, just once, and it might be one time too many.

Best advice you can get. Glad to see you are following it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/79-81-XS1100...#ht_565wt_1328

Best seller on ebay as far as I am concerned. His parts are reasonable and his shipping is cheap. He will also fix any errors without fail. Georgefix is highly recommended by many here.

There are options when it comes to these like original or leak free or replacement parts. I have used all three of those and have had no issues with one over the other but many would disagree on that.

Sounds to me that a high pressure red rag wound in duct tape would be better than what you currently have happening. Motorcycles only have two wheels (in case some may not have noticed) and the operation of all their components needs to be in top notch shape for your and others safety. Good luck on your repair and we all will help if you have any questions.

[jetmechmarty]

I have a question about these fork seals. The aftermarket seals are for XS1100 Specials, 1979-1981. If you go OEM the seals for the SF are only for the SF. The SG, SH, LG, and LH all take the same seal. What's the difference?

Does Georgefix have the same prices on eBay as on his site? I buy from him, but never on eBay. I plan to continue doing business with him.
http://www.georgefixs.com/servlet/StoreFront

[Rasputin]

I have a question about these fork seals. The aftermarket seals are for XS1100 Specials, 1979-1981. If you go OEM the seals for the SF are only for the SF. The SG, SH, LG, and LH all take the same seal. What's the difference?

Does Georgefix have the same prices on eBay as on his site? I buy from him, but never on eBay. I plan to continue doing business with him.
http://www.georgefixs.com/servlet/StoreFront

I do not know the answer but I do know as long as it says the model I have in the description that I have always got the right parts from him. He answers any questions I have quickly and if there are any issues he points them out to me. Best guess right now would be 22 orders from him and no failures.
I find his Pro site to be lacking in searching as he does have the drop down for Yamaha, but he does not have the further search that lets one only identify XS11 products. It is there on his ebay site but not on his Pro site. Still can search his ebay site and order from his other site but I personally have not noticed any price difference. Could be something to do with being out of country but I do not know.

[jetmechmarty]

Over at Partzilla I just found these fork seals, all supposedly fit my SG.

Parts Unlimited
Front Fork Seals - 37mm x 48mm x 10.5mm
$8.95

Parts Unlimited
Front Fork Seals - 37mm x 49mm x 8mm
$7.95

BikeMaster
O.E. Fork Oil Seals
$8.99 $7.30

Leak Proof Seals
Classic Fork Seals
$22.95 $18.49

...and a few others. They are all supposed to fit my bike (and the 79), but they aren't the same, so how can that be?