SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
Fork Seals
Otis:
Thank you.
Much appreciated advice.
Bryanj:
With oil in you can push down and see if there is resistance to travel both ways, apart from that no test.
Any leak of liquid is an mot fail, oil mist is allowed
Oddjob:
Personally when I was an MOT tester I’d most likely have failed it for oil mist, if it was enough to leave a ring I would have wondered how long that had been leaking like that and how much that loss of oil would have degraded the suspension. Saying that, I was a bit of a soft touch back then and I would have just pointed it out and said fix it asap. Depends how bad it looked.
ST1100:
--- Quote from: Oddjob on July 28, 2026, 02:37:21 AM ---Personally when I was an MOT tester I’d most likely have failed it for oil mist, if it was enough to leave a ring I would have wondered how long that had been leaking like that and how much that loss of oil would have degraded the suspension.
--- End quote ---
Well, its progressing...
On my '00 ST both fork seals failed shortly one after another while up in Norway... they do have some nasty roads up there...
So I grew the routine of rinsing down rotors, calipers & pads with brake cleaner twice a day...
By the time we made it back home (Austria) both fork bottoms were FUBAR at the inside/bore... :-\
K2-K6:
--- Quote from: ST1100 on July 28, 2026, 08:33:09 AM ---
--- Quote from: Oddjob on July 28, 2026, 02:37:21 AM ---Personally when I was an MOT tester I’d most likely have failed it for oil mist, if it was enough to leave a ring I would have wondered how long that had been leaking like that and how much that loss of oil would have degraded the suspension.
--- End quote ---
Well, its progressing...
On my '00 ST both fork seals failed shortly one after another while up in Norway... they do have some nasty roads up there...
So I grew the routine of rinsing down rotors, calipers & pads with brake cleaner twice a day...
By the time we made it back home (Austria) both fork bottoms were FUBAR at the inside/bore... :-\
--- End quote ---
They do sometimes just quit after looking and earning fine for many miles. Possibly through rubber ageing at a guess.
Think I'd have tried to make some little towelling catch devices to keep the oil from running down in that situation. A little like those Bjorn Borg era wrist sweat band things.
You'd need to stop yourself getting caught up in the whole headband and "Fame" type leg warmers though ;D ;D
With MTB forks (up to 40mm stanchion available) its considered reasonable to flip the bike (usually to install wheels after transit in car) and pump the forks a couple of times to keep the fork seals from running dry after storage period.
Difficult on a ST 1100 though ;D
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