Fork Seals

[Oddjob]

Rear axle nut? You mean front axle nut if it’s a fork seal. If it’s the 2 nuts holding the axle holder then there is an allen bolt hiding at the bottom of the fork slider under the axle clamp. There is a copper washer on the allen bolt which is meant to seal against oil loss. Either the bolt is loose or the washer isn’t crushed enough or it’s just missing.

Been a while since I worked on a 400 but aren’t the indicators on a small frame where the headlight mounts? Maybe the frame is bent or positioned wrong.

[Otis]

Sorry, it was not clear, I mean't the rear nut of the front axle holder.

I have just checked all four nuts and torqued them to 25Nm and got nearly a quarter turn on each one.

[Oddjob]

The nuts are only there to hold the axle clamp Otis. It’s the allen bolt underneath that is leaking any oil you can see, you need to fix that.

[Otis]

The nuts are only there to hold the axle clamp Otis. It’s the allen bolt underneath that is leaking any oil you can see, you need to fix that.

Thank you for that, I will attend to it straight away.

Incidentally, here is a picture of the positioning of my front reflectors of which the left one catches the tank.

[Orcade-Ian]

Hi Graham,
Sitting on the bike with the front wheel dead ahead, does the headlamp seem to be pointing slightly to one side? Peer over the top to see relative to the front guard.  The reflectors are threaded into the top shrouds, so that point is fixed however, the shrouds themselves can rotate slightly, causing your problem.  Hence asking about the position of the headlamp.  You can gently push on one side of the headlamp to make each gap equal.

Ian

[ST1100]

Incidentally, here is a picture of the positioning of my front reflectors of which the left one catches the tank.

Another possibility would be dinged steering limiters on frame head and/or lower triple...

[Otis]

You guys are all absolutely brilliant and always enable a resolution/cause to be discovered.

The headlight alignment is spot on but I had overlooked the stops and just noticed that the RH stop lug had obviously sheered off in previous ownership. The stop lug looks like an integral part of the upper collar so I guess I will have to fabricate a replacement.

Thank you all so much for your guidance.

[taysidedragon]

I noticed that on full left lock the indicator on my fork cover just touches the fuel tank whereas on full right lock there is a good half inch of distance before reaching the tank.

Is this normal? Visually everything looks to be correct but it feels to be wrong.

Also, I noticed that the slight seepage of oil is appearing on the bottom of the rear axle holder nut on the RHS. Is this where a failed fork seal leak would likely manifest itself?

Thank you

Look at my reply#2. If there is a fork seal leak it will leave an oily film on the chrome stanchions and when it gets bad enough the oil will run down the back of the aluminium fork slider. If there is no oil there it is not coming from the fork seal!

Oil which is only at the bottom of the fork leg is coming from the bottom fork bolt. That is an Allen bolt at the bottom of the slider and hidden by the front spindle and spindle clamp.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Don't rule out the fork leg drain bolt, it has a copper or alloy washer, easier to gat at than the bottom Allen key bolt.

[Otis]

Many thanks guys for your tips and guidance and I shall check everything as per your advice. I may just replace the seals and oil anyway as I have already bought the kit.

Just going back to a point I raised earlier, I discovered that my RHS steering stop had sheered but I also noticed that next to it there is a threaded hole with nothing in it. I have attached a photo but am curious to know what it is for?

Cheers

[Oddjob]

We all seem to have that threaded hole. There are theories about why it’s there but no one seems to know for certain. I think it’s there to accommodate a steering damper, maybe Honda were thinking of it at some point but fixed the problem some other way.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I can't tell from your photo as it's a close up.
There is a thread on the underside where the loom bracket fits on the left underside.

[Otis]

I have to say that whilst I had all sorts of worries about my fork seals leaking; after properly torquing the axle holder bolts to 25 NM which involved more than a quarter turn of each nut, I have not seen a single drip in a week.

[exvalvesetdabbler]

We all seem to have that threaded hole. There are theories about why it’s there but no one seems to know for certain. I think it’s there to accommodate a steering damper, maybe Honda were thinking of it at some point but fixed the problem some other way.

On the 400f. There is a kind of p clip that attaches from the underside to support the wiring going up to to the headlight shell.

Part no. 32123-375-000

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Regards
Dave

[Athame57]

On the 400f. There is a kind of p clip that attaches from the underside to support the wiring going up to to the headlight shell.

Part no. 32123-375-000

Another missing bit on my bike to replace then.... they keep coming!