K11 Owners Group

mnb · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:56 pm Post subject: A couple things I have to watch

I was loading up the K1100LT for an overnighter this last weekend and I spotted a couple things I hadn't noticed before. I'm notoriously lax when it comes to preflight checks, so who knows how long I haven't noticed these.

The first thing I noticed was the right front fork had residue below the new gaitor. It's leaking a very small amount. There was a 4" long area or so that had quite a bit of dirt stuck to it. I wiped it off and no new dampness occurred over the entire trip, though...

The second thing I noticed was just to the rear of the rear brake pedal. There's a rubber boot (probably for the brake switch or something). It looked like there was oil leaking on it. But when I wiped it off with a finger, it felt too thin to be oil. Almost like gas. Brake fluid maybe? No further leakage was spotted there, throughout the trip, either.

Unfortunately, the front fork was recently lathed, so if the seals can't keep it from leaking, I'll have to replace the fork tube. Hopefully the leak will remain very slight, so it can wait until I upgrade the suspension and do it at the same time. And since I'm not working currently, that time isn't exactly coming soon...

When I first thought the leak near the foot brake was oil, I thought it might be a tranny seal leak. Groan. But it appears to be related to the brake line/piston/master cylinder. A much cheaper (but still not happening for a while) repair.
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M N B
1997 BMW K1100LT ABS Special Edition
2003 Husqvarna TE610e
2007 Harley Davidson Road King
2009 BMW F800GS
2011 Husqvarna TE310
2014 Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak MNB Edition

Flying Duck · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject:

FYI: The rubber boot is for the rear master cylinder.
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rydor · Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:35 pm Post subject:

I recently had to replace both of my fork tubes, after going through 3 sets of fork seals in two years. Crying or Very sad

Only the left side was beyond servicing, I replaced both because I found an almost zero mile set that was left over from a trike conversion when the guy's LT was new (lucky me). So keep me in mind if you end up needing a new right side fork tube, the seal in it is only a couple thousand miles old.

By bizarre coincidence, when I had my bike on the lift to replace the forks and tires, we discovered my rear master cylinder was shot! I don't even know when I lost it, as I rarely use my rear brake... So that's my project for tomorrow, replace rear mc and replace and bleed fluid front and rear. Wish me luck!

Good luck on yours Smile

mnb · Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject:

Thanks, guys!

I was figuring it was the master cylinder.

I was warned that they might not have been able to polish the right fork tube enough when they replaced the seals and put gaitors on last. It's about the 6th or 8th set of seals I've had done since I bought the thing.

I'm going to monitor the leakage and if it appears again, I'm probably going to be looking for a right fork in good shape.
_________________
M N B
1997 BMW K1100LT ABS Special Edition
2003 Husqvarna TE610e
2007 Harley Davidson Road King
2009 BMW F800GS
2011 Husqvarna TE310
2014 Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak MNB Edition

Shoganai · Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:04 am Post subject:

Posted elsewhere here by me...

I keep a set rebuilt forks on the shelf to switch out when needed.
Then rebuild those and put them up for the future trade-out.

I plan on investing in gaiters this year. Smile

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1993 K1100RS aka The Shop Whore
1994 K1100RS aka Blue Streak

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So slip the chain and I'm off again,
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