It is finally time to service the bike. The grease on the swingarm, tire rim, chain guard, all takes time to wipe it all off. As I was dry wiping the grease off, I noticed the dust and rain stains peppered on the frame. I thought, 'what can I experiment with' and looked over at the can of WD. It began to cut thru the burned on grease at the stainless finish on the mid-pipe. I looked at the black can and drying any cling off that surface looked OK; until I sighted it from a different angle.

That's when I sprayed WD on the paper towel, wiped all those cooked on spots away. I then took a dry towel and wiped the WD off until the muffler was dry again. Then onto the frame. The bike only sees water; if I'm stuck in the rain.
So that's my cutting agent test. It was on a whim to try WD.

The bike is ready for a set of tires and a service interval at the steering neck. I'll try videoing the front end work with a new camera. I also have a leaking fork seal to replace.

"also have a leaking fork seal to replace"...how many miles Hub?

Kerosene is cheaper

Grn, failed at around 22k.
CoolD, That's my old car wash ratio... 50/50 kero/hot soapy water. I have kero here so I'll see what goes.

Hub,

I had my fork seals replaced last year (along with new heavier springs!) however after a recent ride my left fork started leaking which I was none too happy about. A friend of mine had a similar situation last year (year old seals and it started to leak) he found and tried the "sealmate" fork seal cleaning "tool", tried it and it worked, no more leaking fork.

I figured for the $5 and 15 minutes it cost me for the little piece of plastic it would be worth a try at least as the worst case scenario was I ruined the seal and had to replace it, which I would have had to do anyways. So far, its been a week and a bit with no more leak so as far as I can tell it's fixed the problem.

Here's the link to the tool I used, I picked mine up from a local shop.

http://sealmate.net/

Hub,have you tried to use one of those 'fork seal cleaner' strips on there?They use em on dirtbikes.Little thin plastic strip,slides up under the seal lip and you run it around the fork.You probably know about those.Sometimes they work.Worth a try.Save ya big time on removing that fork and all.Like 3 bucks or something.

Yeah,guess I posted a bit too late there...that's the tool alright.

Just gotta be careful and not 'bend' that tip part inserting into the seal lip.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 4/20/2017 @ 7:54 AM *

Thanks guys. Maybe I'll give that a shot.

Worth a try...you can get those almost any dirtbike shop.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 4/20/2017 @ 11:10 AM *

Did you lube the muffler bearings with WD-40 too? If so it will deteriorate the seals - and you will need a new bike

NOW you tell him!

Fuckit, I wiped down the whole fucking bike wit double you dee fartea. Thishit was up against some bike cleaner I won't mention. The part? The brake dust/road grime on the lower fork reflector bracket. The wash left the brake dust(?) and 4D cut right into it and removed the rest of what the wash couldn't. And for testing, I did wipe any rubber baby bumper parts; just to see it will crack it down the road... especially the throttle rubber booty.

If you can see any delicate edges of rubber like a mold line, keep an eye on that.

I forgot to mention the ufckup on the seal change and what I found. First, I had the C-clip caught somehow as I slid the fork seal driver a few times and scored the leg with the edges of the clip. I then found a lot of brass sitting on and under the fork seal. I'm guessing the brass may have cut up seal. So that plastic wedge to line the lips back up or whatever the idea, it wouldn't have helped. Let's see how long this seal lasts with the lines now cut directly in the travel.

Kick here:

Ouch.If she's gonna leak...it SHOULD be happening now.You pumped the forks,yes?(of course you did).If that didn't reveal a leak,they're probably fine...I hope It don't take much to damage that seal lip in there.Dried dirt and such on the lower fork can build up around there.I always make sure to wipe those lower legs nicely,and up pressing into the seal dust cap.(downwards).

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 5/10/2017 @ 12:41 AM *

'LA's Totally Awesome' cleaner is 99cent store's hidden secret. The stuff cut right thru the k&n filter oil. I soaked up the oil by dipping paper towels on top of the water till it was gone. When I pulled the filters out the next morning I could see the white material they use in it, and could see daylight thru the garage lighting. It was impressive to see the black silt at the bottom of the bucket.

This bike is set at F1 because I keep turning the key off for lights. I don't know if it was the air cleaners breathing better, the cold air, new tires, but this bike took off like Vic's bike in the slow. I'd split up to a light, time it just right and nail it right before I have to touch ground. I blip, release, grab second, wheel comes up, chassis does a little ripple coming down as it settled back in.

Okay, I had to write it out to figure it out. I was quite sporty on the throttle angle. Must be a full moon.