Max

pretty sure this thread that got me thru the mod.

I'm surprised at BMW, the brand that used to be synonymous with reliability and satisfaction.

Yep, had a loose dash last year to the point were it was flopping like it was ready to fall off and made a heck of a racket. I think the rubber grommets dry and shrink / breakdown. Someone here suggested adding washers. I added thick SS washers to each side of all the grommets pre season. That totally tightened up dash flop and eliminated most of the rough road bounce racket from the front end. Close to 10,000 mi. and still holding.

Yep, ditto Bob on that. Deka is the way to go. Don't quote me, but I think it's the '18L'.

Love those 70-75* touring days. I hope tropical storm Erika fizzles out before hitting the mainland. Sure has caused some major torrential rain damage in Dominca.

Oh BB you'd love it up here. Just got off the boat ferry at Port aux Basque Newfoundland about 1 1/2 hrs ago to 58f, with a stiff wind out of the S/E and raining. It's going to be a long tour.

First full time job fresh out of college in 71' and into the Navy Reserve at HMCS York for 6 months training. After training, decision time, commit by contract for 5 years off to Halifax, or stay with my sweetheart..... made the right decision, we got married 2 years later and we're (yeah,same girl) still passionate about riding around the continent where ever the ol' 87 takes us.

Lookin' good !

True that brother... my reference was more or less for Canucks like myself that travel mostly south forking out 25% exchange & 1.5-3¢ bank fee on the Cdn buck. Comin' & go'in.

and then there's that bonus 25% exchange rate (and dropping) travelling on the other side .. ( ¢76 on the loon this AM )

Don't feel bad, gas has dropped to 1.03 cdn / ltr up here .... equivalent to about 5 bucks a US gallon ... feels good.

glad your all ok !

closure for one happy camper (for now) A heads up for anyone that might be having the same issue. Installed new seals and washers a few days ago, put a couple hundred miles on them, no leaks so far. I was probably lucky there wasn't further damage to tube riding surfaces. I'm convinced the seal was damaged from crud that dropped from the rusted seal washer. It would have been a matter of time for the right side to fail. The c clip that holds the washer in place was also beginning to rust. The indentation around the tube that the c clips into also had slight aluminum corrosion. Jeez, another routine check to add to the growing annual checklist. I like Marcarl's suggestion of a an application of FluidFilm on the washers, probably would have prevented this grief in the first place. The washer in the pic was cleaned up before deciding to install new ones. Attached a before & after c clip outer tube groove. Final fork assembly cleaned up nicely. St John's Newfoundland/Labrador, we're finally on our way !!

We had a trailer a few years ago, used a liquid spray product called 'Black Streak Remover'. Worked good on older metal & vinyl sided trailers for road grime and streaks. Made in USA by CamcoRV. Long term, it didn't appear to break down or fade paint.

partial parking lot shot ..

Half way on any major tour I'll add a full can to 3/4 tank, run it hard for 50ish miles and let it simmer overnight. Seems to keep things running. Other than very minor carb sync tweaks once a year, haven't had to touch the engine for a few years.

$38 for a pair of steel washers ... add tax, exchange & shipping ... well, a little much. Skydoc was prepared to send me a pair, but the cost of a new sheet of SS, fabrication, $ exchange and shipping to house had costs adding up. I lucked out with a local metal fab shop. They had a SS pipe that matched the measurements of original washers. They cut me a pair for $15 cash. No brainer. Just received notification (+10 days) the shop I deal with in Hamilton received my seals and shipping to house will take another 5 days via Canada Post.

This thread by Freebird was great help first time I rebuilt mine. A ton of good info via 'search' tool. Good luck. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?496-Fork-Seal-Replacement

Never heard of either till now. Thanks for the info.

as you suggested djh3, did a dot4 search and couldn't come up with a dot4 & dot4 synth compatibility answer.

I currently use regular dot4 brake fluid and need to know if it's ok to top up reservoir with dot4 synth. The container states ok to mix with dot 3 & dot 4. A quick check on the weeb says - a) don't do it, b) it's ok, c) why would you mix them ?, d) ok to mix with 3,4 & 5.1, e) if you mix both types of 4 you end up with dot8 harhar, and last, all dot 3,4, & 5.1 are already synthetic. The last one threw me. My reasoning for c), this was first time I couldn't find regular DOT4 at my go to store.

No question, out of eyeshot, GPS & bracket comes off. Suction cup system takes 5 secs to remove. Let me tell ya RD, those little bags come in very handy when your on a 5 - 10K mile tour 4-8 weeks, with 2 up, every cubic inch counts. We use them for on board non valuables - sunscreen,ziplocks,detergent,straps,kickstand plate,etc, basically, she crams them with anything that's easy to replace in case of theft. I replaced the intercom module on the left side with a 4th pouch. The mounting holes align made for an easy conversion. Not really concerned about theft, who would snipe anything (to quote the Great White) that fugly??

Ran fine nylon mesh around fork running area and checked for any damage, looks ok so far. Threw in a set of progressives a couple of years ago and with 2 up, as you said, "I usually prefer to set up forks with preload and oil levels/weights." The gators in the pic actually don't look that bad. Waiting for parts mid summer is like .. wellll.

In hindsight that would have prevented the rusting. I'll apply FF during re-assembly ..... waiting for 'parts' in July..80F..blue sky.. arrggghhh Peterborough is a little too far for the Wednesday Brantford tour.

Earl, appreciate the offer, I'll take you up on it. I don't have a micrometer, but a quick check with a metric tape shows all dimensions bang on MM's. Rethinking the moisture thing, all 3 vr's (2 parts) are having the same issue with rusting washers. (not as severe as the one that leaks) I replaced the Dust Seals on prime vr with new OEM's 2 years ago. Quite a chore to remove weather seal yesterday and tight as it could have been. I'm starting to think of the possibility of winter semi-heated garage storage and possibility of condensation forming between Dust Seal and upper fork tube ? Anyhoo, I'll get a schematic with dimensions to you in the AM. sent to your email 14/07 8AM.