Hello all.

I have a 2008 FXDC which I bought used last summer.

Last weekend I had it out for a ride and noticed a ring of oil on my right fork tube. It was at max travel, and there was a thin film of oil on the tube.

I cleaned it well and compressed the front forks a few times, and cleaned it again.


I took it for a ride yesterday, and I did not see a leak, or a ring of oil, but I did find a scratch on my tube after closer inspection.


The scratch starts at the dust cover and goes up (toward the triple tree) about 3 inches. I can feel it with my nail. It starts deeper and gets fainter as you go up. Should I continue to ride it, or swap out the tube and seals?


Also under max compression there is a clunk and a rattle sound from the front forks... is this normal? My fathers Sportster does not sound like this.

Thanks,

Joe

 

That scratch could be from a bad fork bushing. Probably need new seals and bushings and if the scratch is that deep you also need a new tube.
If it's been leaking for awhile the noise from the front end could be from a lack of fork oil.
A clunk could also be a loose tank bolt or worn/shot front motor mount, these can sound like they are coming from the front end.

 

You must be loosing more oil then you think.
Don't risk it , check it out.

 

The clunk could be your steering head, might need to adjust the fall away.

 

you will need to replace the fork tube to stop it from leaking. my wg had a small nick/scratch on one of the tubes. i tried emery cloth to make it smooth. after replacing the seal a second time...i gave up and bought a fork tube. not that expensive. rlaced that with a new seal and leak free!! any doubts, replace the fork bushings as well...not expensive and you'll already be in the fork. good luck

 

i have done fork rebuilds on guys tubes that have been sanded with 220 for paint (and the paint of course failed) they still hold up fine and no leaks... i woiuld just toss a new seal in there, will be fine

 

I had a small scratch in mine at one time, got caught in some nasty muddy dirt roads and I'm guessing a piece of sand scratched it. I cleaned everything really well and a few months later the scratch was gone, no leaks