Hello.. after I’ve got my front forks reconditioned, I have noticed that they are leaking from the bolt thats right at the bottom of the fork when you’ve taken the wheel off… It’s an Allen key bolt… I’ve spoke to the guy who did it and he’s not bloody interested so I messed up there…… Can I just take these bolts out? I know oil will come out of them.. Any ideas will be mostly appreciated.. also, I’m not sure how to top them up. Is it just a matter of undoing the top caps and shoving some oil in? thanks Sean.
From experience on other bikes I would assume that there is a copper washer behind the bolt sealing it. Take the fork out, turn it upside down and find a way of keeping it slightly compressed. Remove the bolt with the washer and either replace the washer with a new one, or, if it looks OK, anneal it by heating it with a blowtorch and dropping into water. This softens it so that it can make a good seal.
However, the F’s & R’s have the air balance holes in the top part of the forks, so just be aware of that…oil will come out of those when the forks are upside-down. Just put some sealing tape on them whilst working on the forks.