Leaking front brake

I rode to work today and ran to the bank over lunch. I notice that my front brakes aren't as 'stop on a dime' as they normally are. I stop to check them and one of my front disk brakes are leaking fluid. The brake housing, my front tire, and my right fairing are all covered in it, to the point that I can't spot where it's coming from.

So besides riding on my back brake on the way home, do you guys know what I should check for? Should I just take it in to a dealership?

It's an 05 with 10.5k miles on it and it still has the original pads on it.

It could be your brakes but... find yourself a big splash light and take a look at your fork seals. I think what you are seeing on your brakes is actually fork oil -- just a guess. Brakes are never too sharp when covered in oil, be it brake or fork. Flash lights are for seeing in the dark, splash lights are for finding leaks :lol:

Got warantee? If you do, take it into a shop and let them deal with it!

If you don't, I would agree with ionbeam. Its probably the forks leaking. Clean off everything, and bounce on the front end a bit. Do you see liquid on the forks? You may want to replace your bake pads too. Having them saturated in oil isnt good for them.

If it really is brake fluid, your paint is gonna be shot. Brake fluid is really bad on painted surfaces.

ionbeam said:

It could be your brakes but... find yourself a big splash light and take a look at your fork seals. I think what you are seeing on your brakes is actually fork oil -- just a guess. Brakes are never too sharp when covered in oil, be it brake or fork. Flash lights are for seeing in the dark, splash lights are for finding leaks :lol:

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Shit...you're absolutely right. The right fork seal is pouring it out. This is something that it has to go to the dealership for.
crap, I didn't even hit anything that I can remember that would cause it.

Your dealer will probably accuse you of doing one too many wheelies. Would he be correct? The most common reasons for a fork seal to leak are: 1) some foreign material got stuck to the tube and run past the seal or 2) you pick up a dinger in the fork tube surface and the metal bump cuts the seal. Have you used anything to polish/coat your fork tubes that may have compromised the seal?

You will probably be purchasing some new brake pads to go along with the new fork seal.

FWIW, what did in one of my FJR fork seals was a wad of tar from some roadwork, guess it got flung up and stuck to the tube. I got a load of fork oil on my headers and man, whatta smoke show. I was preparing to abandon ship 'cause I thought I was going up in flames What did in the seals on my V-Max was one too many wheelies -- again and again B)

TalioGladius said:

crap, I didn't even hit anything that I can remember that would cause it.

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Contamination is probably the biggest killer of seals. I have seen some guys report the YES fixing it for free, and some who have to pony up. I've replaced mine once at a cost of around $120 which included a full disassembly, check and clean with fresh fluids. Never called YES to see if it was covered.

ionbeam said:

Your dealer will probably accuse you of doing one too many wheelies. Would he be correct? The most common reasons for a fork seal to leak is that some foreign material got stuck to the tube and run past the seal or you have picked up a dinger in the fork tube surface.
Have you used anything to polish/coat your fork tubes that may have compromised the seal? FWIW, what did in one of my FJR fork seals was a wad of tar from some roadwork. Guess it got flung up and stuck to the tube. I got a load of fork oil on my headers and man, whatta smoke show. I was preparing to abandon ship 'cause I thought I was going up in flames What did in the seals on my V-Max was one too many wheelies -- again and again B)

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I do my fair share of front wheel lifting, but not like a 20 year old on a liter bike or anything. No polishing or coating the forks, they're lucky if they even get scrubbed during her quarterly bath. The bad thing is that I just moved to a new city a month ago so I don't know any trustworthy mechanics or dealerships here yet.

This sucks, horrible timing.

skyway said:

TalioGladius said:

crap, I didn't even hit anything that I can remember that would cause it.

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Contamination is probably the biggest killer of seals. I have seen some guys report the YES fixing it for free, and some who have to pony up. I've replaced mine once at a cost of around $120 which included a full disassembly, check and clean with fresh fluids. Never called YES to see if it was covered.

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Ouch. I figured that I would have to bring some kind of personal lubricant with me to the dealership.