@Todddr 7,000 is not much. And there have been few, if any, fork seal issues reported here…seems kinda unusual. You might ask if they can do one under warranty, and offer to pay for the second one.

Also, the small leak might just be dirt…perhaps a cleaning can resolve the issue. The dealer might not be willing to clean it, but there are kits available to do it yourself. Just another option to consider.

 

Even with only 7000 miles, fork seals are wear parts which are excluded by almost all warranties. That being said, 450$ for a fork service sounds pretty steep.

 

So ive been on bikes for 45 years. Yes, I’m oldish. But a few years ago my elderly Triumph 1050 was about shot. I turned out trading it in for a new 2020 SS base. I liked the Titanium grey color over bright red SSS. Did have dealership install DQS. I love this bike! Even added the Duc panniers despite their upity cost.
At a service appt last week they pointed out a fork seal has a small leak. Quoted me around $450 to redo both seals. I asked if that was covered under my Ducati extended warranty— and they said—- NO!
Really?! All the bikes i’ve owned theres only been a couple fork seal leaks, but those bikes were over 5 years with over 20k miles. Seems a 2020 SS with 7000 miles would be covered. Still looking for a copy of my extended warranty. But till i find it, anyone have some ideas on this?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Fork seals are a wear item, just like tires, so rarely are they covered. Mileage or not, it happened and will need to be addressed.

Unless you’ve been doing wheelies as @Ed K said most likely there is dust or dirt under the seal which is causing it to leak. Get a Seal Mate cleaning tool from a bike parts store or use a laminated thin business card to slide under the seals to dislodge the foreign object. Lots of YouTube videos out there to show you.

And if it’s a Ducati dealer quoting $450 I’d say that’s about right since it’s a few hour job. OEM parts will be in the $100 range, at say $140/hr or so I’d say that’s in the ballpark.

 

Find a shop (not a dealer) or live with it if it's not too bad. I'd be pissed too but they are wear items. I've literally ridden years with a leaky seal.

You might be able to clean out debris with one of those "credit card" hooks. They sell them at Cycle Gear.

Contact a local shop for an estimate and also find out if the seals are generic, or search the 'net for replacement Marzocchi parts. I've never paid that much for service. My local shop changed the fluid for my forks at Desmo service and it was about $100 additional labor.

 

If you are going to get your fork seals replaced, get a suspension service at the same time.

I'd check if there are any race shops or suspension specialists nearby. They are likely to be cheaper and have a better understanding of what they are doing. If you have any suspension issues, you can raise them with them before the service, and they might be able to make adjustments during the service.

I agree with the others that fork seals are likely to be considered wear items, but if you have a good relationship with the dealer, they might put it through as a goodwill claim, especially if you make a bit of noise about they should last longer.

I had some Ohlins fork seals (I have the S) that started to weep at about 15,000 kilometres (9,000 miles). But I get my suspension serviced every 15,000 to 20,000 km, so it just served as a service reminder. Unfortunately, I failed scrutineering on a track day that was a 10-hour drive away. Oh well (but I really felt the pain watching the MotoGPs on the track it was held).

 

One of mine leaked... twice... was covered under my EverRed warranty. I don’t know why it leaked and the dealer saw no reason. The second time around I wanted to send them to the Ohlins service center in SC but the dealer insisted they could resolve it. It’s not leaking now but I’ll probably send them to Ohlins over the Winter.

 

Thanks all for your ideas and comments. Im going to try cleaning and then watch it. Also going to talk to the actual service manager and see if we can work out something a bit better if the cleaning doesnt work. Thanx again!

 

Thanks all for your ideas and comments. Im going to try cleaning and then watch it. Also going to talk to the actual service manager and see if we can work out something a bit better if the cleaning doesnt work. Thanx again!

 

For the dealer cost you could buy a Pitbull front stand, pull the forks yourself, and send them out to a suspension specialist! Then you'll have the front stand to take the wheels off when you need tires and get them done for half the price. Haha.

 

With all due respect. Any bike repair shop should be able to replace a fork seal. It's something that lots of riders can do themselves but it does take a few specialized tools and know how. There's no way I'd let that dealer do it given their reported track record.

My advice to anyone here is to find a local tech mechanic that's not affiliated with a dealer. Before I purchased my Ducati, I discussed it with a local shop first so I could be reassured to having another service shop than the dealer and understand the frequency and labor required to service this bike.

 

Follow-up to a recurring problem I reported earlier in this thread about a leaky fork seal. As I mentioned previously, my local dealer fixed it under the EverRed warranty. A short time later the same fork leaked again and was reluctantly fixed by same dealer. The dealer had no idea why it was failing but now I know. The fork tube had a noticeable nick in it with a small burr that was scoring the seal as it moved past it. The burr was removed using a fine emory cloth and hopefully this problem is behind me. Why the dealer didn't find this after two attempts to fix the problem is a mystery... perhaps too consumed with service on atv's and jet-skis.

I discovered the source of the leaky fork seal after I found a trusted certified Duc mechanic (friend of a friend) to do my 18K service and I asked in to replace both my fork seals since the bad one was starting to leak again for the third time. He two other things wrong with the repaired fork leg... first the Ducati dealer used a sharp tool to pry the old seal out and ended up scoring the inside of the slider in multiple places. Secondly, the dealer replaced the oil in the repaired leg with something other than Ohlins fork oil. The replacement oil was dark blue and heavy rather than the light, almost clear, Ohlins oil. Let that sink in for a minute... a mechanic at a Ducati dealer did what no backyard motorcycle mechanic would ever do... use a fork oil in one leg different than the other. I had noticed the bike wouldn't turn in like it should after I got it back from the dealer, but I thought it was just in my head. The result could have been catastrophic.

All fixed now and I'm happy except I need to clear my 18K service indicator... saw an update to a thread somewhere here about new diagnostic device that can clear it.

 

That’s why NOBODY touches any of my machinery but me.
I bought a Topdon Moto to get rid of my service reminder, paid for itself straight away. You need to buy their Ducati adapter cable set as well, but it’s relatively cheap. Not having a full dealer service history will effect the resale value, but I still think you come out ahead considering the cost of that (possibly incompetent) service work.

TOPDON Diagnostic Tool TopScan Moto

TopScan Moto revolutionizes the motorcycle experience, putting powerful diagnostic capabilities in the palm of your hand. Transform your smartphone into a precision diagnostic tool, whether you're a casual rider, a skilled DIY enthusiast, or a professional mechanic.

m.topdon.com

 

I send an email to TOPDON tech support asking to clarify what codes can be cleared and whether the device is useless of I don't subscribe to updates. Here's their response...

"This tool will allow you to clear your 18K service indicator as well as annual oil service indicators, but without the subscription you will not be able to clear codes and almost all of the functions will not be accessible, this tool will only be able to read some codes but not manufacturer specific codes."

$155 seems worth it to get my 18K service code and annual oil service light cleared, but $100/yr forever just for the oil service light, not sure about that given I only would use it on my SS... no plans for any more modern motorcycles.

 

$150 is what the dealer will charge for an hour of labor. Tack the extra $100 a year on there.... Haven't looked into JPDIAG? jpdiag

 

$150 is what the dealer will charge for an hour of labor. Tack the extra $100 a year on there.... Haven't looked into JPDIAG? jpdiag

I wasted about 4 hours of my life trying to get that pile of "software" to work. Not to mention the fits all my security software was throwing even going to their site.

 

Better off buying an OBDStar for $350ish. Subscription expiration only stops updates, otherwise works normally without