Oily residue

[JakeS]

Oily residue on rotor

I have an oily residue on the rotor. I am guessing it is just a leaky fork seal coming down and dripping on the rotor and what not.
Has anybody had this happen? I did not notice any fluid on the fork but i will need to investigate further.
Could it possibly be anything else? The residue is gray and really thick like grease but i was thinking it was pad material and oil mixed??? not to sure its never happened to me before.
What kind of suggestions do you have?
Im obviously going to replace or try and clean the pads good and hope they are not saturated as well as clean the rotor well.. The front tire is coming off the end of the week to put new rubber on so i will investigate more then.
Thanks
Jake

 

[st1300r]

Could be fork oil. That would do it.
Any residue on the caliper, brake hose, or the rim?

Look down thru the tree at the forks.
Does it look wet on the rubber seal?

After you pull the wheel and clean everything it'll be easier to figure out where it's coming from.

If it is the seal try the 35mm film trick to remove crud on the seal.

 

[Fred Lloyd]

If it is a leaky seal Motion Pro makes a seal cleaning tool you can buy on Amazon for around $5.00 + shipping. I made one using the plastic from a 1 gallon milk jug that works just as well.

 

[JakeS]

Thanks for the replies. I looked and the forks look/feel dry. The brake caliper is slightly oily looking but not focused around any of the fittings.

 

[st1300r]

Re: Oily residue on rotor

Fork oil (not just hydraulic oil) can easily end up on the caliper and the hose.