Front Right Fork Seal Failure

I'm gutted;

Took the girl in for her first Warrant of Fitness today on her first birthday.
Dropped her off at the shop reminded them to fit a new front foot, then went shopping , coffee etc.
Went to pick her up and they said sorry fella its failed...

I said WTF, nice wind up!!! Did you fit the new front tyre (BT023GT)? Yeah we did but your front right fork seal is leaking oil....

But it was just in for a service two weeks ago and I didn't notice it prior to bringing her in this morning (I first parade her before ever ride) and its only just ticked over 11500ks..

I talk to the owner as I'm sure its not normal and believe it should be covered under warranty. His reply was its a perishable item and not their problem.. After a few pointed questions from me the shop are going back to Suzuki but he said its likely they will say 'No'...

If they do I'll say thanks very much, get the parts off ebay and get my neighbor to do both seals... He was one of their mechanics but has a home workshop..

So thoughts; should the seal have failed so early in its life? What could/would have caused it to fail?

I wonder if the shop have done something when changing the front tyre??? Two services ago they took off the front cowling and lost the plastic plugs thinking I'd never notice... or am I being paranoid...

Gutted...

maybe just one of those things .......however strange / no dings or anything in or on your fork tube I take it ?

Yep ,could have just failed .
Apriia dealer wanted to change mine every 12,ooo klm as manual says .I said no thanks i;ll take my chances . 65.ooo kls later their still good .
Check chrome slider for a stone strike which will show (feel) like a pimple .My 1200 got one which tore the seal .i'd just change the bad one .

I've heard that you can get a leak from a dead bug (etc) and that using some sort of shim to clean under the seal is worth a try, considering that the bike is not that old , it may be worth a try.

Google " cleaning fork seal"

Mate that sucks big hairy one's but it's not worth losing sleep over.
Unless its a prick of a job I would only change the leaking seal.

That sucks Rustic, you'd expect something like that from the bike in your avatar, but not you're 2012 banditsh bike!

Other than stone chips, dried bug guts can cause havoc with the seals. I always give my fork tubes a wipe down with silicone or WD40 and have never had an issue in 35,000 ks. Hurry up and get out of warranty so we can whack a stage II kit into it and it'll keep the front wheel up a bit....

Yeah over it now but just disappointed and surprised...

Bring on Stage II and bugger the warranty I say

Maybe try the old film negative around the seal. 35000 and no problem here after 6 years of ownership.

I had a left one fail at 40k, but basically it could happen on day one if you get a nasty bit of dried bug or grit the puts a mark in the seal.

It's unreasonable to expect it changed under warranty. It would be like wanting a new tyre because you picked up a puncture.

Well thanks for all your comments.
Proves knowledge is a wonderful thing!
I've actually learnt stuff I never knew about the effects of dead bugs on rubber.

Thanks all

I'm not sure if you've changed the seal yet, but often the seal itself is fine and is only leaking because crud has lifted the lip of the seal off the stantion. Try cutting some old film negative into a curve with a hooked shaped point. You can fashion it to look like a Seal Mate as in the video below. You could buy one off ebay, they are pretty cheap but if you have some old negatives or an old tear off, or even some laminating plastic, you can make one. I sometimes use an old photocopy card from office-works and it does the trick. As you haven't got that many k's on your bike, the stantions shouldn't be pitted with rust unless you live in a cold climate where they de-ice the roads with salt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEzjdFQp6IM

Bugger!!!

Geekay007 thanks very much this will save me next time you learn something new every day Ta.

Update - Ordered the Seal Mate today.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Repair-your-Fork-Seals-Seal-Mate-leaky-fork-seal-fix-COLOR-Suzuki-Yellow-/140864992721?_trksid=p2045573.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111000%26algo%3DREC.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D27%26meid%3D6627555101032358640%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D1011%26rk%3D2%26sd%3D150823034720%26#ht_1175wt_1101