bike is a gsxr 1000 k1 (USD forks with worn nitride coating)
one of the legs has a "smear". I managed to twist the seal when i put it in (caught it with the slider when i reassembled and twisted the top of it over). It leaked a little more than a smear at this point. So i bought another seal and popped that in and now i have this "smear". I have done a test ride and the smear doesn't appear to have gotten worse so far. the other leg seems to be dry.
The leg had a "smear" when i checked it which is why i changed the seal, it was about the same "severity" as it is now.
i like to save rubber on the front by keeping it in the air as much as possible, this is what lead to the leak in the first place, will this smear rapidly become a gush?
the k1/k2 forks have a nitride coating that wears off where the fork moves through the seals, this was replaced on k3 and greater models. could the lack of coating be the source of the leak?
changing to k3/k4 forks requires new calipers and disks so isn't a cheap job