Dipping into the knowledge well again, so many thanks in advance.
My right fork seal blew. Not sure why, but I reviewed the manual and got familiar with the process, including buying the tool on ebay. A quick recommendation on that is the that the handle is basically a 2 foot 3/8" extension. If you have a couple of longish extensions, then the tool you need to buy is the tip. Cut's the price in half.
Anyway, on to the reason I'm here.
I disassembled the forks per the manual and I noticed a sludge in the bottom tubes. However, in the fork tube that had the bad seal, the sludge was drastically more, in amount and in thickness - goopiness. I've changed the fork oil twice since I got the bike; the first time for maintenance, the second time to increase the viscosity. Both times I used Red Line Synthetic.
So -
What is the sludge?
Can I prevent it from accumulating or better yet, happening again?
What can I use to clean it out? My first instinct was to hit it with a couple of cans of Brake Kleen, but I know that stuff can be too caustic for many parts.
Thank you again for all the help.
The sludge that you talk about is the oil braking down, ( think how many times the spring will go up and down in the forks, ) + if you had a seal go it may take in water on the fork seal, what I have used in the past was a small bit of petrol, shake the forks up and down while pushing the tube in and out, leave to drain the crap out from the tube, then get a rag and wrap it around a stick then use that to clean it out, then put it back together, and ride it.
I used varsol (lots of it) to clean inside mine, swish it around, pump the tube up and down and yes try and get a pipe cleaner of a round brush down inside to get anything loose then I left them hang upside down overnight.
Great! Thank you both.