Tires, forks, brakes, Oh my!

[Matt Warren <matt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Lads,

Getting my 97 RT back in shape for the season...

Front tire is worn. It's a Battlax BT54. Advice on replacement? I'm mostly
commuting these days and otherwise am not an aggressive a rider. Mileage
counts. 

Top of the left fork appears to be leaking. Oily crud has accumulated. From
my look of the BMW and Haynes books, there's nothing but an o-ring at the
bleeder. Is it just a matter of replacing that o-ring?

And as a side question, didn't really figure on how/why these fork tubes
were full of oil. If the telelever strut is doing all the suspension work
and the sliders are just along for the ride (with no typical valving
inside), why filled with oil?

And, with instructions saying to bleed them in a no-load position, how is it
they move at all? I'd think we'd be dealing with a chamber full of oil. If
liquid is not elastic how do they compress at all? In short, what am I
missing here.

Finally, Brake fluid. DOT 4 is the spec. Any opinions on synthetic vs
non-synthetic?

Thanks,
Matt Warren
Andover, MA

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