Suspension

H

Holderbaum256

PR Addict
Have a question for everyone here. I'll try to keep it short. I recently had my suspension freshened up. Got it all back installed on the bike. After the first 2 rides the forks started leaking. Took it back to the builder and they put better seals in with a double lip. When I went to pick them up the second time I spoke with one of the employees. He informed me that they replaced the seals with a better one. He also told me that they may leak again because the DCL coating was starting to wear. So I took them home and installed them. Bled the air and put the bike away without riding it.
About a week later I got the bike out to get it ready to go riding that weekend and I noticed the forks were leaking. It was Sunday so emailed the builder and asked him to call me. He called that following Tuesday I believe. I explained to him what was going on. He told me it was the coating and that I need to have them re chromed or buy good used ones. I asked why I wasn't informed about this problem when I originally brought them my suspension. He said because they usually don't have this problem. I asked why they didn't call me and let me make the decision. I told him if they were needing replaced I would of done it when they were brought to him the first time because I like to fix everything right the first time.
We ended the phone call with him saying he would see what he could do but they already replaced the seals with no cost to me.
So where I'm at now... No phone call back with leaking forks. Not sure what to. I spent over $500 on this suspension to be freshened up and still have the same problem that I originally brought the suspension to this builder for. I believe that they should make it right. What is everyone's opinion?
Any help would be appreciated.
 
Coming from someone who works in the DLC field, There is NO WAY the coating is "beginning to wear"
I am assuming you are talking about Kawi forks? They are in deed DLC coated, DLC is not chrome. If someone tells you they need "re-chromed" that is NOT a simple process and the likelihood of parts needing new DLC is so remote its nuts.
Not to geek out on you with info but hard chrome has a hardness of around 900HV, DLC is in the range of 4 to 5000.. Yeah, that stuff is hard. DLC also has the lowest coefficient of friction of any surface finish known to man at about .05 to .15 pending on sub straight prep. Now, while DLC is very hard and slick, it is also rather brittle. If the fork tube sees a violent horizontal load like a hard endo and the bike lands straight up and down with all the weight on the front wheel, the forks can flex. This flex can cause the coating to crack which could cause leaking seals. If this has happened, then you need to buy new fork tubes. Don't bother with "re-coating".
If it were me, I would have another GOOD mechanic put in GOOD seals and see what happens. If it still leaks, then son, you are buying new tubes.
 
It was very thoughtful not to mention the company involved although I'm pretty sure I know who it is just by reading your message. $500 to freshen up your fork seals seems steep to me. You probably got a couple more parts you didn't care about (bushings, rings) but for that kind of money I'd be demanding a refund or seals that don't leak. ck1 gave you good advice. Seek a second opinion. There are a few suspension guys on here that would love your business.
 
Id suggest Parma Dave. A lot of people can fix things. Dave is one of the very few, that I've personally met, that has the expertise to determine the primary cause of what happened in the first place. He is more then fair on his prices and always has great turnaround time. He has a lot of suspension knowledge as well.

I agree with CK1 tho. The coating beginning to wear .....not sure Id personally buy that...but hey, I'm sure there are extreme cases where maybe it has happened. There is also a right way and a wrong way to put the forks back on the bike. If your not familiar with this see a Honda manual or do some research.

Good Luck...let us know what you find...
 
I see your in Akron, give Andre at Coppersmith a call. They service all brands not just Ohlins. hey are great honest people and can at least let you know whats really going on.
 
I appreciate all the advise. The previous owner had these neoprene type dust gaurds on the bike when I bought it. This company is saying that those are why the coating is wearing but as far as I ever seen they never touched the actual fork. They said its like sand paper on the seals which would make sense but what doesn't is after the second set of seals started to leak without even riding the bike.
As for what CK1 said the forks are not bent or damaged in anyway or at least that is what this company said. I've owned the bike for a year now and haven't rode it much and most certainly haven't had any crashes. They just started leaking one day and that is why I took my suspension in. Oh, the 500 dollars that I paid was service to the shock. This company is supposed to be world class suspension experts. So I guess big question is. Shouldn't they have brought this to my attention when they first received my suspension? And... Since they didn't not do so and didn't do a inspection like they state they do shouldn't they take care of the problem? I'm trying not to start any fires here but 500 dollars of my money is gone with not the best results.
I really don't want to go to anyone else I would just like the company to stand behind the problem but I don't think they see it. Again thank for the advice. There's room for more!
 
I think we all know who your talking about and have either had or know someone who has had a similar experience with them and wonder how there still getting any business at all with all these forums to share our experiences in.
 
Well I don't know who your talking about so please, do tell. This is the perfect place to air your issues that are indeed fact driven and not purely hearsay.
Again, I don't care if the dust covers are made of sand paper. DLC is "Diamond like carbon", meaning the only substance harder is in fact diamond. Unless those neoprene boots are laced with diamond dust, it not going to hurt the tubes. PERIOD
 
$500 bucks to service a rear shock?! That is just flat our ridiculous. Iv'e had my shock serviced many times for 80-90 bucks all day. Again unless ur shock had some serious issues...this makes zero sense to me. I hope Im missing something here??
 
$500 to service forks and shock. The builder contacted me the other day. Said they would make it right. I'll give an update once their repaired. Thanks to everyone for the advice.
 
That makes a little more sense but still seems kinda high. You can get a re-valve for close to that price.
 
Clint1991 said:
I think we all know who your talking about and have either had or know someone who has had a similar experience with them and wonder how there still getting any business at all with all these forums to share our experiences in.
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I can assure you, you have no idea who they are talking about. They aren't talking about our local track support truck guys.
 
20 bucks says it's either factory-connection or pro-action. I firmly believe that once these suspensions shops get big enough, the quality starts to fade and it becomes so much more profit oriented.

I had a very similar experience with MCR up in Michigan, Matt Crown was the man, helped me out so much back in my racing days, and the work was always top notch and reasonably priced. He would come out to races and tweak the clickers until it was dialed (even did it for all us michigan boys down at lorretta's).

Couple years later I took a set of suspension to them for a buddy as a gift, told them I just wanted them freshened up, oil and seals. $750's later it was completely re-valved with Gold valves. They guy wouldn't let me talk to Matt because he was out testing with Travis Pastrana and assured me that's what I told him to do. Took me 3 months and hours of frustration before I finally got a hold of Matt and he made it right.

I hope they fix their mistake for you Holder!
 
KTMkarl794 said:
20 bucks says it's either factory-connection or pro-action. I firmly believe that once these suspensions shops get big enough, the quality starts to fade and it becomes so much more profit oriented.

I had a very similar experience with MCR up in Michigan, Matt Crown was the man, helped me out so much back in my racing days, and the work was always top notch and reasonably priced. He would come out to races and tweak the clickers until it was dialed (even did it for all us michigan boys down at lorretta's).

Couple years later I took a set of suspension to them for a buddy as a gift, told them I just wanted them freshened up, oil and seals. $750's later it was completely re-valved with Gold valves. They guy wouldn't let me talk to Matt because he was out testing with Travis Pastrana and assured me that's what I told him to do. Took me 3 months and hours of frustration before I finally got a hold of Matt and he made it right.

I hope they fix their mistake for you Holder!
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Agreed, mostly because once they go big the guys doing the work make the same no matter how the reputation or quality of work there doing is.
 
Before people go guessing names and trashing reputations lets stop with pulling names out of the hat now. The OP was wise and respectful to leave the name out. Like it was mentioned before, if this shop/person continues this type of work they will be out of business. Im assuming since the OP hasnt posted that he has been taken care of. If not it is his decision to post the shops name and final outcome.
 
hershey said:
Before people go guessing names and trashing reputations lets stop with pulling names out of the hat now. The OP was wise and respectful to leave the name out. Like it was mentioned before, if this shop/person continues this type of work they will be out of business. Im assuming since the OP hasnt posted that he has been taken care of. If not it is his decision to post the shops name and final outcome.
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I thought you enjoyed stirring the pot?

I'm not dragging anyone's name through the mud, I never blamed Matt, just the guys dishing out the customer service. Just stating my personal opinion, the bigger the shop the less personal it is, in turn, higher frequency of lower quality service. Quality suspension is personal, tailored to a riders needs and style.
 
KTMkarl794 said:
I thought you enjoyed stirring the pot?

I'm not dragging anyone's name through the mud, I never blamed Matt, just the guys dishing out the customer service. Just stating my personal opinion, the bigger the shop the less personal it is, in turn, higher frequency of lower quality service. Quality suspension is personal, tailored to a riders needs and style.
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No no... your experience with Matt is fine to talk about. Im saying guessing at who made the OP upset. Rumors start that way and can really hurt a business. Your post wasnt really all that bad but you know how things start snowballing!

Now how about those neck braces???
 
Ok fellas this is where I'm at. After trying figure out what to do I agree that new lower fork tubes would have to be the route to go if I was going to be able to ride again. They told me they would get the tubes for me at their cost and swap everything over. After talking to they I didn't really like what extra money I was going to have to dish out for not being an everyday rider.
So I jumped on ebay and found a used set of forks for an 09 kx250f. Called the builder he said they would work but would probably need triple clamps. So I picked up the forks and triple clamp for $400.00. Today I went to install them on the bike and as I was disassembling I noticed both lower fork tubes had side to side movement. So I believe this is why all the seals that have been installed are leaking. What do you all think? Shouldn't this have been found during inspection? Where should I go from here? I'm starting to get irritated and I'm a very patient person but I feel like to whole is getting deeper and before you know it I'll have more money in stock forks than what the bike is worth
 
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