Author Topic: K TECH shock - SHOCK ! (Read 22941 times)

Strifae · « **Reply #25 on:** 28 April 2012, 10:27:48 am »

+1 for Hagon - have had mine for couple of years now and is still brilliant compared to the pants original shock (FZS600 mind)

Phil TK · « **Reply #26 on:** 28 April 2012, 10:43:25 am »

I took a knackered Hagon shock off my Gpz500S years ago and in comparison with the Betor shock I'd bought as a replacement they looked identical. I can't remember prices, but I do remember the Betor was much cheaper than the Hagon list price, I wonder.....
Another good cheapy shock is the YSS range, I had one on my ZZR600 and it did the business and looks pretty good too, silver finish, black spring. YSS are in fact designed by an ex-White Power engineer, apparently.
Have a top of range Wilbers on my Fazer, can't fault it.

Fuzzy · « **Reply #27 on:** 28 April 2012, 12:44:39 pm »

Haven't actually got round to buying an upgrade yet but from what I've seen so far I'd go with a Wilbers. Chaps at Revsracing were very helpful as well, worth considering.

pitternator · « **Reply #28 on:** 28 April 2012, 05:40:11 pm »

I had a hagon shock back in 2003 and it was pants. Maybe they have improved, but it was only worth having for the spring ! . The damping was poor and only a single screw adjuster , yet it cost the same as lukes shock!
. Best idea is either get the OE shock resprung / refurbed or buy one of lukes R6 shock kits.
I have a refurbed OE shock already , but the Ktech shock ( when its fixed ! ) is far far superior...its why I bought it in the first place.

mcyoungy · « **Reply #29 on:** 28 April 2012, 08:51:59 pm »

the best suspension is the best you've ever had.

pitternator · « **Reply #30 on:** 29 April 2012, 08:25:51 am »

I have never tried say an ohlins, so I cant say if it does move the game on...but tbh with my K tech set up I was very happy with the comfort / handling blend of damping. I would not have particularly looked for anything else. The bike performed well for my uses with the suspension package.I have ridden fazers for over 50k miles with a K tech set up , and 4 big euro trips, so its a decent judgement period.

mcyoungy · « **Reply #31 on:** 29 April 2012, 11:08:30 am »

But some folk have never ridden a bike with as good a set up, so when they fit a Hagon they think it's the best thing since sliced bread because it's so much better than the stocker.

Re Ohlins or any other premium brand: if it's set up wrongly for you it will still feel bloody awful. If you're happy with your K-Tech shock then that's great. And if they'll fix it that's even better but they should be getting it right first time regardless.

Strifae · « **Reply #32 on:** 29 April 2012, 03:17:55 pm »

I agree with the above the Hagon was great after the original and I set it up properly with static sag for weight etc

But no doubt an ohlins or similar would knock its socks off

locksmith · « **Reply #33 on:** 30 April 2012, 09:49:54 am »

Wonder how the team talk is going?

VNA - BMW Wank · « **Reply #34 on:** 30 April 2012, 11:23:54 am »

Hope you get it all sorted out Pitternator.

I had my gen1 rear shock upgraded to K-Tech spec. What a difference! Brilliant and it's still working fine years later.

I had hoped to do the front forks as well, but this stuff ain't cheap and so I haven't quite got round to it.

What I would say, is that if you have a gen1 thou with the OE shock complete with OE spring, is that unless you weigh only 8 or 9 stone (and any previous owners did too) is get the right spring fitted for your weight and get the seals overhauled and shock re-gassed. The OE spring is a joke for the average UK rider.

Phil TK · « **Reply #35 on:** 30 April 2012, 12:53:22 pm »

Quote from: pitternator on 29 April 2012, 08:25:51 am

I have never tried say an ohlins, so I cant say if it does move the game on..

It's when you've got high and low comp damping adjustment to play with that you realise just how good a shock absorber can get. I thought the comp adjustment on my Wilbers was an adjustment just sitting there waiting for me to screw up and initially thought I'd leave it well alone, but the handbook blurb encourages you to twiddle so I took care over trying different settings and reckon I've got it just right, certainly noticably better than the stock factory setting. So I 'm quite pleased about that.

pitternator · « **Reply #36 on:** 01 May 2012, 08:01:17 am »

Well the team talk went OK...I saw the guy who actually does the work, and he simply said they will strip it all down again, recheck etc and get back to me. I couldnt stop there as its one of the few fine days we have had and 4000 bricks are a calling me !...so I left the units with KT.Apologies to Karlo but I was there at 8.15 and left at 8.35...just couldnt stop.
He did insist the forks had been done, saying the forks had been polished( on their lathe) so they must have been taken apart to do that.He reckons some of what I was complaining about ( stiction) is due to new parts...but I pointed out to him that IMO they still behaved OTR like the old forks !..so I said, is there anything he can do ( apart from changing springs) to make them more supple ?...weaker springs would not help IMO as I have set all this suspension for rider sag , and they are in the right range.
The ball is in their court just now, so will report back when they have more news.
Another positive is I quizzed the guy about spares for the shock, and he did say they have enough.Its just the shock bodies they dont have. He reckons the shock could have a fault with the piston rod...dont quite know how this could be, as its never been crashed , dropped or even hit a bad bump...but logic says if they did fix it originally, its gone almost straight away...its likely to be such..he said the reason there are no clicks to the rebound adjuster is cos the unit has lost its gas...my only issue is that this is the fault/ reason I took the unit to them for, and the repair lasted just 3 hours on the road...so I do hope they can now properly diagnose and rectify the fault.

The sceptic could say that a suspension expert should have looked at just why a unit lost its gas in the first place , and put the underlying fault right....not just rebuild it per se.I still think if I had spoken to the sharp end in the first place I might have prevented this thing happening ...I still think the communication link there dont help.The guy who managed the customer service operation when I first deposited / picked up the units was flustered / unhelpful and unexpansive. Its possibly the classic communication problem !... $:\$

pitternator · « **Reply #37 on:** 02 May 2012, 07:48:42 am »

picked up the suspension yesterday, they ( quote) " couldnt find anything wrong " ! ..yeah right ...shocks lose their damping oil all the time, when pushed mike said he found asmall piece of grit which may have been the culprit !...yikes shocks have to be able to shrug off more than this surely ??
...theysay they have rebuilt forks and shock, but probably wont get time to test till the weekend now. KT claim the forks had been fully serviced too...hmmm...they needed 48 hrs to find that out though !

feck I am really getting paranoia now

devilsyam · « **Reply #38 on:** 02 May 2012, 07:57:58 am »

why does bullshit come to mind

mcyoungy · « **Reply #39 on:** 02 May 2012, 09:01:34 am »

they found a small piece of grit inside your shock?

was it oil or gas the shock lost?

VNA - BMW Wank · « **Reply #40 on:** 02 May 2012, 12:15:06 pm »

What is the "shock body"?

Is that not from the OE shock?

Tmation · « **Reply #41 on:** 02 May 2012, 03:21:03 pm »

No the body is different, it has threaded spring preload adjusters not stepped.

They use both ends and some other bits.

pitternator · « **Reply #42 on:** 03 May 2012, 07:32:38 am »

Its all a bit unlikely aint it ??... I mean how can a bit of grit wreck a shock ? ....it must get bombarded by grit all the time... trouble is I never saw it being stripped, so cant say otherwise...but I am worried that the shock may not go any distance if its that vulnerable... $:\$ .. and I must be feckin lucky I got 3 yrs riding from it so far...

I keep thinking how poor the rebound adjuster knob was back in february when I realised how bad it was, hardly any clicks, rebound action very poor, the main reason I wanted the shock overhauled ...and how when I tried to move the rebound adjuster at the time I picked the shock back up in march it was very stiff, but thought no more as it had just been serviced so must be Ok ! ...yet now it twirls around with very little effort....I really aint convinced it was ever done in the first place !

....
.if It all feels dramatically better this weekend, me suspicions will be even further increased ....but if it is , I will be happy since thats all I wanted in any case..

I will let you know!

mcyoungy · « **Reply #43 on:** 03 May 2012, 09:00:56 am »

I was thinking that if they're saying they found grit inside your shock then their workshop must be pretty filthy.

cable tie · « **Reply #44 on:** 03 May 2012, 09:03:17 am »

With em saying it was a grit issue obviously there claiming its no fault of there's, so will they be giving you another BILL !!

Falcon 269 · « **Reply #45 on:** 03 May 2012, 09:40:48 am »

Strewth, how feccin' paranoid can you lot get?

Until this happened K-tech were the bee's wossnames to those who'd used them, now there's all sorts of dark mutterings and bad thoughts about dirty workshops and lord knows what else.

External grit won't harm any shock so this isn't going to be a repeat problem for that reason.

I've seen how scrupulously clean the K-tech workshops are and believe me, suspension work needs that kind of cleanliness and organisation. It's a fact that a tiny bit of grit or metal swarf in the works can cause mayhem. Difficult and embarrassing to admit if that occurs but the true test of any firm is how they handle the things that go wrong ... and they inevitably go wrong for even the best of them.

Damping goes off as the oil gets thin with age and use. The nitrogen gas charge can leak out slowly over time. Adjusters get corroded, clicks cease to be audible or tangible ... all these are symptoms of a shock needing an overhaul.

Instead treating this like some feccin' girlie soap opera, why not park the borderline hysteria and see what comes back from K-tech?

pitternator · « **Reply #46 on:** 03 May 2012, 12:31:17 pm »

"Instead treating this like some feccin' girlie soap opera, why not park the borderline hysteria and see what comes back from K-tech?"

mike, you have to be there to appreciate my scepticism... it could be a case of KT digging a deep hole instead of admitting an oversight....or maybe I am just an old crabby fecker who aint got a clue wot hes talkin about , shaking his crooked stick at a bunch of young whippersnappers !

...

I do have the spenshun back ( I picked it up tues late pm), and it feels like its been looked at !..very clean, like a little "precious"...... Like I say, the rebound adjuster spins nicely now. Wont have time to get it back on bike till later in week, but do plan a decent ride this weekend ( on grit free roads

)....to see how long the shock lasts this time

I do have a decent tasting hat on standby in case its all my fault

Falcon 269 · « **Reply #47 on:** 03 May 2012, 01:19:57 pm »

I appreciate your frustration and disappointment, Jon. Noneone likes to be left feeling let down by a company they trusted in the past. However, I will stake my own hat on it not being deliberate in any way or the result - as someone else suggested here - of K-tech growing too big for their own boots as a result of their race success, thereby becoming indifferent to the bread and butter side of their business.

K-tech have worked very hard for a decade and more to build a world-wide reputation as leaders in track and road suspension. Their race-led success at WSB, WSS and UK national level is what brings the buying public like you and me to their door. The road and track side of their business provides the financial underpinning for the high-end race endeavours.

A straightforward service on a pair of very simple forks like the Gen 1's probably takes a technician less than 90 minutes. I find it incomprehensible that they would deliberately fail to do that work properly and risk a toxic thread like this appearing via a Google search. Check the tenor of some of the posts above and think how that might influence a potential K-tech customer's perspective and choice. One skipped or poorly done service could cost them considerably more in lost trade and tarnished reputation.

It simply doesn't add up, does it?

Falcon 269 · « **Reply #48 on:** 03 May 2012, 01:41:22 pm »

And another thing ... as Columbo used to say.

When you refit your forks, before you tighten the pinch bolt see how far you can push/pull the right fork leg out of parallel with the left side. You will be astonished. Now consider that even fraction of a degree out of parallel contributes to stiction.

That's why it's important to bounce the forks into proper alignment before tightening the pinch bolt.

Falcon 269 · « **Reply #49 on:** 03 May 2012, 04:42:51 pm »

Quote from: VNA on 02 May 2012, 12:15:06 pm

What is the "shock body"?

Is that not from the OE shock?

This is the K-tech shock minus spring (which is specified to suit rider's weight, of course). New shock body, piston, preload collars, rebound and compression valves & adjusters and so on. The only OE parts retained are the top and bottom mounts and the gas reservoir.