K TECH shock - SHOCK !

[VNA]

What is the "shock body"?

Is that not from the OE shock?

[Tmation]

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


They use both ends and some other bits.

[pitternator]

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 ! :rolleyes ....
.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]

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

[cable tie]

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]

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]

"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 !  :lol ...

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  :rolleyes

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

[Falcon 269]

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]

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]

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.

[mcyoungy]

Mike I'm not going to get into an argument over K-tech's worth. You've had great experience with them; mine wasn't.

I was interested in finding out what the OP was saying about this grit - was it found inside the shock or outside? Also were K-tech saying loss of oil or loss of gas? Both seem to get mentioned in the thread.

You're right - it doesn't add up, hence the questions.

[Falcon 269]

Wasn't looking to get into an argument about this with anyone, mate.   Just felt that the melodrama was getting a bit much, that's all. :lol

Mike

[mcyoungy]

aye but the suspense is killing me!

[Falcon 269]

[cable tie]

I can just picture Jon bouncing up and down on the front end !   




For it to all end up in a heap on the floor  LOL now when he said bounce it did not mean with all your weight LOL

[devilsyam]

reminds me of a film "John pitt in True Grit"  :rollin

[pitternator]

at least we can laff about it, ( me too)...but I do put it to the floor to decide just what might have happened if I had indeed been a newbie.? KT are high in my estimation, so have persevered with what has now been 4 trips back and forward , much lost time etc. If I had experienced this with another company I would probably have gone away feeling very miffed. Au contrair, I am still positive about KT, I aint ditched them, and I have  a solid history of many years happy fully satisfied riding on their products. This all could just be a coincidence/ bad luck. Nowhere have I said I felt they did this deliberately , but I am still unsure there is any evidence they did the service in the first instance.Its easy to argue not , given my experience. If it has been missed I feel its more likely a  human error type cock up, and KT( or the person concerned ) not wanting to admit it. In spite of all their technical set up, they have  a very basic system of scheduling work inside the factory, and I feel its possible with the quantity of suspension they have there a mistake could happen. Simply by putting it in the wrong area could have led to this mistake.I aint sure they have a failsafe  system of second checking , its all down to one guy...who did not serve me this time, I was dealt with by mike the technician..so I know its been done ! ....something I really had bad feelings about the first time round, when there was evidence of a confusing organisation of incoming and out going product.
A big positive though was mikes( at KT) way he dealt with me, listened to what I had to say , and hopefully has delivered what I wanted.

I dismiss your notion of the misaligned forks in my case , as I did try this technique and there was no difference...indeed this happens automatically since I dont tighten the axle bolt until the weight of the bike is on it, and I do give several pumps as well..
I am looking forward to getting the bike back together this weekend.

[Falcon 269]

When you re-assemble this weekend, Jon, try the method described in post 3 here:

http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/showthr...t=stiction

Dismiss all you like but it's a fact that the forks need to be perfectly parallel to minimize stiction and operate at their best.

[pitternator]

Yes I do this technique on re assembly...I wasnt eschewing the technique  but the implication the fork action was down simply to misaligned forks.Me whole point Mike is the forks felt exactly the same after the service as before I took them in !
ditto the shock.

[Falcon 269]

That's good, Jon ... just wanted to eliminate other causes.

Hopefully you'll be happier with the forks and shock next time around.

Cheers!

Mike