Front Fork Issue (Gen4 owners)

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100% agree. And the cynic in me thinks it was a cost saving exercise, which has spectacularly backfired, in spite of the claims of better feel and feedback.

Think the brakes was more a branding thing than a cost thing. BMW wanted to stick their name on the calliper. Customers would have paid the extra premium if we could have got Brembos.
 
Whats a BMW Racing Technician? A Factory BMW Technician still wont be a trained suspension technician.

Other than hoping that you have a unit that does not have this issue, or if you do getting BMW to take ownership, not alot..!
Stock suspension is and always will be built to a budget - you should see some of the Tricks that Ohlins pull on their OEM Clad suspension because it certainly is not R&T Grade! I have a seperate post on the vendors page about OEM Suspension.

As for a Racing bike, nobody sticks to stock DDC Suspension unless they do not have the budget or the regs of their club do not allow them to run aftermarket suspension. In our BMW's we run Ohlins but it costs a pretty penny for the contract, the brand is the team owners choice and personally i'd be aligned with K-Tech but that's by the by. Very few riders even in BSB have a say about the brand of suspension in the bike because they don't build it, you will normally find teams will change if they get a better offer or they find a problem which could be attributed in part to the suspension.

That very thing happened this year in BSB, switched from years of running their bikes on Ohlins to K-Tech, and the Thru rod systems (TRDS) which is not available to joe public as of yet.

Anyhow I diversed, as for Oldwobbler's comment, I could not agree more.
 
Whats a BMW Racing Technician? A Factory BMW Technician still wont be a trained suspension technician.

Other than hoping that you have a unit that does not have this issue, or if you do getting BMW to take ownership, not alot..!
Stock suspension is and always will be built to a budget - you should see some of the Tricks that Ohlins pull on their OEM Clad suspension because it certainly is not R&T Grade! I have a seperate post on the vendors page about OEM Suspension.

As for a Racing bike, nobody sticks to stock DDC Suspension unless they do not have the budget or the regs of their club do not allow them to run aftermarket suspension. In our BMW's we run Ohlins but it costs a pretty penny for the contract, the brand is the team owners choice and personally i'd be aligned with K-Tech but that's by the by. Very few riders even in BSB have a say about the brand of suspension in the bike because they don't build it, you will normally find teams will change if they get a better offer or they find a problem which could be attributed in part to the suspension.

That very thing happened this year in BSB, switched from years of running their bikes on Ohlins to K-Tech, and the Thru rod systems (TRDS) which is not available to joe public as of yet.

Anyhow I diversed, as for Oldwobbler's comment, I could not agree more.

I meant a company that actually race bmw's but not nec at pro level.. Would they not at least have an insight to any problems?
 
Refreshing this thread as I need to get mine sorted amongst other things..
I take it that this is now an accepted fact with no arguments. I feel inclined to ask my closest dealer whether they have encountered this and if not move on to the next dealer. I don't want it sitting in the workshop with ummin and ahhrin going on.
 
Refreshing this thread as I need to get mine sorted amongst other things..
I take it that this is now an accepted fact with no arguments. I feel inclined to ask my closest dealer whether they have encountered this and if not move on to the next dealer. I don't want it sitting in the workshop with ummin and ahhrin going on.
I did it at Chandler's in Brighton, was pretty quick job
 
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I got my fork cartridge changed end of last year by Alan Jefferies (no problems with them). The thing is worse than ever now and will be going back to them to fix (again). I understand the next step is to change out the whole fork leg. It seemed to be OK at the start of the year but as the miles have gone on and more specifically, the temperature has gone up, the front end is rattling like mad at low speed (-10 mph) Also the finish on the M levers is coming off again (second set) and the gear box has decided to only change gear when it feels like it - both up and down.
 
As a side issue, when I was down at that suspension course last month Gareth the fella that takes it was hugely knowledgeable on a lot of aspects n discussing in particular costs to build.. he says an average rear shock on a modern bike is "typically" costed out at around 60 quid to the bike manufacturer..

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Happy New Year folks.

Before any replies - I have read each and every post on this topic (GEN4 forks clonking at low speed) globally from google both on this forum and the US based one and there does not appear to be a clear cut answer to this. - it astounds me.

There have been fork replacements- defect has returned. DDC cartridge replacements - defect has returned, the only answer I have seen was from a guy in Turkey who had a part replaced with a modified version and that fixed it long term (long =3K Km) but he did not have the part number.

3 years in on this model there should now be a definitive fix with a modified part number that is fitted as warranty during a routine service.

Can anyone who has had parts replaced under warranty by BMW state here:

1/ Quote The part number and modification state or issue number of that part. ( EG xyz 123 -04. Later than sep 2021)
2/ Fitment of hat part has cured the problem and it hasn?t returned


The above answers would help ensure the pantomime does not have to be repeated globally for everyone who experiences this hugely frustrating defect.

BTW my bike Sept 2020 just below 3K miles and the defect has been evident from about 1k but is now intrusive to the point that I have to do something about it.

In hope

Sandpiper
 
I was told BMW have changed their mind on this (after apparently developing a fix that could be retrofitted) and it's now considered "normal"

Would love to hear of anyone finding dealers who will actually rectify it.

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It may be considered ?normal? and clearly from the length of the threads on this it is widespread but it should not be considered acceptable for anything other than a garden wheelbarrow
 
It may be considered ?normal? and clearly from the length of the threads on this it is widespread but it should not be considered acceptable for anything other than a garden wheelbarrow
Totally agree. I'm looking forward to anything positive that people can report on here about this issue, even if it means me riding to a dealer miles away

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If the clunk is either caused by vertical play within components in the DDC cartridge or a spring snaking sideways within the fork tube under compression then presumably there is not a safety issue as neither of these would affect the compression geometry of the lower fork.

If the noise is associated with bush wear permitting assymetric geometrical fork distortion under load then one would assume there would be premature tyre wear and sub optimal suspension performance that could be construed as reduced safety.

All conjecture as I haven't pulled my front forks apart as they are not leaking and more importantly I am no suspension guru - I just don't want my expensive toy sounding and feeling like a cheap one which at present is detracting from the enjoyment of ownership. I thought this sort of problem was left behind in the 70's when I rode shot Japanese 2 stroke triples!

I await the magical part numbers which constitute the remedy to be listed here ....
 
A slightly different angle, but my HP4 went in for a major service at Williams BMW Manchester. It went in without a clunk, had the fork oil changed and it came out with a clunk and an MOT. They all do that mate was the response. W@nkers
 
A slightly different angle, but my HP4 went in for a major service at Williams BMW Manchester. It went in without a clunk, had the fork oil changed and it came out with a clunk and an MOT. They all do that mate was the response. W@nkers

You accepted it? Think I'll be leaving it there if that's my answer.
 
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