Front Fork Issue (Gen4 owners)
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My bike has developed this noise too even the dealers demo bike has a bit of noise but no where as bad as mine. Dropping mine off later this week to be looked at. Mine also a match 20 bike.
Finally got my bike in for it first service - 7K miles. Service carried out, new front disks ordered as mine are warped, front wheel bearings fitted correctly as mine had not been pushed into the hub enough, new M levers fitted as the black anodizing had started to fail, software updated to sort cold start issues and . . . . new damper unit for left fork leg ordered to sort the fork knock. It could be in for a while so I'm pleased I got the summer out of it. The worst bit? I have this as a loan bike which just makes me want to cry!
New damper unit eh. Do let us know if that fixes it.
And I agree with Schuey, that bike looks fun (but no replacement for an RR)
And I agree with Schuey, that bike looks fun (but no replacement for an RR)
stuartb
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Yep. I stuck a post up about it previously. JamieMac explained what the issue was. There is a spacer which sits between the wheel bearings on either side of the hub. One, or both of my wheel bearings had not been pushed into the hub enough so the spacer was free to move about once the axle had been removed. It wasn't a problem with the axle in and tight. With the axle out the spacer would drop and block the hole the axle would normally go into. It made getting the front wheel back in a total PITA. Not the most auspicious start for a new bike.
I'm not sure how easy it will be to tell. I picked the bike up Oct last year, did 500 cold miles with no issue. The first few rides this year were cold to - again no issue. It wasn't until we started to get into summer the knock became really noticeable. My last few rides have been cold and the knock has not been as obvious. I'm guessing the knock gets worse when the oil is hot and thinner. Or I could just be imagining that.
Oli
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For what it is worth, when I got my Gen 4 back with the second replacement fork, the lack of knocking was immediately apparent. Was a night and day improvement
Short update on my bike. Just rang the dealer to see what is happening with my bike. 3.5 weeks now and no word. The damping unit has arrived. They have now ordered a special tool in order to change it!! This will probably be the nylon socket to get the fork top off. Can't believe they have never done one of these before. Fingers crossed for next week.
Dealerships of old, (cars), used to be automatically sent specialist tools for new models and invoiced straight away with the threat of pulling the franchise.
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Some manufacturers have different part numbers for the same tool. One gives the dealer price, one for the customer. The problem is finding them. Understandably It?s very, very hard. I stumbled across the BMW scooter ones accidentally when servicing my mates horrible GT650 Scooter. The large variator holder was ?1.83p for example. J
A friend of mine has just picked up a brand new XR with the same marzocchi forks. His clunk like mad at low speed so he's having to send it straight back in. BMW seem to be persisting with this damper unit even though people have been complaining about it for 18 months.
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i got my bike back from the dealers on fri,they replaced the internal damping unit on the left fork leg,i havent riden it yet cos of the weather,but when you compress the forks its making the same knocking noise as i did before which you can feel in the left hand grip,they also did the clutch release bearing,the clutch feels lighter but when put in first gear man does it clonk,worse than before,plus the front wheel is binding really bad,it didnt before,anyone got any ideas why,and what should i do about the knocking in the left fork leg,demand a new complete leg,or what the next step to take
Managed a 120 mile round trip yesterday dodging the piles of debris left in the road by all the rain here recently. The new damping unit felt pretty much the same as the old one but without the "knock" at low speeds. I think its fixed it. Its difficult to tell as the previous unit did not knock in cold weather, it got progressively worse as the ambient temperature went up. I guess this is as a result of the oil thinning out. I'll find out for sure next year!
SSR Suspension
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Remember Dealer Technicians are not trained in Suspension - a generic dealer fork service is a fluid out and seal swap job. Marzocchi provide the units to BMW at 'X' cost. Marzocchi have been plagued with problems and have gone bust more times than I remember! This issue is worldwide and appears on other DDC Forks, not just the S Thou.
Great....... so what's the answer? Don't buy one lol
Is it something that a BMW 'racing' technician can get over?
If you have a 'knocking' unit they can be replaced under warranty. It does feel like the move to Marzocchi from Sachs and from Brembo to Hayes has been far more trouble than they were worth.
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.
