[JeremyCondie]

Hi Guys

I just bought Showa S4R forks (for my SportsClassic).

Stripped them down and found a few issues.

1: One of the Spring Collars had split (picture below). The Spacer above had somehow been forced into the collar, splitting it. Any idea why this happened?

2: The Spring Collars have a plastic "Dust Seal" (I believe this is what it is called) inserted at the bottom end. These Seals have a plastic ring. It might be a "Centering Ring" One had broken (see photo). Can anyone confirm the name of this part?

Appreciate all advice.
Thanks.

 

[ducvet]

YIKES!

I can say I have not seen one that bad in my 20 years doing this as a profession. I am trying to figure out if it was simply a defective tube,improperly assembled or owned by a moron who was abusing the sh#t out of that bike...... I would bet all three.

Start with some new preload spacers and set internal preload around 15mm. You are fine running without the broken ring on your preload spacer, I see them all the time without them and it does not seem to matter much. If you do feel you need them they only come with the preload tube so about $40 per side.

Also given the damage to the fork and the preload being maxxed out you should look at the preload pin/ring. You need to disassemble the cap to do so but the preload pins you see in the picture are just held in place with a plastic ring inside the cap. It is not uncommon to break the pins out of the ring when unsuported at max preload, then you add the force they did to break that tube. You have to buy a cap to get the ring/pin part.

 

[DuckMan]

Doh!!!!

It’s amazing the stuff you can find on eBay!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Yorik]

Yup. Seen something like it before.

This is the 996 fork I purchased to make my hybrid 996/ST3 forks.

 

[JeremyCondie]

Thanks ducvet

Just to clarify, how do I "set internal preload around 15mm?" The spacers all appear to a fixed height.

I am intending to replace the tube (preload spacer collar) and its spacer and washer that sit above it (that were forced into the split tube).

The three little pins in the plug/top cap appear to be okay. They were descended, but receded into the cap when it's removed. (I haven't worked out how to get them to pop out).

 

[JeremyCondie]

I've had an epiphany I believe.

Seeing Yorik's split preload spacer makes me think these spacers are too weak for the job. Why is the steel so thin? Hitting a large bump will put a huge load on this thin-walled tube, forcing it into the plastic caps at either end. I can see how a major hit would cause the tube to ride over the outside of the plastic cap, slowly at first, but once that happens, the cap gets forced deeper and deeper inside, splitting the tube/spacer. What a daft design. The plastic cap should be wider and/or the tube should be thicker/stronger. My 2c.

 

[JeremyCondie]

Wow! Now here is fantastic service! I contacted the eBay seller ("gsmess") about the split tube.

His reply:

"I am incredibly sorry to hear that. When there are no signs that something would have a problem, we tend not to tear into it, but it appears this time, luck was not on our side. I have issued you a refund for $74.99 because there is likely some incidentals that will come up, and a bit of lunch money for the trouble as well.

I apologize again for this inconvenience and thank you for working with us."

I would definitely recommend his services.

 

[stelbo]

This is the 996 fork I purchased to make my hybrid 996/ST3 forks.

I am sorry and not meaning to hijack the thread.
I saw Yorik's message about exchanging the front forks internals of his st with one from a 996.
I have been thinking about it for some time now, but I was thinking more of a direct swap rather than internals exchange.
Yorik do you think that it would be possible? what prons and cons?

Thanks a lot for reading

 

[Yorik]

I saw Yorik's message about exchanging the front forks internals of his st with one from a 996.
I have been thinking about it for some time now, but I was thinking more of a direct swap rather than internals exchange.
Yorik do you think that it would be possible? what prons and cons?

It is possible with a spacer for the thinner fork stanchions. I would have done that, but I wasn't aware that someone actually made them. Now, I forget who it is. If you would like to continue this conversation, post to this thread: https://www.ducati.ms/forums/40-spo...ed-suspension-996-forks-yes-its-possible.html and pardon my enthusiasm and newbie-ness. It was my first fork project.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

 

[duc96cr]

This is what happens when someone knows how to get the front wheel up, but not how to bring it back down.

 

[Tooljunkie911]

Yup! Lots of BAD WHEELIES!