Help cracked fork!

[Freakshow]

Sorry Guys I missed TCWNR was really looking forward to it!!!:bye:


I did an oil change and noticed a nice crack at the bottom of my front fork (see attached photos):gob:

I am not sure how long it has been there or what to do, Any suggestions?

Also is there anyone else out there with this bike has seen this??

Wellington Motorcycles are checking it out with Suzuki at the moment.

The bike is a 2003 GSX250 still with original front wheel so no one has touched that bolt...

[Crisis management]

Technically speaking it looks buggered.
Without seeing the item in the flesh its impossible to tell whether that is a quality defect, stress crack or impact damage, that's probably imaterial anyway.
Seems you have a number of choices;
Suzuki accept its a quality defect and help out with parts? I assume there is no warranty on a 3 year old bike.
You fix it at your cost; second hand fork leg ex wreckers or new (expensive?)
or try to weld repair the item.
I suspect the most likely is that your paying for it, so I would be looking for a second hand fork leg..... the other options will be expensive.
Good luck!

[R6_kid]

those fork bottoms arent too expensive i dont think, then again i've never needed to buy one...

[aff-man]

Dude the bolt would have been taken out everytime they changes the tyre. You never know whoever did the work may have overtightened.

You could get it welded but then I don't know what the WOF situation would be after that.

[Ixion]

Good weld job and some time with a file afterward, you won't see where it was. Not majorily loadbearing, it's mainly for location. Question is whether you could pick up a second hand fork lower leg for less than the cost of the welding.

Forks usually get busted higher up in an accident so you might get a bent leg at a wreckers cheaply.

[Freakshow]

Dude the bolt would have been taken out everytime they changes the tyre. You never know whoever did the work may have overtightened.

You could get it welded but then I don't know what the WOF situation would be after that.

Thats the funny thing about it, no one has touched it since its still the original front tyre.

[aff-man]

Thats the funny thing about it, no one has touched it since its still the original front tyre.

Possibly the person who assembled the bike then.... Or more likly a factory flaw.....

[imdying]

To do that, you'd have to hit a curb pretty hard. If there's no dents in the rim, and the wheels never been off, it wouldn't be totally unreasonable for Suzuki to cough up for another. (imho)

[Freakshow]

To do that, you'd have to hit a curb pretty hard. If there's no dents in the rim, and the wheels never been off, it wouldn't be totally unreasonable for Suzuki to cough up for another. (imho)

That is what I am thinking cos there are no dents in the rim. To me it all leads to dodgy fork.

[JKWNZ]

Thats really scary... most likely a materials defect if everything else is fine and the bikes been treated nicely.

(You'd expect the other side of the bolt hole to fail under a bearing load with an impact which is nice and noticeable... a crack is something that can fail catastrophically so you normally design against it)

If its a materials problem Suzuki should cover it under the Consumer Guarantees Act. Usually they'll be scared it wont be a one off and may be a batch problem.

Judging by the amount of chipping above and below the crack I reckon you've probably ridden around on it a little bit, who knows for how long... lucky...

[Motu]

A bit of both I reckon - it's possible that there should be a slight gap in the pinch area,but someone may have over tightened to close the gap....then again most forks of this design have a fair amount of give to cope with this abuse,as the joint is supposed to open and close.Bit of a design/casting flaw combined with overzealous ''don't want this falling out'' tightening.

[SLight]

Too many wheelstands aye? Either way the fork is gonna have to come out and pulled down. A good welder will be able to fix that no worries and have it cleaned up so you would'nt notice it. Being under the axle, it is not a highly stressee area and unlikely to repeat the crack if tightened to the correct specs. 2 hours max should have it cleaned up and ready to put back together. $100? give or take. New oil and seals another $40-50. Whats a second hand fork gonna cost you? Check it out the engineers first. Have a good shop round tho. Prices and hourly can differ.

[JKWNZ]

I wouldn't recommend welding the joint... the additional stress concentration from a welded joint means its likely to fatigue/crack again. The lower part of the forks are still under some stress and no weld is going to go through the thickness of a part like that, leaving a void to corrode... stress... blah blah blah

[Freakshow]

I wouldn't recommend welding the joint... the additional stress concentration from a welded joint means its likely to fatigue/crack again. The lower part of the forks are still under some stress and no weld is going to go through the thickness of a part like that, leaving a void to corrode... stress... blah blah blah

Yeah I agree, I dont like the Idea of welding as if it cracked there then it could crack somewhere else in the cast. Plus its to thick for a weld.
Thanks

[Crisis management]

I would avoid welding (IMHO) unless it is the last resort.
The heat of welding will swell & distort the surrounding area requiring a rebore of the axle hole to get it round & true again as well as cosmetic filing & polishing the leg to achieve a good external finish.
It will be far cheaper to buy a second hand leg.

[Freakshow]

I would avoid welding (IMHO) unless it is the last resort.
The heat of welding will swell & distort the surrounding area requiring a rebore of the axle hole to get it round & true again as well as cosmetic filing & polishing the leg to achieve a good external finish.
It will be far cheaper to buy a second hand leg.

So who knows where I could get a second hand one, either welly or Auck as postage wouldn't be much!

[crashe]

List of Bike wreckers:
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=13359

[Freakshow]

Well took it to the dealership and they did the expected... Nothing.

However a friend (experienced knowlegable rider:not:)called up the suzuki guys and they do were going to do nothing, but the dumb ass made the comment that he might of considered it, if it was a bigger more expensive bike! :mad: What Kind of attidude is that! Now in a few months when I get my full licence do you think I ll be looking for a Suzuki... Not Anymore..:mad: :mad: :bs: :bs: :2guns: :angry2: :angry2: :bash:

[crazybigal]

Dude! you prob went to wellington motorcycles didnt you!
they are not intrested unless they can sell your a HD or something expensive!
the fact is these bikes are cheap, i had a crash damaged one and i was amazed at the low quality and the high price of new parts.
dont get me wrong im not digging at your bike, it didd have some good points!.(nice suzuki 6 speed box)
Cut your losses and find a second hand leg, there are plenty around! 1 or 2 of these gets trashed every week!
just be thankfull it didnt fall apart on the motorway!
Im sure someone on here who is local to you will give you a hand to rebuild the fork if your not keen to take it in to the ripoff merchants to have it fixed.
good luck

[Wasp]

you do know that ones being wrecked at buckets n bits aye.....?

not that i like dealing with them.... but i suppose if you have to you have to

http://www.motorcyclesnz.co.nz/bikedetails/gsx250f-across.html
(im not sure if its just those parts like the indicator and those 2 panels, i doubt it though)

[**R1**]

seems to be the day for poor quality suzuki parts:nya:

[Freakshow]

Dude! you prob went to wellington motorcycles didnt you!
they are not intrested unless they can sell your a HD or something expensive!
the fact is these bikes are cheap, i had a crash damaged one and i was amazed at the low quality and the high price of new parts.
dont get me wrong im not digging at your bike, it didd have some good points!.(nice suzuki 6 speed box)
Cut your losses and find a second hand leg, there are plenty around! 1 or 2 of these gets trashed every week!
just be thankfull it didnt fall apart on the motorway!
Im sure someone on here who is local to you will give you a hand to rebuild the fork if your not keen to take it in to the ripoff merchants to have it fixed.
good luck

Did go to WGTN motorcycles and I was not suprised at their attidude.
But it was the Call to Suzuki NZ that was surprising. So it aint a Gixxer doesn't mean it doesn't have a Suzuki sticker on it! Already working on Plan B should be on the road again soon!

[Freakshow]

seems to be the day for poor quality suzuki parts:nya:

Thats got to be handy!:gob:

[XP@]

Have we got any metallurgists in the house that can test the fork leg for this chappie?

It does not seem like a part that should just crack under normal use, if the other side went then the outcome would be lethal.

If it is a faulty part then surely there should be some comeback on the manufacturer? How does the law stand in this country?

I'm so glad I didn't buy a Suzuki :-)

[imdying]

Saw an SV leg cracked in exactly the same place on spankme's sv site. Typical Suzuki build quality...

[Freakshow]

Have we got any metallurgists in the house that can test the fork leg for this chappie?

It does not seem like a part that should just crack under normal use, if the other side went then the outcome would be lethal.

If it is a faulty part then surely there should be some comeback on the manufacturer? How does the law stand in this country?

I'm so glad I didn't buy a Suzuki :-)

Sounds interesting!!! What does it test and how do I go about it!

Plan B is a mate knows a guy who could weld it up!

[XP@]

Sounds interesting!!! What does it test and how do I go about it!

Plan B is a mate knows a guy who could weld it up!
You can use ultra-sound like a pregnancy scan or x-ray to find cracks in metal (NDT Non Destructive Testing). My dad used to be in to this type of stuff, checking bits for power stations. You would be able to see if there are any other defects in the region. I think that todays technologies will be far advanced of what they used to be 15 years ago.

Plus I would also check the other fork, just in case...

Info about: http://www.mech.canterbury.ac.nz/labs/materials.shtml

These are companies who do it in welly, but you would be best if you could get it done as a favour... unless you really think you have a case against Suzuki
http://yellow.pages.co.nz/Pages/Search/Results/0,2878,a6001_l3920_m0,00.html?businessName=&category=Crack+Detection&keyword=&pageNum=1&street=

[JKWNZ]

We have metallurgists in house but the problem is (as with any consultant) that it'll cost a bit to write a report that you can use to endorse what the fault origin is... and is cheaper just to replace the part.

However that doesn't absolve suzuki's legal responsibilities of course... they should be interested in having a decent look.

Welding is still a bad idea.

Its also a bit late to NDT the part... its already broken. It needs to seperated carefully (as not to damage any evidence) and the failure surface examined under a microscope

[Freakshow]

We have metallurgists in house but the problem is (as with any consultant) that it'll cost a bit to write a report that you can use to endorse what the fault origin is... and is cheaper just to replace the part.

However that doesn't absolve suzuki's legal responsibilities of course... they should be interested in having a decent look.

Welding is still a bad idea.

Its also a bit late to NDT the part... its already broken. It needs to seperated carefully (as not to damage any evidence) and the failure surface examined under a microscope
Thanks for your help and advice. up untill now I have enjoyed my bike but I am a big believer of attidude and service and Suzuki has shown none. Thats cool they aint the only manufacturer out there so now they miss out when I upgrade in December.


One thing i have found ammusing is that they would treat their more expensive bike owners better, Suzuki where do you think those owners originate from??????

[XP@]

One thing i have found ammusing is that they would treat their more expensive bike owners better, Suzuki where do you think those owners originate from??????
For that type of comment they need to undertake a course in Flagellation, which I suggest you administer.

You have a 250cc ie a learners bike... do they want learners to survive to pass their test?
If you do some how survive on a suzuki then would you buy another suzuki, perhaps a bigger one? only to have it fail in a more spectacular fashion?

[Madmax]

do not weld it!!!! alloy has some strange propertys
when you weld it you need a high frequency injector
to break up the oxide layer on the outside
and it is never the same after. when i built engines
we would get brand new rods and check them 2 out of 8
would fail.
but from the looks of that i would say someone
had not set there air gun right
(would have thought they would have heard the crack though)
replace it!
for its worth it

Max

[crazybigal]

The going is good at the moment, bike sales are up! so who cares about you! thats the attitude they have. Go see the boys at TSS in the hutt if your going to buy a bike from a dealer or motormart, they have a very good service dept there.
Like all bike dealers, car dealer you have to watch out for their dodgy antics!


Thanks for your help and advice. up untill now I have enjoyed my bike but I am a big believer of attidude and service and Suzuki has shown none. Thats cool they aint the only manufacturer out there so now they miss out when I upgrade in December.


One thing i have found ammusing is that they would treat their more expensive bike owners better, Suzuki where do you think those owners originate from??????

[Freakshow]

Thanks guys for your help!

I have managed to buy myself a broke bike that happens to have the part I need intact! Not only that new tyres and all sorts of spare parts I need.
So if you know any one out there wanting cheap parts for a GSX 250 send me a PM

[Sniper]

we would get brand new rods and check them 2 out of 8
would fail.

So a quarter of the stoke aye:blip: