Frackin' Fork Protectors

Well, while cleaning Grunt today, I see my WRR's fork protector is hitting on the fork seal enough that there's black streaks all around the edge and down inside.

This, of course, has been reported before. I've never thought to go and look until now.

So what is Joe Average doing to correct this condition.

I'm half tempted to take it back to the dealer and politely ask "What part of which feature is it that includes setting the fork protector up so that it beats up on my seals?"

I still love my bike. But stupid shit like that, which should have never gotten to the factory, annoys the hell out of me.

I haven't had that, but then I haven't been doing the bush-whacking on mine that you likely are.

I doubt the dealer, or manufacturer, can/will do anything.

On a more productive train, I have noticed that the protectors seem a bit 'cantilevered' and 'flimsy'. Maybe some sort of brace so they stay where they're supposed to be. They seem to do a reasonable job then.

I wouldn't make a scene at the dealer.
They don't have to mess with the fork guards during assembly or setup.
This is one of those areas where only you can give your bike the proper TLC it wants. :)

My brake caliper side fork guard rubbed on the fork leg near the oil seal, too.
There's actually a circlip in a groove near the fork seal that's supposed to take the brunt of the wear in this area, but if it's excessive, try what I did:

Remove the fork guard (takes one minute), carefully heat it up (I held mine over my gas range burner), and hold it in a position that pries the curvature in a more open position.
Hold like this until it cools down, and you'll be left with a fork guard that won't rub so hard on the fork leg (mine seemed to quit rubbing at all).

Total time spent on the project:
5 minutes.

Cost:
Zero. :)

When I noticed the same rubbing, the first thing I tried was to loosen the three mounting bolts on the protector bottom, then pull the top of the protector away from the fork while screwing the bolts back in. This helped quite a bit, but I was still getting some rubbing.

So when I removed the forks for servicing, I left the protectors mounted. I used a heat gun to heat the curved part of the protector on the side away from the wheel, top to bottom. While the protector was still hot and flexible, I leaned on the fork and stroked it and bent the protector away from the fork using two thin ruler-like strips of wood to hold and bend the protector (it was hot!). I did this for each protector and got about 1/8 - 3/16 clearance and was happy.

I read on some forum that the black protectors fit better.

YZEtc wrote:

I wouldn't make a scene at the dealer.
They don't have to mess with the fork guards during assembly or setup.

In my case, they did. I really should post that as a ride report that really isn't a ride report... A hint...



Of course, it isn't the dealer I'm annoyed with - it's Yamaha. I suppose they're the ones I should annoy with a nice letter asking what the fork rubbing feature is for. Why give them a free ride on it?

I've already been considering the heat solution but was wondering about shimming or whatever as other alternatives. It's been snowing and generally crappy outside while I've been writing this and I can't bring myself to wade through that out to the shed to have a close look at the geometry of the setup and see if anything other than reshaping via heat will actually accomplish anything.

Well, I've got two different ways to attack the heat solution now. I was thinking along the lines of attacking a piece of scrap dimensional lumber with a router to get the clearance I want and then using it as a jig to maintain shape while heating and during cooling. May be over-engineering the task at hand.

Still annoys the hell out of me that would get to manufacturing. Like... nobody noticed it during R&D? Or did they use a pre-existing fork protector from another bike, saving some costs, and figure we could live with the rubbing and parts sales on seals is never a bad thing anyways?

Nice crate yours came in. :)

I'd just remove the guard, heat it up, and spread it out.
Done. :)

YZEtc wrote:

I'd just remove the guard, heat it up, and spread it out.
Done. :)

Same here used the heat gun (super hair dryer). My protector had neally worn through at the top.

So, what's with the crate?

I've only bought a bike new twice, but both times it was already assembled for me, battery charged, and enough gas to go for a short spin before hitting the gas station. I've seen a lot of crated bike pictures. Is that a U.S. thing?

YZEtc wrote:

Nice crate yours came in. :)

That there was a $2500 crate... for somebody. Not me.

ZED wrote:

So, what's with the crate?

I've only bought a bike new twice, but both times it was already assembled for me, battery charged, and enough gas to go for a short spin before hitting the gas station. I've seen a lot of crated bike pictures. Is that a U.S. thing?

That's an Andrews Cycles and MTS Transport thing. The good news is that Andrews replaced EVERYTHING that had even a hint of a tiny scratch on it. And then gave me the damaged parts. Some were unuseable. But I have a complete set of plastics, muffler heat guard, handlebars, subframe, etc, etc...

I'll post the sordid tale at some point or other. The relevant message is that Phil at Andrews did good by me. And I need to post that story sometime to acknowledge that.

Yours is an 08 if I recall, isn't it? Mine is an 09 and so far to this day it has not rubbed anywhere.

* wondering if the Lightspeed CF guards will fit the WRR *

Heat works, but be persistent. Mine kept wanting to spring back to its original shape.

Sarah

For perspective
It's a slightly warped piece of plastic, not a connecting rod sticking out of your cases
Having owned Dirt bikes, watercraft, ATV's, street bikes, boats, snowmobiles
There's always something that I need to make work better, in this case the fix is free

If it's warped and it under warranty get a new one if it's not, enjoy working on your bike

0007onWR wrote:

For perspective
It's a slightly warped piece of plastic, not a connecting rod sticking out of your cases
Having owned Dirt bikes, watercraft, ATV's, street bikes, boats, snowmobiles
There's always something that I need to make work better, in this case the fix is free

If it's warped and it under warranty get a new one if it's not, enjoy working on your bike

I understand what you're saying. However, while it's not something I'm going to lose any sleep over, that doesn't work for me.

With all the people noticing this on their bikes, it isn't a slightly warped piece of plastic, it's a pretty consistent manufacturing error - not the inevitable random flaw that comes with manufacturing thousands and thousands of bikes. Enough so that when it is mentioned the general response is "mine too". Maybe just a little error, but I would find it hard to believe that Yamaha didn't notice that during the development period with this model while they were wringing everything out. It's about the attitude.

Back on civvy street, amongst other things in GIS, I make topo maps, some of which go to 100's of users. While I'm proofing a map, it is pretty normal to think it's done and then realize there's a small piece of road missing, or the name of a creek isn't there, etc. Now, I COULD just say "screw it; they can just pencil that little bit in if it really bothers them", and save myself the cost of going back to fix it and absorbing the cost of a few more proof sheets. Hell, shouldn't people just enjoy working on maps? I do!

But people don't pay me for a map with a few oopsies here and there that I chose not to fix, and it is unprofessional as hell to operate in that mode. I do indeed occasionally publish a map with errors that I have missed - and when that happens and a customer comes to me to point it out, they get new mapwork. At my cost, with my apologies, no questions asked. I take responsibility and pride in the work that has my name on it.

I think that attitude towards one's work is probably pretty prevalent here. I'm pretty sure all you wrench benders here sending a customer's machine out don't do it 99% right and think "Screw it, if it really bothers them they'll get the tools out and finish up that last 1% - and have the opportunity to enjoy a little maintenance work while they're at it". Anybody here think any differently or take any less pride in whatever work they do that goes out with their name on it? Probably not.

And if that's the case, when Yamaha just shrugged their shoulders at something like this instead of doing it right, why should customers allow them to let it slide? Does it only matter if the glitch they allowed to go to manufacturing involves a significant price tag down the road for the owner? And if so, how big a price tag before it matters? After all, if the banging and rubbing of that guard causes the fork seal to fail, is Yamaha going to cheerfully replace it for you free of charge? Or are they going to say "Normal wear item, loser pays"?

So yeah, different perspective.

BTW, I know many people enjoy working on their bikes. I don't. If I did, perhaps I'd be a mechanic like my brother.

I don't dislike it either. Maintenance is simply something that needs doing. It's just like cleaning field gear when I get home, maintaining footwear, cleaning firearms after using them, etc. For me it is something that you do to care for things to keep them working properly and get maximum performance out of them. And it requires x amount of time. Time which I would rather spend riding my bike rather than cleaning firearms. Or being out at the range rather than working on a bike. Or flyfishing on the river rather than cleaning gear. There's just better ways to spend those hours.

I just knew there would be a response LOL
I kinda get uppity because I have had the opportunity to work with the guys who make these toys and one thing I can tell you about Japanese people
They actually feel terrible when stuff is not perfect, they are very gracious and apologetic and their integrity is second to none
I have seen large group's of engineer's fly to warehouses and repair problems that no north american manufacturer would give a second thought to

The reason stuff happens in the field is that it did NOT happen during testing, i assure you they did not let it slide
There are different reasons why it happens after and usually involes a vendor changing specifications or the plastic simply warping over a period of time as a result of wind, sun, impact or even cover installation
Another thing to consider
If it did not happen in testing and every customer simply heats and bends it back to shape then the factory doesn't even know there's a problem

But then again, it is a machine and excrement occur's, at some point every single thing on every single bike will break at least once
Cheer's and enjoy the 999 things the bike does well

0007onWR wrote:

I just knew there would be a response LOL

As did I...

Quote :

I kinda get uppity because I have had the opportunity to work with the guys who make these toys and one thing I can tell you about Japanese people
They actually feel terrible when stuff is not perfect, they are very gracious and apologetic and their integrity is second to none
I have seen large group's of engineer's fly to warehouses and repair problems that no north american manufacturer would give a second thought to

Having worked with the Japanese a time or two in the lumber industry, I happen to believe you.

However, as you've pointed out their dedication, when there's a persistent problem like this one with the fork protector hitting the seal, then they should be absolutely eager to correct that, right? Rather than wait until the repeated beating causes the seal to fail prematurely and then say "Oops, standard wear item"?

Quote :

The reason stuff happens in the field is that it did NOT happen during testing, i assure you they did not let it slide
There are different reasons why it happens after and usually involes a vendor changing specifications or the plastic simply warping over a period of time as a result of wind, sun, impact or even cover installation

Given the miles on these bikes when it is being detected, I think the "period of time" possibilities are pretty much out. A vendor changing specs? Yup, sure!

Quote :

Another thing to consider
If it did not happen in testing and every customer simply heats and bends it back to shape then the factory doesn't even know there's a problem

Aha! So what you're really saying is we should be taking these to the dealers so they do know that there's a problem! In fact, it looks as if by fixing it ourselves we are screwing up Yamaha because then they don't get the opportunity to become aware of it and fix it themselves!

Okay, I can go with that.

Quote :

But then again, it is a machine and excrement occur's, at some point every single thing on every single bike will break at least once

Yup. But when the same thing happens to many, many bikes when they're relatively new, that is not a case of "fecal matter exists".

Quote :

Cheer's and enjoy the 999 things the bike does well

I do believe I mentioned in my first post that I still love my bike.

In fact, I'm going to go outside now and cry awhile because all the snow on the ground is telling me I may not to use the last four weeks left on this year's insurance...

The issue you had is the same one I had, that is why I now use the X fork guards on my R, they are the only ones they should have used on both bikes. Too bad they only come in black....

The X guards do not rub. More money than the heat gun fix, but works better for me.