Wrong fork bushings installed at factory - heavy wear ensues

[pattonme]

I just took apart a <3000 mile set of forks and the lower bushings are already heavily worn. Kayaba has made this mistake before (EX650 I believe) by using the wrong bushing. The correct one is from a ZX6F or SV650 Gen2.
 
You can buy an All Balls bushing kit (38-6095 which includes a lot of stuff) *BUT* it has the WRONG lower bushing. You want to buy the 95-97 ZX6F or 98 Yam XV650 V-star kit (38-6096). Yes, the upper bushing is the same part# as the one found in -6095.
 
Yes, you CAN buy the bushings individually for $5.50+ship from All Balls but it might be best to do a group-buy since they don't really want to. They want to sell kits, not individual parts.
 
If you have more than 5000 miles on your bike, get it replaced as soon as you can.
Note how the Teflon has been completely worn off and the copper is showing.
 
worn:
 
new:
 
 
Click the link for picture. I'm guessing the original is too big for the forum to allow it's inclusion...
 
The diameter of the bushing seat is 39.98mm. The OD of the WRONG bushing is 41.1mm. The bushing itself is 1mm thick. When installed you get a absolutely massive gap of ~5mm between the ends of the bushing.
 
The correct bushing has an OD of 42mm. When installed the gap is ~1mm.

 
 

[Guest unknown]

Thanks for the heads up @pattonme Is there any recourse others might have? Is this something that needs to be brought to Yamaha's attention?

[hippiebikerchick]

Is this an issue that affects all our FZ07s? I have more than 5K on my bike. Maybe a recall is in order?

[Cruizin]

Wow, good catch. And Wow, I wonder if my FZ-09 is the same way?

[pattonme]

FZ-09 has completely different forks. Not saying they didn't use the wrong ones in that too, but I don't have a solution for you if they did.
 
I don't know what the right channels are to get Yamaha to go tear Kayaba a new one. Yes, this affects all model years.

[Guest unknown]

Can you post some photos and more info? What size bushing is installed? What size bushing should be installed? I'm about to contact them now but I want to make sure I have all the pertinent info before doing so.

[hippiebikerchick]

 I'm about to contact them now but I want to make sure I have all the pertinent info before doing so.

Thanks for doing this on behalf of everyone on the forum!

[Guest unknown]

No worries, it is my 'duty' since it was my shocks that he figured this out on. I'm just glad that pattonme found it now instead of later when a part failure could occur.

[phicurious86]

Thanks for the heads up.
 

[so1102]

Dumb question from a suspension newb @pattonme, but if I send my forks to you for the cartridge retrofit (which I plan to do later this summer), does this problem go away? (either because the bushings will no longer be necessary as a result of the new innards, or because you will have as part of your retrofit kit the proper bushings)

[Guest unknown]

He replaced mine with the proper size bushing for an extra 20 bucks.

[pattonme]

I replace all worn out parts when I service forks. This normally is just the seals even if "newish", but obviously I've found a serious problem. I've been in contact with ALL Balls and it looks like I can buy just the lower bushing but it'll still cost ~$15 for the pair. The kit comes with a lot of stuff that admittedly isn't necessary (sealing washers, fork cap O-rings) but for $20+ship it does include the upper bushings, too. So it probably makes more sense to get the kit.
 
Under normal circumstances the bushings should not have to be replaced unless you're well on your way to 30,000 miles. Shoot my SV has 50,000 miles on the forks and those bushings are still pristine. I serviced a set of Showa forks for another SV that had 90K miles on it and I replaced those just because it made sense to do so, not because they were all that worn.

[Guru]

Wow, thanks for sharing.
 
Let me help you with the pictures:
 

 

[rick]

Pictures please. I just have ? marks.
 
<3k miles and worn out. Time to label the parts bin a bit better.
 
 

[Cruizin]

@unknown @pattonme
Guys, please be careful how you mention this forum when calling Yamaha. Don't say things like, "The forum said your forks are screwed up", or "Everyone on the forum is pissed at Yamaha" or anything that could get them pissed at us.
 
Cause they could shut us down with one letter. If they ever sent me a cease and desist letter I would have no choice but to shut this whole thing down right away. Unless you all want to kick in $5,000 a piece for a legal defense fund.
 
In your battles with Yamaha, please leave me an my forum out of it as much as possible or you could very well find an empty black page here shortly after. I have seen forums shut down before.

[Guest unknown]

Cruizin,
I spoke with Yamaha yesterday and informed them of the situation with their fork bushings. I didn't mention this forum at all to them nor would I have any reason to. They were very helpful and even offered to have the bike serviced under warranty. I don't blame Yamaha for this mistake, I blame KYB. Yamaha tells KYB they need a shock with these features/specs and KYB builds it (I would assume). It was mainly to make them aware of the issue from a safety standpoint than anything. These screw ups happen and I am sure Yamaha will stand by their product. I don't benefit at all in this situation since I am not sticking with the stock shock setup.

[pattonme]

I personally wasn't going to take this any further than this forum. If anything 'unknown' has the best chance to send Yamaha USA the bushings in an envelope with a picture of his odometer and (I'll also snap a pic of the huge gap) and give them what for in a business-like manner.
 
Considering the vitriol of most internet boards WRT motorcycle brands and models, I can't imagine this style of posting would get corporate's hackles up. If anything they should be issuing a public apology for their carelessness.

[Cruizin]

Thanks! I just had to type that disclaimer so that I can sleep tonight. lol

[pattonme]

Cruizin, Yamaha tells KYB they need a shock with these features/specs and KYB builds it (I would assume).

 
Yes but Yamaha clearly didn't subject what KYB provided to any kind of testing and then inspection. If I had to guess Yamaha knows absolutely nothing about the dismal state of the sourced damper rods either. "Trust but verify." It's not just for nuclear weapons.

[Guest unknown]

Good point @pattonme, I don't know how Yamaha engineers work but I would imagine they are focused on the engine/geometry/specs of the bike and not every actual component. They might have run some tests on it, and it responded fine. Do most motorcycles get 5,000 mile workovers before release? I have no idea tbh

[Cruizin]

The FZ-09 has horrible bouncy forks and most magazines wrote about it. Then, the FJ-09 comes out which is basically an FZ-09 with farkles. And the FJ-09 magically has much better dampening than the FZ-09.
 
The FZ-07 has gotten nothing but awesome reviews so they have nothing to go off until FZ-07 owners start sending them pics of phucked up forks and fork internals. Punched and over sized holes, missing washers, etc, etc.

[motomeek]

Eek! If this affects us all, should I bring this to a dealership to check out? I know the bushings are internal, so they'd have to take it all apart to check them, right?
 
I've just hit 8K...

[pattonme]

> should I bring this to a dealership to check out?
 
I would. but go armed with a replacement bushing kit, new seals and your choice of oil so they don't gouge you for the replacements or swap in the wrong ones again. If you have any plans to do upgrades (springs, GVE, cartridge) might as well do it while everything is apart since you're paying for the labor to disassemble and reassemble. My experience with dealership mechanics has been with one exception universally bad - they just don't think, are surprisingly ignorant, and could give a good damn about doing a professional job. But of course that depends mightily on the dealership. Independent or race shops tend to do better since their livelihood depends on it and not the gravy train of the sales floor. If you have a Racetech or GP Suspension service center (or anyone who specializes in suspension, even dirt bikes) near you, all the better.
 

[motomeek]

Great advice @pattonme, but wouldn't this considered to be something under warranty? I mean, it's the wrong part after all.
 
It looks like I might get my suspension upgrade sooner than later....

[pattonme]

> but wouldn't this considered to be something under warranty?
 
Yes, but the dealership is just going to use the same wrong part over and over. They don't know that it's the wrong part. "But it says right here on the parts-fiche use part XXX-YYYY." "But I'll just be back here in 60 days for you to do the tear-down again" isn't likely to convince them to do the smart thing. "But we can't warrantee this part you brought in." "Yes, I understand, now please do it anyway. I'll even sign a release WRT to future bushing claims." isn't likely to be successful. If you can make it work, more power to you.
 
There is no service bulletin from Yamaha corporate fessing up to the screw up. And therefore the problem does not exist.
 
Sure, you ought to get the labor for free but as soon as you hand them a different (but correct) part to install they'll probably refuse or insist you pay for their time since it's no longer a "warranty" matter in their narrowly focused view. Same deal with installing the correct springs for your weight. It's now a general service ticket.