Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[sgmdudley]

I noticed my left fork seal leaking at 340 miles. Had been leaking awhile.
Wiped it dry (including the oil dripping off the brake caliper) then rode it for
another 85 miles. Got it to the dealer on the 17th. Seals were brought out by
the Zero Rep on the Demo day 19th. I called them on Friday, 23rd and the
bike was ready. They said they replaced the seals in both forks. Got a ride
down on Saturday the 26th. Rode the bike home, 50 miles had 5 bars left.
Let it set 2 hours then found oil dripping on the rubber mat. Left Fork again.
I'll call the dealer on Tuesday. The bad thing is the 50 miles to get down there. 
.
I need to find out who makes the forks and can I get seals and instructions.
I just rebuilt a friends Honda GL1800 forks for a leaking left seal and now
they don't leak.

[Harlan]

Call Zero and ask them to send you a replacement left fork.  You should also ask them for a fresh set of brake pads in case the fork oil has contaminated them.

[CliC]

Aw, man, don't tell me that

I just got mine back from AF1 Racing. It looks fine, maybe a little more dirt buildup on the right slider than the left, but nothing to worry about. The tech there told me he checked the slider for finish imperfections that might have caused the seal to fail, but found none.

I loosened the bleeder screws prior to cinching the bike down in the truck, and tightened them again once I got the bike untethered at my destination, per the manual. I also wiped the sliders and sprayed some teflon lube on them as Richard230 suggested prior to doing a little riding in the area. I've ridden about 50 miles total since with no leaking yet.

I do hope you get your issues resolved soon.

[craigq]

It looks like the same 38mm Fast Ace inverted forks are currently used across the range. They're not leaking yet on my XU. Has anyone heard of failures on the X or MX?

[ColoPaul]

Let it set 2 hours then found oil dripping on the rubber mat. Left Fork again.
I'll call the dealer on Tuesday. The bad thing is the 50 miles to get down there. 

sgmdudley,  that's just not right.  I'm sorry about your bad luck.
With all the trouble you've had with Grand Prix, it make me wonder about them.  Did they even really change the seal or did they just give you the bike back?  Sheesh.   
Really, why can't we get a dealer on the North side?  Seattle and San Francisco have two.  Dallas has 3!  Some of them are just 14 miles apart.

[sgmdudley]

They told me they replaced the seals in both forks. At the same time they were doing my bike,
I rebuilt the forks on a friends 2003 Honda GL1800 that had a leaking left fork. It does not
leak anymore. The only thing I can think of is a scratch or some kind of damage on the tube.
But if that is the case, it was that way from the factory because the leaking started from the
first mile.
.
So far, Grand Prix has been pretty good for service.  I think Zero is holding them up for parts.
I ordered 4 parts and only two have come in. One was the windshield which is now installed.
Maybe they better stock up on Fork seals.

[CliC]

Sgmdudley, did you ever get it resolved?

After riding yesterday, I noticed dirt rings on the right (previously leaking) fork. This is after a couple days riding since I wiped the sliders down. I didn't see anything on the left fork. I wiped the right fork down again and will check again tonight.

[sgmdudley]

I sent Pictures of the leaking Fork (left side) to Zero and the dealer.
Went in to the dealer yesterday. They have already contacted Zero.
Waiting to see what they say.

[Richard230]

I am starting to think that Zero might have been better off going with Showa, rather than Fast Ace, when sourcing a front fork.

[CliC]

Yep...definitely still some seepage on my right fork, though not nearly as bad as before the seal was replaced. I wiped it down and pumped the fork a few times, and I was able to create an oil ring on the right fork, nothing on the left. Screw it -- I'm going to ride it for awhile, and if it gets worse, I'll take it back in.

[Lipo423]

I cannot agree more with you Richard, There are a few known manufacturers out there:  Showa, WP, Ohilns, Marzocchi, etc...but they followed the cheap route...
This is one of the things Brammo has done properly with the Empulse. They choose Marzocchi (they just need to start delivering them though  )

[CliC]

I am starting to think that Zero might have been better off going with Showa, rather than Fast Ace, when sourcing a front fork.

Probably true. Googling for "Fast Ace forks" seems to indicate that their primary market is "pit bikes", a sort of transition machine (for kids, maybe?) from minibikes to real-live dirt bikes.

[firepower]

http://www.fastace.com/en_index.php


ALX07RC

http://www.fastace.com/product_detail.php?cid=2&sid=6&pid=96&hc1=1


 Founded in 1989, Taiwan Hanbin Machinery Co., Ltd. with more than 23 years of professional experience in manufacturing precision spare parts for machinery, automobiles and bicycles.

We have factories and facilities both in Taiwan (Qingshui Dist., Taichung) and China Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province). We specialized in Bicycles Hubs also Flowless Forks and Shocks for Motocross、ATV、UTV Carts. With our world’s well-known brand name “Fastace” for abovementioned items, we always provide newly innovative and reliable products to our worldwide customers.

Fastace is focusing on all high end Bicycle Hub products and Motocross Shocks, we constantly develop and improve our patented and world’s strongest Cassette Hubs.

Our goal is to provide most durable and reliable Bicycle Hubs and Motocross Shocks for their outstanding and excellent quality performance. We also welcome OEM. & ODM range of service for our mainly products.

[CliC]

Yep...definitely still some seepage on my right fork, though not nearly as bad as before the seal was replaced. I wiped it down and pumped the fork a few times, and I was able to create an oil ring on the right fork, nothing on the left. Screw it -- I'm going to ride it for awhile, and if it gets worse, I'll take it back in.

A little update -- I talked to Brent, the guy who worked on my bike at AF1 Racing. Turns out he greases new seals before installing them (to prevent the dry friction issue Richard230 alluded to), and the excess will show up on the slider for awhile. He suggested giving it a couple weeks for the excess to wear off.

Anyway, I appreciate the attention to detail (thanks Brent!). I'll post another update in a couple weeks.

[manlytom]

seems now I got as well the right front fork seal leaking. at least it has some the oil collected, clearly different to the left hand side. I regularly air with the screws so I am surprised about the issue.
stopped at Honda dealer -- he loved the bike --- and he said that I should first try to clean it as it might just have some sand or grit collected and hence leaks a little.

so whats anyones experience -- replacement or just clean up that worked ?