Neken SFS issues

DADTAXI
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DADTAXI
Edited Date/Time 8/2/2017 3:33pm
Has anyone ever experienced something similar

I have the system on my 2016 Yamaha.

I've experienced the one chamber becoming 1/4 turn loose. So I emailed neken for an address to send them in for warranty/service.

They replied service was $100 & provided a US based retailer to mail them too. I wasn't ready to spend more money after the purchase of the clamps. So I discovered the Allen at the bottom of the chamber, tighten & the issue seemed to be fixed. It became loose again so I was over them & posted them cheap.

A vital member bought them today so I started to take them off for shipping. Well the issue is worse then I originally thought. The metal cast around the chambers is both cracked. I don't have the slightest clue how it even would have happened. I don't just send it like Larry & the clamps weren't in any crashes.

Once I realized it I instantly refunded the vital member & shipped them out to neken this afternoon. Hopefully these get replaced.



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FGR01
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FGR01 7/16/2017 11:29am
7/16/2017 11:29am
There is not very much material between those 2 bores, is there?
bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/16/2017 11:36am
7/16/2017 11:36am
I need to look at mine, the nut on the clutch side started getting loose so I took them off. I bought mine used on eBay and when I got them I noticed who had them before used a punch or chisel to tighten the spaner nuts and almost cut through it. It was fine for a while and then I was riding one day and the bars started to wobble, maybe mine are cracked because those nuts thread way down inside of the clamp and shouldn't move at all obviously
DADTAXI
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DADTAXI 7/16/2017 11:42am
7/16/2017 11:42am
bgpn35 wrote:
I need to look at mine, the nut on the clutch side started getting loose so I took them off. I bought mine used on eBay...
I need to look at mine, the nut on the clutch side started getting loose so I took them off. I bought mine used on eBay and when I got them I noticed who had them before used a punch or chisel to tighten the spaner nuts and almost cut through it. It was fine for a while and then I was riding one day and the bars started to wobble, maybe mine are cracked because those nuts thread way down inside of the clamp and shouldn't move at all obviously
A wobble of what feels like 1-2mm per side, Left to right.

Yes thats what I was feeling. The Allen at the bottom would tighten & if felt ok until it did it again.
bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/16/2017 11:45am
7/16/2017 11:45am
Yep, both sides are cracked! I took mine off 17 yz250f



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DADTAXI
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DADTAXI 7/16/2017 12:03pm
7/16/2017 12:03pm
I'll get ya the contacts in two minutes
bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/16/2017 12:06pm
7/16/2017 12:06pm
DADTAXI wrote:
I'll get ya the contacts in two minutes
Thanks!
philG
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philG 7/16/2017 12:45pm
7/16/2017 12:45pm
not enough material. Are they hard anodised or just decorative?
bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/16/2017 1:59pm
7/16/2017 1:59pm
philG wrote:
not enough material. Are they hard anodised or just decorative?
Looks to me like just decorative, I didn't realize just how thin the material is where the crack is until I took the chambers out
BobPA
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BobPA 7/16/2017 2:17pm
7/16/2017 2:17pm
Ha, send it like Larry
philG
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philG 7/16/2017 2:29pm
7/16/2017 2:29pm
philG wrote:
not enough material. Are they hard anodised or just decorative?
bgpn35 wrote:
Looks to me like just decorative, I didn't realize just how thin the material is where the crack is until I took the chambers out
yes , it does to me too.. hard anodising causes surface embrittlement, which develops microcracking, which would be worst just where it has cracked.

The design will be based on a load case that is calculated , in my experience, the 'real numbers' can be much higher, unless you can accurately measure the load ( which you cant ) .

Would be interesting to see the other side of the crack
wideopen198 7/16/2017 2:37pm
7/16/2017 2:37pm
philG wrote:
yes , it does to me too.. hard anodising causes surface embrittlement, which develops microcracking, which would be worst just where it has cracked. The design...
yes , it does to me too.. hard anodising causes surface embrittlement, which develops microcracking, which would be worst just where it has cracked.

The design will be based on a load case that is calculated , in my experience, the 'real numbers' can be much higher, unless you can accurately measure the load ( which you cant ) .

Would be interesting to see the other side of the crack
Yea, I wonder what number they used for safety factor in their calculations.
bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/16/2017 2:50pm
7/16/2017 2:50pm
philG wrote:
yes , it does to me too.. hard anodising causes surface embrittlement, which develops microcracking, which would be worst just where it has cracked. The design...
yes , it does to me too.. hard anodising causes surface embrittlement, which develops microcracking, which would be worst just where it has cracked.

The design will be based on a load case that is calculated , in my experience, the 'real numbers' can be much higher, unless you can accurately measure the load ( which you cant ) .

Would be interesting to see the other side of the crack
Since I have mine apart do you want me to take a pic?
bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/16/2017 3:02pm
7/16/2017 3:02pm
philG wrote:
if you could please
I noticed it's cracked in 4 places when I started taking pics the







jeffro503
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jeffro503 7/16/2017 3:19pm
7/16/2017 3:19pm
Man , I look at those pics and it scares me too think of what " could have happened ". Thankfully you guys caught that in time. I know Neken makes some top notch stuff , and I'll almost bet ( if they haven't already ) changed the design a little on that particular clamp. It's kind of a perfect example of....saving to much weight vs durability.
philG
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philG 7/16/2017 3:23pm
7/16/2017 3:23pm


The sharp edge where it meets the bore is a stress raiser.. my guess is that is where it started , based on the pictures, which is always difficult to be certain, but that does look a problem area to me... bearing in mind i am not a designer, just a bloke that did lots of post mortems on parts that shouldnt have broken but did.

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bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/16/2017 3:47pm
7/16/2017 3:47pm
jeffro503 wrote:
Man , I look at those pics and it scares me too think of what " could have happened ". Thankfully you guys caught that in...
Man , I look at those pics and it scares me too think of what " could have happened ". Thankfully you guys caught that in time. I know Neken makes some top notch stuff , and I'll almost bet ( if they haven't already ) changed the design a little on that particular clamp. It's kind of a perfect example of....saving to much weight vs durability.
Yes, it scares me as well. I put in 2 laps when it broke and was done for the day because I didn't have the stock one with me. I didn't know what the real problem was till today so I'm glad I didn't just send it off to get serviced because I had them apart to just send the shocks off and put them back in and run it. I'm glad this thread was started! Haha
philG
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philG 7/16/2017 4:00pm
7/16/2017 4:00pm
We have broken aftermarket clamps doing Supermoto, 4th gear flat ladings to tarmac are not forgiving.
Bermworm
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Bermworm 7/16/2017 6:49pm
7/16/2017 6:49pm
I've only seen them once and the guy lost it on a double, let go of the bike in the air it was a YZ 125 he landed and broke his collar bone but the bike landed upside down and the bars just simply sheared off.The track was hard pack blue groove clay allright but I never ever considerd those clamps since that day about 3 years ago.
BobPA
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BobPA 7/16/2017 7:19pm
7/16/2017 7:19pm
Bermworm wrote:
I've only seen them once and the guy lost it on a double, let go of the bike in the air it was a YZ 125...
I've only seen them once and the guy lost it on a double, let go of the bike in the air it was a YZ 125 he landed and broke his collar bone but the bike landed upside down and the bars just simply sheared off.The track was hard pack blue groove clay allright but I never ever considerd those clamps since that day about 3 years ago.
Sounds like user error to me.

I just looked at mine and they still look new. Hoping none of these problems arise.
slipdog
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slipdog 7/17/2017 6:31am
7/17/2017 6:31am
Well, Thanks for showing me what clamps I will never buy..

Sorry for you guy's bad luck, but I'm glad nobody got hurt in the process!
mxer613
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mxer613 7/17/2017 7:57am
7/17/2017 7:57am
I almost bought some last week, not now, maybe that's why factory Ktm quit using them???
BobPA
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BobPA 7/17/2017 8:07am
7/17/2017 8:07am
mxer613 wrote:
I almost bought some last week, not now, maybe that's why factory Ktm quit using them???
KTM never used the SFS version, only their solid mount version (still using them). The only companies teams I saw using them were JGR and one of the Yamaha 250 teams a while ago. I do not think any pros are running them right now, could be wrong though.
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SPYGUY 7/17/2017 10:12am
7/17/2017 10:12am
BobPA wrote:
KTM never used the SFS version, only their solid mount version (still using them). The only companies teams I saw using them were JGR and one...
KTM never used the SFS version, only their solid mount version (still using them). The only companies teams I saw using them were JGR and one of the Yamaha 250 teams a while ago. I do not think any pros are running them right now, could be wrong though.


Have you seen the Neken SFS setup that Ryan Dungey has been sporting this season? It's an air-pressurized cartridge on the bottom side of each bar clamp that provides 10mm of travel for the bars. SFS stands for Smooth Feeling System.

http://www.vitalmx.com/photos/features/Vital-MX-Pit-Bits-Atlanta,37720/…
DADTAXI
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DADTAXI 7/17/2017 10:27am
7/17/2017 10:27am
BobPA wrote:
KTM never used the SFS version, only their solid mount version (still using them). The only companies teams I saw using them were JGR and one...
KTM never used the SFS version, only their solid mount version (still using them). The only companies teams I saw using them were JGR and one of the Yamaha 250 teams a while ago. I do not think any pros are running them right now, could be wrong though.
SPYGUY wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/users/64/photos/73139/s1600_GUYB0310.jpg?1393110029[/img] [i]Have you seen the Neken SFS setup that Ryan Dungey has been sporting this season? It's an air-pressurized cartridge on the bottom side of each...


Have you seen the Neken SFS setup that Ryan Dungey has been sporting this season? It's an air-pressurized cartridge on the bottom side of each bar clamp that provides 10mm of travel for the bars. SFS stands for Smooth Feeling System.

http://www.vitalmx.com/photos/features/Vital-MX-Pit-Bits-Atlanta,37720/…
That's the same set up we both have. It's cracking around that 10mm air chamber.
bgpn35
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bgpn35 7/17/2017 10:34am
7/17/2017 10:34am
DADTAXI wrote:
That's the same set up we both have. It's cracking around that 10mm air chamber.
Did you get a response yet? I sent one yesterday and haven't heard anything yet. I know it's only one day but I'm just wondering
mxer613
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mxer613 7/17/2017 10:41am
7/17/2017 10:41am
BobPA wrote:
KTM never used the SFS version, only their solid mount version (still using them). The only companies teams I saw using them were JGR and one...
KTM never used the SFS version, only their solid mount version (still using them). The only companies teams I saw using them were JGR and one of the Yamaha 250 teams a while ago. I do not think any pros are running them right now, could be wrong though.
SPYGUY wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/users/64/photos/73139/s1600_GUYB0310.jpg?1393110029[/img] [i]Have you seen the Neken SFS setup that Ryan Dungey has been sporting this season? It's an air-pressurized cartridge on the bottom side of each...


Have you seen the Neken SFS setup that Ryan Dungey has been sporting this season? It's an air-pressurized cartridge on the bottom side of each bar clamp that provides 10mm of travel for the bars. SFS stands for Smooth Feeling System.

http://www.vitalmx.com/photos/features/Vital-MX-Pit-Bits-Atlanta,37720/…
I knew Ktm used them, it was for only one season, maybe theirs cracked too.
DADTAXI
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DADTAXI 7/17/2017 10:52am
7/17/2017 10:52am
DADTAXI wrote:
That's the same set up we both have. It's cracking around that 10mm air chamber.
bgpn35 wrote:
Did you get a response yet? I sent one yesterday and haven't heard anything yet. I know it's only one day but I'm just wondering
I haven't. I had the address from when I inquired about servicing them. I just shipped & emailed my tracking info to both contacts

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