Suspension coating durability?

wrc777
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Greenwood, IN, USA
Fantasy
10/4/2023 5:18am

What does the inside of the upper tubes look like?

10/4/2023 6:19am

image-20231004071755-1
 

That fork oil looks the same as what I drain out of my CR125’s transmission after a mud race. 

 

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wrc777
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Fantasy
10/4/2023 9:27am
  That fork oil looks the same as what I drain out of my CR125’s transmission after a mud race.   

image-20231004071755-1
 

That fork oil looks the same as what I drain out of my CR125’s transmission after a mud race. 

 

Looks the same as rc car shocks after the coating is worn through on the aluminum shock bodies. 

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10/4/2023 9:51am Edited Date/Time 10/4/2023 9:56am

I'm a vet that likes to look good too, but I'll just let a guy from a different suspension company explain.

https://motocrossactionmag.com/bare-bones-looks-arent-everything-when-it-comes-to-fork-tubes/

Man, has anybody let the guy who wanted coatings for his PW50 know about these pitfalls?

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The Shop

AMetts
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Lincolnton, NC, USA
10/4/2023 10:33am

I just dont understand the reason for getting your suspension coated, its not going to be noticeable what so ever the difference in friction on chrome and these coatings is negligible dry but then when covered in fork oil its a wash. Hell Roczen was on stock KYB tubes last two rounds. 

Yes it does look cool and if the headache/cost is worth it then go for it but still the customer service above sucks but also sucks for SGB as well as they have virtually no control over the coating itself except trying to find a reliable supplier. 

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Pop Shmoke
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Boston, MA, USA
10/4/2023 10:04pm Edited Date/Time 10/5/2023 4:37pm

The kawi used to come with dlc coatings on the forks all the way up to 2023.

IMG 9143.jpeg?VersionId=n.RD03bIxSOy4fGpdc5qdKNBD
But now the 2024 doesnt have it for some reason, I wonder why?

IMG 9145

adamw21
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Martin, TN, USA
10/5/2023 1:43am
Pop Shmoke wrote:
The kawi used to come with dlc coatings on the forks all the way up to 2023. But now the 2024 doesnt have it for some...

The kawi used to come with dlc coatings on the forks all the way up to 2023.

IMG 9143.jpeg?VersionId=n.RD03bIxSOy4fGpdc5qdKNBD
But now the 2024 doesnt have it for some reason, I wonder why?

IMG 9145

For one the top is a 24 with coated forks the bottom is a 24 with non coated forks.  Two I assume since the bike is all new they wanted to cut cost somewhere 

4
Pop Shmoke
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10/5/2023 4:40pm
Pop Shmoke wrote:
The kawi used to come with dlc coatings on the forks all the way up to 2023. But now the 2024 doesnt have it for some...

The kawi used to come with dlc coatings on the forks all the way up to 2023.

IMG 9143.jpeg?VersionId=n.RD03bIxSOy4fGpdc5qdKNBD
But now the 2024 doesnt have it for some reason, I wonder why?

IMG 9145

adamw21 wrote:
For one the top is a 24 with coated forks the bottom is a 24 with non coated forks.  Two I assume since the bike is...

For one the top is a 24 with coated forks the bottom is a 24 with non coated forks.  Two I assume since the bike is all new they wanted to cut cost somewhere 

Lol you made the same mistake I made. I wrote 23 for both but meant 23 on top 24 on bottom. See how easy it is to mess up lol? 
 

Anyways they came with dlc for many years and then stopped for 24’ I wonder why. I dont remember any of the reviews mentioning this so I hadnt even noticed until now. 

Chris_Buehler
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PORTLAND, CT, USA
10/5/2023 6:39pm

What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without Kashima if it's just to look pretty and it doesn't hold up

mxb2
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Location
Bowie, MD, USA
10/5/2023 6:57pm
What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without...

What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without Kashima if it's just to look pretty and it doesn't hold up

Do it, its only ,$,  i.got the factory connection b kit on my zook, can i tell a difference,nope lol.  But it looks badazz. 

2
Chris_Buehler
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PORTLAND, CT, USA
10/5/2023 7:07pm
What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without...

What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without Kashima if it's just to look pretty and it doesn't hold up

mxb2 wrote:

Do it, its only ,$,  i.got the factory connection b kit on my zook, can i tell a difference,nope lol.  But it looks badazz. 

I like your style

mxb2
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Location
Bowie, MD, USA
10/5/2023 7:10pm
What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without...

What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without Kashima if it's just to look pretty and it doesn't hold up

mxb2 wrote:

Do it, its only ,$,  i.got the factory connection b kit on my zook, can i tell a difference,nope lol.  But it looks badazz. 

I like your style

Thanks man 😄

braaap_n_pew
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Location
Darrington, WA, USA
12/9/2023 5:16am

This is actually a Richter Precision problem we've been seeing for a while now. They're one of the few places that does colored PVD coatings for a "reasonable price" and won't deal with the public, just businesses, so they're popular in the suspension industry for the rainbow, blue, green and violet tubes. For probably the past year we've been seeing their DLC start to wear in 10-20 hours, we've seen the rainbow develop sand lines in a weekend and just general reduction across the board in their quality. SGB is just a service and mod shop, they don't do PVD coatings in house, so it's not entirely their fault but we've seen this for a while and they should have had an alternative solution by now. But that said, the most "beware" part really should be just the coatings, as the quality of most DLC and TiNi has gotten pretty poor these past few years.  

MxAddic
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USA
12/9/2023 5:58am
What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without...

What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without Kashima if it's just to look pretty and it doesn't hold up

Kashima is a high quality hard anodizing. It is functional to be sure, slick and durable. The benefits DLC, TiN, ect. are negligible.

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Zycki11
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Edwardsville, IL, USA
12/9/2023 7:50am
What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without...

What's the point behind Kashima other then to look trick? Thought about having Enzo go to town on my forks. But I could really go without Kashima if it's just to look pretty and it doesn't hold up

MxAddic wrote:

Kashima is a high quality hard anodizing. It is functional to be sure, slick and durable. The benefits DLC, TiN, ect. are negligible.

Nah mate, placebo blue pill all day.  You roll up with your new boingers on looking trick and you instantly go 3 seconds a lap faster and it damn sure looks much better sitting on the stand. Win win situation

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