Brand new fork tubes scratched before even driven?

[robbocop33]

Fitted brand new fork tubes to my zxr, even before I had driven the sodding thing I noticed a lot of fine scratches running up and down the exposed part of the forks!??
Hadn't even been out on it yet, just been pumping forks a few times after rebuilding them, fitted new seals and bushes with fresh oil obviously.
Thing I don't get it's not as if one bit grit has stuck in seal and one part of the fork is scratched, the fine vertical scratches run all around the fork! It's as if the whole of the seal contacting the chrome is leaving fine marks?
Here's a pic, looks worse in real life. One fork is worse than the other, one is seeping slightly, the other is dry.

[bgunn]

New bushes fitted too I presume? They’re normally Teflon coated to avoid scratches..

What make of stanchion?

[robbocop33]

Yes bushes done too, got them from Abe engineering. They say they're chromed but it's not really a see you're face in it chrome, if you know what I mean, they just don't 'look' like they'd be as impervious to scratching as proper hard chroming would be?

[podman]

That would hack me right off...contact them and see what they say, a few years back, a few of us had some KR1 discs manufactured by ABE , using the original Kawasaki rotors , once complete, a couple of them where under minimum thickness as supplied and 1 was warped..Ill be interested in hearing what they say to you.

[robbocop33]

The thing is too I had a pig of a time judging when the tubes were screwed fully home into the fork bottoms(think you have to do this for the first time to know what I mean, they would jam now and again)
So basically three times I built these forks in a row until I knew tubes were fully home, and every single time I rebuilt them new oil went in, didn't just refill with new oil I'd just put in! :-)
So it can't be crappy old oil scratching the forks.
I had everything surgically clean when rebuilding, covered fork end with plastic bag and oiled it before slipping seals on etc, I even stuck on sticky backed aluminium foil tape on the inside of my fork seal install tool so forks wouldn't get marked! I'm pretty pissed off and confused just now.

Edited by robbocop33 on Tuesday 21st November 22:17

[bgunn]

robbocop33 said:

The thing is too I had a pig of a time judging when the tubes were screwed fully home into the fork bottoms(think you have to do this for the first time to know what I mean, they would jam now and again)
So basically three times I built these forks in a row until I knew tubes were fully home, and every single time I rebuilt them new oil went in, didn't just refill with new oil I'd just put in! :-)
So it can't be crappy old oil scratching the forks.
I had everything surgically clean when rebuilding, covered fork end with plastic bag and oiled it before slipping seals on etc, I even stuck on sticky backed aluminium foil tape on the inside of my fork seal install tool so forks wouldn't get marked! I'm pretty pissed off and confused just now.

Edited by robbocop33 on Tuesday 21st November 22:17

Then I'd say the chrome isn't proper hard chrome - if they leak, then they're not right..

[robbocop33]

bgunn said:

Then I'd say the chrome isn't proper hard chrome - if they leak, then they're not right..

That's what I'm thinking. They look more like a shiny stainless than a mirror finish chrome?I've actually just seen other problems with this companies forks, disappointed with the finish(like I am) and people saying they've gone rusty??
After contacting me they're saying they're chromed, and I told them it's like no hard chroming 'i've' ever seen!
I mean how many times would you have to use forks before this many scratches would show on a 'proper' hard chrome, just to remind you all, these scratches are just with pumping the bike up and down to check they weren't leaking, before I was even on the road with it!!

Edited by robbocop33 on Wednesday 22 November 19:29

[bgunn]

robbocop33 said:

That's what I'm thinking. They look more like a shiny stainless than a mirror finish chrome?
After contacting me they're saying they're chromed, and I told them it's like no hard chroming 'i've' ever seen!
I mean how many times would you have to use forks before this many scratches would show on a 'proper' hard chrome, just to remind you all, these scratches are just with pumping the bike up and down to check they weren't leaking, before I was even on the road with it!!

Definitely shouldn't scratch in a few strokes of the fork. They will over time, of course, but generally it's light polishing rather than scratching if the stanchion was ground properly.

I've had good success with Paolo Tarozzi stanchions, I fitted a pair on my old VFR750 and they were brilliant; just put a pair on my Thundercat and very happy with them. Yes, I have a soft spot for slightly bloated tourers! Haha.

[robbocop33]

I've to send the complete forks down to them for 'an inspection', I'll have a guess at the findings, fresh oil, new bushes, new oil seals, new dust seals, scratched forks! :-/

[podman]

Good luck, keep us posted.