[TSTAgent]

As some of you may know, our team member @Mlow125 was having some issues with his rear shock about a week after purchasing his Z125 Pro on May 6th from a local dealer.

Fast forward about a week and Kawasaki has sent a new rear shock and all is well. Now here we are June 10th and the STRANGEST noise is coming from the front forks. It sounds like the forks may be dry and it's mainly coming from the right fork but not entirely sure. We will be taking them apart and checking oil levels, the springs, and other internal components. No signs of leakage anywhere.

Has anyone else experienced any of these issues? This bike is not a showbike and gets ridden daily. It has even been tested on the track against another team members Honda Grom (see the video below).

Feel free to chime in and if anything, keep an eye on your suspension!

Front Fork Issue

Kawasaki Z125 VS Honda Grom

 

[KawiGirl]

Wow that's horrible, especially since the Z125 is supposed to have great forks. Keep us updated to see if it's an oil problem.

 

[Sleek240]

Yikes, that sounds like an old swing set. Please let us know what you find inside those forks.

 

[HondaGalToo]

Any update on this? My forks make that noise, too. Sometimes, when I'm just sitting on the bike, after a short bit, the bike drops in the front.
Can't wait for the Ohlins valve kit to be available!

 

[KawiGirl]

Not on the Z125 but on a dirt bike, someone had a creaking sound when the front forks are compressed and they figured out that it was the center stem bolt causing that sound. Not sure if it's the same with the Z125.
@TSTAgent what made that weird sound?

 

[TSTAgent]

Hey everyone! Well, we took it to the dealership being that no aftermarket internals were available so we figured replacing the current set-up would fix the issue. We dropped the bike off at the dealership and then a day later we got a call that they replaced the entire forks because "they were unable to open the forks and get internal components on order". Needless to say the noise is still present just not as extreme.

Ohlins has emailed us and let us know they have fork valve kits with springs now available. Those will be on order shortly and installed on the bike as soon as possible.

 

[HondaGalToo]

Hey everyone! Well, we took it to the dealership being that no aftermarket internals were available so we figured replacing the current set-up would fix the issue. We dropped the bike off at the dealership and then a day later we got a call that they replaced the entire forks because "they were unable to open the forks and get internal components on order". Needless to say the noise is still present just not as extreme.

Ohlins has emailed us and let us know they have fork valve kits with springs now available. Those will be on order shortly and installed on the bike as soon as possible.

Thanks for the update! So, the forks should be able to be opened up to replace the internals with the Ohlins fork valve kit....is that just something your dealer didn't know how to do? Or, maybe it was just easier for them to replace the entire fork...less labor time.

Awesome news on the fork kits being available very soon, that'll be my next mod. And better tires. I took it to the kart track, and I have to say, riding minis is more challenging than I would have thought, after track riding on "big bikes" for many years. Lowsided the first lap out, LOL. Really tight turns on the kart tracks, and the stock tires just kind of "fall over" once you hit a bit of lean angle. My experience anyway. Quite embarrassing!!

 

[TSTAgent]

Thanks for the update! So, the forks should be able to be opened up to replace the internals with the Ohlins fork valve kit....is that just something your dealer didn't know how to do? Or, maybe it was just easier for them to replace the entire fork...less labor time.

Awesome news on the fork kits being available very soon, that'll be my next mod. And better tires. I took it to the kart track, and I have to say, riding minis is more challenging than I would have thought, after track riding on "big bikes" for many years. Lowsided the first lap out, LOL. Really tight turns on the kart tracks, and the stock tires just kind of "fall over" once you hit a bit of lean angle. My experience anyway. Quite embarrassing!!

Yeah, I'm assuming they just didn't want to deal with the labor and took the cheaper way out. Tires were one of the first "mods" we made to our bike and switched to Dunlop TT93's. Michelin Power Pures are also a great tire and they're dual compound. Mitas tires are also a great choice used by a lot of mini moto racers. Taking these machines out onto a go-kart track is an absolute blast and something we do as much as possible.

 

[PcPrepGuy]

I also have/had this problem. I started to notice at about 150 miles that it would make the same noise. Im now a little over 1400 miles on it and it still does it. But i was parked against a building and compressed the forks and it didnt make any weird noises. The forks seem to only make the noise when i was holding the front brake. So i narrowed mine down to an issue with the brakes, not the forks. I took the caliper off, de glazed the pads and rotor, made sure the pad springs were all in place and the pins were lubricated. Put it back together an whalla, still made the noise. I then noticed that if i try and pull the brake lever as far as i can into the bar it will not make the noise. I believe the stock brake lines just suck and flex too much which means that they are not holding preassure so the noise was not coming from the fork, mine was coming from the pads rotating and chirping ever so slightly on the rotor.

 

[RacingMax53]

I am so sorry to revive a dead thread, but it doesn't seem like the OP ever fully fixed the issue. Was this issue fully fixed without aftermarket parts?
Cheers for the help!