The 'knock'....the final thread!

[Greggy]

hi giuseppe

what a waste of time 'inspecting' your engine. every man and his dog knows its the bloody bearings that need changing. there are modified bearings. apparently suzuki colour code the bearings, so your engine might blue bearings (i kid you not). the engineer takes out the blue bearings and orders blue beta bearings as the replacements. and re fits them. i don't know what your dealer is trying to pull. i think it's your plonker. what you need to do is address the knock noise and the extra vibes from the knock. i can hear mine clearly through the exhausts. then, when your dealer 'inspects' your engine, they have to get rid of the noise (knock) or they will have to give you your money back. don't muck about with inspections. a honda dealer inspected a noise from a glove box in my car. it went in twice for an inspection. they found nothing, yet when i looked there was 2 odd sized screws holding the clip on, and all the screws on a metal bar were finger tight, some loose, casuing the twanging noise. what i don't understand is why suzuki has authorised your dealer to waste time measuring your engine instead of just taking it apart and re fitting your bearings. did they say that if they found nothing wrong that they will charge you? i would just tell them to get rid of the knock or you want your money back.

[gpsv1000]

Originally Posted by Greggy

hi giuseppe

.... what i don't understand is why suzuki has authorised your dealer to waste time measuring your engine instead of just taking it apart and re fitting your bearings. did they say that if they found nothing wrong that they will charge you? i would just tell them to get rid of the knock or you want your money back.

Is it possible that Suzuki Italy is not aware of what the real problem is? I know it sounds strange but... who knows?!? I agree that it would be a waste of time. The mechanic suggested me: "keep riding, you got two year of full warranty, ride hard... go to race-track if it fails the warranty will cover the damage". I am starting to think it is a nice point...


Giuseppe


P.S.
Devil OVO cans=nice music + nice torque + smooth low end :-)))

[Viking]

I sure wish more people would respond to the survey that andyw so kindly have created. 124 have responded to the survey but more than 300 have responded, asked or contributed to this thread. The thread have more than 7700 views.

Obviously there a lot of lurkers looking in on this thread too.
I wish some of them could be so kind as to visit Andy's knock page and fill out the survey. Perhaps we could get closer to a solution on this mystery.

The survey is anonymous so there are nothing to worry about

[Greggy]

giuseppe

it's unkilely suzuki italy doesn't know what is going on. what i really can't understand is why they are bothering to take it apart, this will take up more time, therefore more money to do this rather than attack the problem directly. your dealer said exactly what my dealer said, almost word for word. ui'm getting my bike repaired for 2 reasons, the noise is annoying me and when i come to sell it, i know people will walk away because they think the bottom end has gone. what you need to do, if you don't mind me saying, is to get your dealer to concentrate on the knocking, you want the knocking to stop. try another dealer. i'm getting new exhausts, but i have to wait until i get my bike back.

[LVNLRGR]

Mine knocks only when very hot at idle which leads me to believe that a tolerence is to tight rather than too loose. Something is expanding under heat like the clutch. All loose main bearings that I have heard just get louder as the revs rise. Many have said they have been riding with it like this for many miles and we don't have good data on people who have had the replacement done. People seems to be selling before they find out if it returns. I'm out of warranty and plan to ride it out to see what happens. If she blows there will be alot of parts up in the for sale section. You can possibly get more than resale value that way anyway. Stop the hysteria!

[andyw]

I faxed the following letter to Suzuki earlier this month:

Dear sirs,

SV1000 Engine fault – ‘knocking’ noises

I have owned an SV1000S from new (March 2003) and overall am very happy with the bike. However, I write now on behalf of SV1000 owners worldwide on the subject stated above as I am concerned at the lack of customer service from the majority of Suzuki Dealers when approached on this issue. Whilst not affected directly at this point, I am, like many owners as yet unaffected, concerned about this problem occurring outside the warranty period.

I am sure that there is no need for me to describe the ‘knocking’ issue that is concerning so many owners as I am sure you already have the relevant information but you may care to take the time to review information and comments from owners on the following two web sites:

www.sv1000.inuk.com

http://www.sv1000.zyns.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5452

The purpose of this letter is to request that Suzuki should now be honest with it’s customers and issue an official statement clarifying exactly what the cause of the ‘knock’ is, which bikes may be affected and the recommended course of action for owners of affected bikes. To date there have been may different ‘stories’ given by Dealers (those that acknowledge that there even is a problem!) some of which appear to substantiate the content of a document rumoured to have originated from Suzuki (for details visit the first web link above) with some Dealers carrying out associated Warranty repairs. Confusion prevails though with Dealers responding in different ways to their customer’s concerns and no sign of an official response to this matter from Suzuki.

A number of owners (in the USA particularly) have already traded their SVs in, not solely due to concerns over the ‘knock’ but because of the lack of customer service from Dealers when approached with concerns regarding this issue. Many other owners have been without their bikes for weeks whilst an apparent repair (main bearings / clutch basket?) is effected….I say apparent as I am now aware of one bike that had the main bearings replaced and after only a few hundred miles has the ‘knock’ again. Personally, having closely followed this issue and the way it has been dealt with to date, my first Suzuki will be my last in the absence of Suzuki being seen to do something to redress the situation i.e. a major improvement in customer service and a statement to owners clarifying the situation.

I look forward to your early reply.

Yours faithfully,

[andyw]

The only good thing I can say about their response is that it was quick....otherwise what a crap letter (and that's ignoring the 'waffle', bad grammer and poor layout......really unproffessional!):

[andyw]

So now I've written again in slightly stronger terms!!

Dear Miss/Ms/Mrs Clements,

Your letter dated 6th Sept 2004 – Ref 2000/37509
SV1000 Engine fault – ‘knocking’ noises

I was very disappointed on reading your response to my letter dated 2nd September.

It is worrying that you have clearly not taken the time to thoroughly research the issue of the ‘knock’ and I am very concerned at the vague and misinformed nature of your reply, especially after I had raised questions over the quality of customer service provided by Suzuki! I trust that the apparent denial by your ‘Technical colleagues’ of there being an issue at all is the result of a misunderstanding of your enquiry to them, not the result of an official Suzuki policy to ‘cover up’!

I would appreciate you considering the points below following which you may care to respond again to the issues/questions I previously raised (I have also highlighted a few comments in the copy of my original letter, attached, to help you) :

• There is no doubt that a fault of some description exists with some SV1000 engines resulting in the symptom that is referred to as ‘the knock’. I know of 9 owners that have already had modified main bearings installed under Warranty and a further 54 whose bikes apparently exhibit the knock. On the face of it, relatively small numbers I know but taking in to account that I only have access to information from a small percentage of owners, enough to substantiate that there is an issue with a ‘batch’ of engines.

• Suzuki has clearly committed time and money to researching/identifying the fault and to the development of a solution as demonstrated by the availability of modified main bearings. Clearly an acknowledgement of the problem and I don’t believe this would have been done if the potential number of engines affected was small.

• Some official Suzuki Dealers have already acknowledged that there is a problem with some engines, apparently based on information they have received from Suzuki HO.

• The content of an internal Suzuki memorandum refers to a ‘batch’ of engines where the crankcases (main bearing mounts) have been machined to incorrect tolerances, the ‘fix’ for which being the installation of modified main bearings. (whilst I’ve not seen the original document this information is from a ‘trusted source’)

• For more information visit www.sv1000.inuk.com and www.sv1000.zyns.com as previously suggested

No disrespect to you personally intended but I feel that your response now should come from the Director / Manager of Customer Service.

Yours sincerely,

[Davejm74]

Great letters AndyW!!! Keep up the good work, we all really appreciate it!!!!!

[tmht]

Andy, appreciate the time you are taking to put these letters in. But you may want to consider editing the "knockers" popup before that letter gets delivered. As much as I appreciate the asthetic quality of that particular popup :supsmiley , it may not help further the case.

[andyw]

Thanks guys............tmht good point!

[Viking]

And you've got a typo in your web-site adress. You forgot .com in the end.

[Johnny_SV]

Andy:

I think I speak on behalf of all of us here by saying that you are doing an absolutely fantastic job! Your efforts have not gone unnoticed!

The next time I'm in the UK, I'll look you up and take you out for a pint or two!! Can you recommend any good strip clubs in your area?

I think Suzuki has no choice but to OFFICIALLY respond to your well-crafted letter.

BTW, I recently completed my first oil change using Suzuki's recommended 10w40 mineral oil, and so far, no knock. But I believe its important for all members to complete your survey regardless of their engine's health. For some reason I believe the results of your survey will be more forthcoming than any bullshit Suzuki can/will provide.

So get to it you lazy asses, you know who you are.

Johnny

[andyw]

Originally Posted by Viking

And you've got a typo in your web-site adress. You forgot .com in the end.

Buggar!.....good spot (how many times did I read it!? - amended above now - it was quoted ok in the previous letter so hopefully that'll do)


Johnny_SV - cheers m8

.....The next time I'm in the UK, I'll look you up and take you out for a pint or two!! Can you recommend any good strip clubs in your area?

...sounds good and I do know (I mean have heard of ) a good lap dancing joint locally!!

[DG's-SV1000S]

Hi, I've contacted Andy with this information approx 3-4 weeks ago and have not received a reply or feedback. The e-mail originator was dlab@istop.com
If there is a different avenue to follow, I'm keen as I do not appreciate hearing the knock at any time and I question the motors longevity. BTW I have only had my bike since July 2 and due to the restrictive liscence I have I always have to ride with someone which is not always possible. Love the bike and this is a great forum, Pls keep up the great work.

Dave