Suspension Upgrade - Forks

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2016-11-20 Ride To GPS

KrZy8 has failing starter relay, so Wabs called on to make the run to Oxnard, CA to the new GP Suspension facility. 

The night before.

Cargo.

Registration and safety check completed SAT.

In true CBA style, I couldn't get my ass outta the nice warm bed and into the 22 degree F outside so now it's time to make tracks. Ahem, after breakfast, of course.

Here it is.

Talk of coincidences. One of the owners, Jake Zemke, is a local to me who has even ridden MX at the Hondarosa! Jake is the feller to the right of the guy in the white t-shirt. To the right, Dave does the human dyno test. Result? Raise oil level to 140!

The new MORI CNC machine.

IIRC, 230k and this machine can be in your shop too.

My tires don't look like this..

A face to the the voice on the phone. Meet Brisa. Yes, she's even cuter in person. She has a wicked sense of humor. Great gal.

Dave at work on Naomi's fork.

Shop view.

Ride home along the coast.

Dear Santa. Yes, Please. 12 cylinder BMW sounded great.

The back story.

Dave is doing well. He looked much healthier than last time I saw him, which was up in Oregon. He has lost over 40 pounds and has started over again. I'll not go into details here as to why he ended up selling GPS to KFG but let's just say Dave has had one very tough row to howe. Dave was really hoping to be further along in life, financially and work wise than he is now, but is grateful to be an employee at the the new and improved GPS. Dave has strong opinions regarding the tax structure in Oregon, specifically the county where his old shop was. He got screwed, plain and simple. But he has overcome, thought it through, and is helping rebuild GPS and more importantly, rebuild a new Dave.

The shop is clean and sparkles. It's apparent the new 'management' wants this company to suceed and isn't afraid to put money where their mouth is. At his old shop, Dave had 3 Mori's and more equipment than yet at the new shop. As the biz grows, so will the capabilites and machinery. Dave proudly showed me a mint manual lathe, picked up very locally, for a great price. That's the Dave I remember, very glad to see the sparkle back in the eyes.

Technical stuff? I have no clue what Dave and his bud did. While they worked, I rode Wabs around, had to logon to work and get a few 'gotta haves' done. Came back, bothered Brisa, and the forks were then done. So I don't have any real tecnical stuff to discuss. Sorry.

Dave did say the lower fork leg adjustment is now N/A. Bot compression and rebound are now at fork topside. Dave, being Dave, asked me to bring Naomi next time so he can balance, fine tune, the suspension. This was the first that Dave has seen of the so-called Gen 3 forks with separation of job duties.

Lastly. Dave expressed, multiple times, in most serious tones, that he hopes his reputation on the fjrfoum is still good. That the rough group buy was after he had sold to KFG. That he felt bad his name was even remotely associated with that fiasco. I'm coloring his words with mine, these are my perceptions of Dave. I reassured Dave that as far as I could tell, his street cred is good. That we are  grown men who understand that shit happens and realize he was out of the picture, not involved. 

Dave explained to me that when he was doing group buys, he would place the order on his CC with Penske. Then, when the shock arrived, he would call the customer, ask to use the customer cc number, then process. It appears KFG ran the customer  card then never placed the order with Penske until the fjr peeps brought the heat.

My .02? Dave's reputation remains as it always been. Certified A+.

The end.