[KVV]

A friend of mine bought a new Pike Ultimate 2021 B4. The fork is not installed yet. There is a noticeable stiction while compressing the fork, and the movement is jarring. My guess is tight wiper seals, or maybe the damper. The fork does not look dry at all. There is some oil coming out on stanchions. Looks like slick honey to me. Also fully opened the compression but no change. My prior experience is based only on new F32, F34 and F36. While they were not necessarily buttery smooth to compress at first, they have all been much smoother than this Pike.
Is this normal, will it go away when the fork breaks in?

 

[ARider]

Drop the legs, not normal.
I have the same fork and it will move if I look at it.

 

[Grinchy8]

See the large burnishing thread right here in this forum.

 

[fredcook]

I've seen on a couple of occasions Pikes nearly arrive. One was actually on a new bike. I'd do a lower service on it to make sure it's lubed up.

 

[KVV]

Thank you for the responses. Pike can still be returned. Since this is 27.5, there are F36 available on sale right now and even the Grip2 (but 2020) can be had for $200 less. The conclusion is that Pike is not normal. The fork needs at least to be disassembled and serviced to figure out, and maybe will need burnishing. At that point it cannot be returned. I'll leave it for my friend to decide.

 

[wschruba]

Thank you for the responses. Pike can still be returned. Since this is 27.5, there are F36 available on sale right now and even the Grip2 (but 2020) can be had for $200 less. The conclusion is that Pike is not normal. The fork needs at least to be disassembled and serviced to figure out, and maybe will need burnishing. At that point it cannot be returned. I'll leave it for my friend to decide.

Regardless of whether or not it can be made to run normally, you shouldn't spend EXTRA money on top of the cost for a new product to make it work acceptably. Return/replace, unless you happen to have a friend who has a burnishing tool you can use, and don't mind spending your time.

$0.02