[Rik]

Let's try and avoid being silly with jokes about the company, and I know that the fork is probably flexy, too tall, has leaky seals and will rattle my hands off the bars (only with boxxer upgrade kit though).
But apart from that, being serious for a minute, if possible...

I'm looking at buying a new fork soon, and have seen a Risse Champ 7" model going for a decent price. I've no experience with these units, you don't see many around here. So opinions please, on the following:

What are they like in general, in terms of ride quality and build quality? Any chassis or damping issues to note?
Another thing, which is pretty major to me: How service-friendly are they? And is there any chance that the seals are a "common" seal size (ie, moto fork). Australia is fairly remote when it comes to things like parts availability and whatnot, so this is probably going to be the key factor.
Just as a benchmark, I've come off an 02 SuperT, and apart from small chassis dramas (zomg flexy!) it felt pretty damn awesome, and the ability to work on it easily made it even better... so comparing the Champ to that would be good if possible. The price its going for is on par with Boxxer Race's, so it seems to be pretty good compared to them. To put it this way: buying it will be somewhat of a gamble, but will it pay off?

All help is welcome, thanks in advance....

 

[Brian HCM#1]

They aren't bad forks, they are machined nicely and have a good feel. The main issue with the Risse forks are the seals.

 

[ncrider]

Ahh, the risse champ. On the plus side the fork is very owner friendly, customer service is great, you get cool looking carbon fork guards, I've never ever heard of someone breaking a champand and once you put in at least 10wt oil you will have some range of dampening to play with.

On the negative side, it freakin way heavy (12-14lbs can't remember exactly), seals blow out first ride, seals blow out first ride, seals blow out first ride, seals blow out first ride, you get the hint.

The seals blowing out constantly will be a problem for you in Australia. I had mine serviced almost every other month. It got so bad that I just would let the damn thing leak and fill it up with new oil once a week :mumble:

The champ was a great and very strong fork when it first came out around 1999. However, it hasn't really changed since and there are plenty of better performing, longer lasting and lighter forks in the market. Stick with your 02 super t or get a new one. If it's an inverted fork you really want then go with a shiver (the 05 is insane). Bottom line, the champ would be a down grade from what you allready have.

 

[ChrisRobin]

I remember looking at Risse Champs a couple years ago and I remember that they would only get heavy if you got that Big Daddy upgrade (big tubes, big crowns). If I were to get one now, I'd make sure it had the knurled uppers like on the website at the top where it says Risse Racing. I think some of the older ones had lower crowns with only a single bolt clamping the uppers. I think the seals are Risse specific, where they screw in??? I might be wrong on this.

In my opinion, I've always wanted to try one of these forks but for a 7" travel one, I'd forget it. 8" or 9" maybe. You can still get a SuperT with 7"...lighter, probably stronger.

 

[spookydave]

My '00 has held up great. The seals just let go at the end of last season. I never replaced them but have a brand new set to install.
It's getting ready to go to the buy sell really soon.

 

[steve45]

i have 02 8" champs with big daddy crowns and uppers.

absolutle solid forks, damping feels smooth and controlled.
i've never had a single problem with this seal problem i keep hearing about, maybe the bigdaddy kit has improved seals but i dunno.
unfortunatly they are fairly heavy though, but they are the stiffest inverted design fork i've ever tryed.

they are great forks apart from there weight.
i've been trying to get rid of mine for a while now, only because i dont use them enough to justify keeping them.

 

[James | Go-Ride]

Actually all the jokes you hear about forks now are based on variations of actual problems that the Champ and Trixxxy forks suffered from. Champs were great forks when they were at their peak, other than that the seals couldn't handle much pressure build-up inside the forks. Run your oil too high and the seals would pop out like women accusing Bill Clinton of sexual harrassment.

However, the years following the release of competing forks from other manufacturers (like the Shiver, Avy, to some extent the X-Vert Carbon, the Dorado, and the 180/DH2.0) that had much better seals, easier access to repair parts, and (other than Marzo of late) race support saw a big drop in people buying Risse stuff. Since demand has been decreasing, so has quality. I wouldn't pick up a Risse unless you really have no other choice. If it's old enough that it won't have QC problems (98 - 2000), then it's probably also ready to fall apart inside. If it's newer than that, chances are the fork is loaded with problems as is (improperly assembled cartridges, inner fork tubes that weren't deburred, etc).

Long story short, there's a reason you don't see 'em on our site anymore.

 

[spookydave]

James, when I got my BRAND NEW champ I noticed the legs were different lenghts. So I called them. They said "Oh, your the one". I'm the one what I asked?? "Your the one we sent the 7" and 8" leg to" lol They did make it right but it was a hassle.
I have a Trixxy too and for what I use it for I like it. Now the J5...... leaks like an old Harley and the rebound never really did much.

 

[Bullitrider]

I used a '99 for a season of racing and riding and never had a problem with the seals. This was at the Snoqualmie ski resort which is nothing but brutal rocks and bumps & you may know what Whistler is like. A true test and no problems. The only reason I had it was because it came with a used frame but it's just too heavy for my 150 lbs.

 

[Jeremy R]

James, when I got my BRAND NEW champ I noticed the legs were different lenghts. So I called them. They said "Oh, your the one". I'm the one what I asked?? "Your the one we sent the 7" and 8" leg to".

That's pretty much all you need to know.
and
:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[Rik]

Hrm, well... given the above, looks like I'll just keep on searching before I buy a new fork.
Thanks for the help guys, I really do appreciate it. Just to respond to a few points for the sake of it:
The 02 Super T, if it was still alive I wouldn't be posting this thread... 'tis a shame, what a great fork it was, but I did a few silly things (involving an angle grinder ) and killed the lowers. It was a top fork, great damping, easy to service, tough and reliable. I liked it so much I'm thinking about either get replacement lowers, or doing something even sillier like a fork mod project with the Super internals. Hrm, a Boxxer with SuperT dampers? I wouldn't mind giving that a go... I've a few dumb ideas like that lurking in the back of my mind, just be thankful that I don't have the time or motivation for them to see reality.
The weight wouldn't be a huge issue, as much as I am a weight weenie, the bike project I'm working on right now is a cromo DH sled, and it ain't a featherweight, that's for sure, so a burly fork up front wouldn't be a big detraction.
For some reason I'm pretty keen on a USD fork, mainly for stanchion protection... where I ride is damn rocky, so much so that I'm sure that one of our tracks is on an unused sandstone quarry. I've had a few crashes that have just about killed fork stanchions in one go, so having bigarse guards on a USD fork would probably be the best way to go about avoiding any more scratching problems. Plus USD looks "moto", and moto is cool, right? The bike will look pretty damn moto too, but aesthetics is on the bottom of my priority list right now.
Ahh well, I'm hoping something else good comes up soon, this Champ is at a bargain price, but given that there's no servicing available here, and the feedback above, I'll have to pass on it.
The 'net mumblings are true by the sounds of it, that 7"/8" fork? Holy crap :nuts:
No wonder this pic exists:

 

[ncrider]

Go with a shiver then.

 

[Internal14]

Hrm, well... given the above, looks like I'll just keep on searching before I buy a new fork.

The 'net mumblings are true by the sounds of it, that 7"/8" fork? Holy crap :nuts:
No wonder this pic exists:

Oh man...I love that picture.
It's realy too bad, I had run the older Champs in one form or another for well over four years. (Tried a Trixxy in `98 or `99 and it just plain sucked. In one run the plastic bushings would heat up ad begin to melt into the stanchions!!!! No shiyat :nuts: )

I fell into Risse back when they were still in Sunnyvale, CA and had a real good guy working for them byt he name of Dimitry(I think!). Anyway, he was on the up and up and there were a few good guys that worked there at the time. But when they moved up north to Redding, they lost any 'brain trust' they had and got cheap smoked out helpers/workers/hang-on-ers. Transcend made it out thank god!

It's a bummer really. I truly liked their product and wish they would have stayed with it. Oh well, evolution marches on and some just miss the waggon.

BTW: I never had much problems with the seals. Although it did seem if you parked the bike for months at a time and never cycled the fork, the seals did dry out a bit...

 

[justhuckit]

my friend snaped his. thats all i can say about them.
kyle

 

[ioscope]

Get a Jr. T Cheap and reliable.

 

[Rik]

The only reason I'd buy a JrT is to drop the SuperT carts straight in to it... and that's an idea I'm highly considering... but the problem is, the only JrT's on the second hand market right now are priced higher than a SuperT would sell for. Damn deluded sellers. Apart from that, I'm trying to avoid orifice damping.

 

[lovebunny]

go for the shiver man. i have one and it rocks majorly. or try an 02 monster

 

[Sandwich]

Chaaaaaamp....

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

Chaaaaaamp....

I saw the pic, and that's why it's funny.

 

[p-spec]

knew that was a risse

 

[5150dhbiker]

I used to have one before I started racing. It was actually really reliable with somewhat decent adjustments. Personally, I'd never go back to it again but no real complaints except for the weight and seals.