I don't know if it is expensive or nor. All i know is that every thing made in japan outstans in quality. Stuff like the tektro brakes is often underated, but once you try and use any Japanese made high-end bike part you can't go back to taiwanese.Aaron has made a few very good pints here .
First off Axle to crown seems like the big issue here , you guys really need to look at the #'s out there then do the math there ALL pretty much the same .
Sure you can run a XC fork with will be lower and lighter . Strength to weight ratio doest even compair on most XC forks with a fork with dedicated 20mm through axle lowers.
Axle to crown measurement's per my records .
RST / Society Zeno 80mm = 482mm
Lowered marzocchi 4x to 90mm = 480mm
Rock shok argyle 100 =491mm
Lowered FOX 36 =485.30mm
Keep in mind before I started lowering forks and doing custom tunes on damping systems everyone was running 100mm -150mm forks on their DJ bikes that moved around like pogo sticks .
As Strauss pointed out ( thanks Levi ) these are production forks designed to ride well on most every bike out there , there not ment to be modified at all these are take out of the box install and ride away forks .
Litterly set it and forget it , no need to mess with spacers and heavy weight oil's these are straight outta the box pro level DJ forks that can be ridden by the best riders out there and not harmed .
I WAS NOT going to release a product that would PUT MY CUSTOMERS or MY TEAM riders LIVES at RISK . IE: these aint snapping off at the crown or stanchion anytime soon !!
Please keep in mind this is our initial offering , it cost a TON of $$$$ to have new magnesium lower casting made and if sales go well , you will see more DJ and Street specific forks coming out through KOWA Factory in the near future . Next up we have a 100-mm 1.5 steerer tube slope-style fork coming out for people who like to jump their Bottlerocket's and other bikes similar to this .
I have one of the largest manufacturing corporation's in Japan supporting me and my designs now , really anything is possible.
What other bike manufactures have their own suspension lines BTW: Foes , Specialized ? YUP and Now Nemesis Project