Posts
7422
Joined
11/30/2013
Location
Portland/Los Angeles, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
9/14/2019 6:37pm
Ive been watching all the shootout videos and listening to the podcasts and wondering how people keep the suspension stock. Maybe I’m on crazy pills, but I’ve never had a stock suspension setting past 30 hours.
Poll
Always race tech gold valves
The Shop
My next bike (buying this fall or winter) will get the suspension sent to RG3 asap.
But I just bought a YZ450FX...and the suspension is SO good stock...that I won't be doing anything but the clickers and sag on this thing.
If I were a C, D, maybe even slow B (I'm slow A and could use a few more riding schools...and could for sure use some more time in the gym. HA!)...I'd take all the money I'd spend on suspension and spend it on riding schools and a gym membership. For riders at that level, their technique and fitness hold them back far more than their suspension. And they'd gain far more speed by improving their technique and fitness than they would improving their suspension.
In my view, I change it if it needs changing. I'm 165 lbs and the current race bikes are pretty damn good stock. I've ridden the Kwaker, Honda, Husky and KTMs... I would run stock spring rate in all but the Kawi, which definitely benefits from a stiffer fork spring. I have ridden the latest YZ250F and could leave that pretty much bone stock to race, it's very good.
When I was a beginner I just changed clickers, sag and learned about fork height.
When I could run up front in novice, I had an old-timer buddy who helped me improve my Honda by shuffling a few shims and changing springs.
These days, as a 39 year old expert, I buy an extra set of suspension and send it out. Then I compare the stuff to my best stock setting. If the revavled stuff is better everywhere I duplicate the setting in my stock stuff and develop it further with shims, springs, oil, etc. so that I have what I believe is a best setting for me in two sets of suspension.
I’m just trying to wrap my head around all the shootout feedback and wondering if 75% of the riders are changing the valving and springs how it would change the rankings.
Pit Row
My previous bike was a 2010 yz250 that got the full treatment. It was probably better than my stock 2018 but not $1000 better that the revalve cost me and there were still some things that after sending it back twice I still didn't like.
I think a lot depends on the bike and rider. Some bikes just don't come with good settings, others do while some riders are the weight the stock suspension was designed for, others are not
No offense to the major suspension companies out there, but there's not really much magic involved in revalving suspension. Even companies like RaceTech, Factory Connection, etc will only get you "close" based on the information you provided to them when you placed your order. I've had multiple bikes with RaceTech Gold Valves and, for me, they worked great compared to how the bike was in stock form. But unless you have one of those companies at the track watching you, and making adjustments right then and there, you're just getting a setup that is in the ballpark. That may be good enough for some people, but i'm pretty anal about how my bikes handle.
I now have a stockpile of various shims, a decent amount of suspension tools, and do most of my own suspension work. Anything that requires resurfacing or machining i'll send out.
With my Alta MXR, there really wasn't a good set of suspension settings out there to start from, so it truly has been trial and error to get the suspension feeling how i like it. But it's been fun learning and testing.
I can back the rear spring off as far as it will safely go and still can't get the sag close. Most stock bikes are set up for about 165 to 190.
I have FC do mine. I still do some adjusting, but I always end up very happy with their work.
Having your suspension done is money well spent imo.
I think you are better off getting a setting you can trust, and then riding with it. When you are constantly changing shit, you never know how the bike is going to react. I do make mild clicker adjustments from time to time.
There is definitely room for a little bit of improvement on both of my bikes. But FC and some of the other companies have priced themselves right out of the game. FC wants a metric fortune to work on the AER forks, and they are unbelievably simple....I just do not personally see the ROI.
again, atleast from what I have experienced. I typically ride the bike once or twice to see the condition of the valving and spring rate and then adjust accordingly. I can feel the coatings so they are a necessity and Factory Connection dials the valving almost immediately. I have ridden two sets of forks set up for me back to back same day, with and without coatings and they do make a drastic difference in comfort and lap times. Factory Connection usually does a small tweak the first service after the set up and then it is good for most of the year.
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