Factory Connection AER48 Spring Conversion

kwenske321
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373
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Houston, TX US
4/17/2017 6:41pm
LumpDog841 wrote:
I know I said I would give you an update, but unfortunately I've been sick for the past few days and haven't been able to ride...
I know I said I would give you an update, but unfortunately I've been sick for the past few days and haven't been able to ride. Will hopefully have an update after this Saturday.
kwenske321 wrote:
Any ride report?
LumpDog841 wrote:
At the moment it's not looking too good for the forks. Keep in mind this is my first ride since Oct 31st of last year so...
At the moment it's not looking too good for the forks. Keep in mind this is my first ride since Oct 31st of last year so I was trying to shake down a lot of different things on the bike and didn't make any clicker or psi changes, but at the moment I'm a little worried. My biggest issue I felt was the lack of front end feel, and as we sit now if I could go back in time I would have done the conversion. The weather is still being pretty crappy here but I think I should be able to spend Fri-Sun at the track trying to get the forks dialed in and will report back if I was able to make any improvements (I think I will). Here is what my current setup looks like.



Were you able to get anymore seat time to test the suspension this past weekend?
LumpDog841
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4/17/2017 7:01pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2017 7:04pm
kwenske321 wrote:
Were you able to get anymore seat time to test the suspension this past weekend?
Hey, sorry I was just about to post a follow up. Going back to my old settings the forks definitely felt a lot better, unfortunately the track never got super rough so I have the feeling that this setting still will not be my base setting. I still feel the forks are lacking feel on corner entry. As long as the weather holds up I'm riding Wed and Fri and racing next Sunday. If I were you I would call Factory Connection (super friendly and easy to talk too) and talk to them, express your concerns about what issues other members have had and see what they say. I'm going to see how the race goes next Sunday, and from there make my final decision. At the moment I'm probably going to send them back for the conversion or buy some Cone Valve forks.

*Edit* If I could go back in time I would do the conversion.
kwenske321
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Houston, TX US
4/17/2017 9:01pm
kwenske321 wrote:
Were you able to get anymore seat time to test the suspension this past weekend?
LumpDog841 wrote:
Hey, sorry I was just about to post a follow up. Going back to my old settings the forks definitely felt a lot better, unfortunately the...
Hey, sorry I was just about to post a follow up. Going back to my old settings the forks definitely felt a lot better, unfortunately the track never got super rough so I have the feeling that this setting still will not be my base setting. I still feel the forks are lacking feel on corner entry. As long as the weather holds up I'm riding Wed and Fri and racing next Sunday. If I were you I would call Factory Connection (super friendly and easy to talk too) and talk to them, express your concerns about what issues other members have had and see what they say. I'm going to see how the race goes next Sunday, and from there make my final decision. At the moment I'm probably going to send them back for the conversion or buy some Cone Valve forks.

*Edit* If I could go back in time I would do the conversion.
Thanks agian for the info and good feed back. I have spoken to FC and Jeremy at MX-Tech. Been trying to decide what I want to do. At first I was leaning towards the FC spring conversion, stay air and then started looking at the A48R kit by MX-Tech. Jeremy offered some really good info on the air vs spring debate and basically said it all depends on what you are used too, what you like and the type of riding you do. In short, he said the spring will offer better feel and traction in hard pack conditions and the A48R will suit sandy/loam conditions. It's worth noting that he also said you can feel the added 3 lbs. I have used FC for the past five years and it's been pretty good, but I am curious to try something new. I am about 80% leaning towards the A48R stuff by MX-Tech.
LumpDog841
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4/18/2017 6:04am
kwenske321 wrote:
Were you able to get anymore seat time to test the suspension this past weekend?
LumpDog841 wrote:
Hey, sorry I was just about to post a follow up. Going back to my old settings the forks definitely felt a lot better, unfortunately the...
Hey, sorry I was just about to post a follow up. Going back to my old settings the forks definitely felt a lot better, unfortunately the track never got super rough so I have the feeling that this setting still will not be my base setting. I still feel the forks are lacking feel on corner entry. As long as the weather holds up I'm riding Wed and Fri and racing next Sunday. If I were you I would call Factory Connection (super friendly and easy to talk too) and talk to them, express your concerns about what issues other members have had and see what they say. I'm going to see how the race goes next Sunday, and from there make my final decision. At the moment I'm probably going to send them back for the conversion or buy some Cone Valve forks.

*Edit* If I could go back in time I would do the conversion.
kwenske321 wrote:
Thanks agian for the info and good feed back. I have spoken to FC and Jeremy at MX-Tech. Been trying to decide what I want to...
Thanks agian for the info and good feed back. I have spoken to FC and Jeremy at MX-Tech. Been trying to decide what I want to do. At first I was leaning towards the FC spring conversion, stay air and then started looking at the A48R kit by MX-Tech. Jeremy offered some really good info on the air vs spring debate and basically said it all depends on what you are used too, what you like and the type of riding you do. In short, he said the spring will offer better feel and traction in hard pack conditions and the A48R will suit sandy/loam conditions. It's worth noting that he also said you can feel the added 3 lbs. I have used FC for the past five years and it's been pretty good, but I am curious to try something new. I am about 80% leaning towards the A48R stuff by MX-Tech.
Yeah I've heard good things from MX-Tech, used their stuff a long time ago good stuff. Most of my riding is sandy tracks and at the moment I don't have a lot of confidence when entering ruts/corners because its lacking feedback and feel. I've had a few white knuckle moments when the front just gave away without warning. Honestly if this weeks race goes poorely I'm probaly going to go with some Cone-Valve forks and stop messing around.

The Shop

Motofinne
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FI
4/18/2017 7:28am
There are multiple people that i ride with that have gone the MX-Tech route with both forks and shock. A48-R, bladder kit, shock compression adjuster. They like it!

I'm picking up a set of Cone Valves that i found nearby, it will be interesting to go back to a spring fork and it will be my first kit fork. I'm sure that the added weight will take a few hours to get used to.

LumpDog841
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CO US
4/20/2017 7:55am
Motofinne wrote:
There are multiple people that i ride with that have gone the MX-Tech route with both forks and shock. A48-R, bladder kit, shock compression adjuster. They...
There are multiple people that i ride with that have gone the MX-Tech route with both forks and shock. A48-R, bladder kit, shock compression adjuster. They like it!

I'm picking up a set of Cone Valves that i found nearby, it will be interesting to go back to a spring fork and it will be my first kit fork. I'm sure that the added weight will take a few hours to get used to.

Make sure you provide an update on the CV forks
kwenske321
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4/20/2017 11:02am
So I sent my stuff to FC. Going to stay with the air configuration. If I don't end up liking it I'll probably just go with a set of Cone valves also.
Motofinne
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4/23/2017 12:30am
Motofinne wrote:
There are multiple people that i ride with that have gone the MX-Tech route with both forks and shock. A48-R, bladder kit, shock compression adjuster. They...
There are multiple people that i ride with that have gone the MX-Tech route with both forks and shock. A48-R, bladder kit, shock compression adjuster. They like it!

I'm picking up a set of Cone Valves that i found nearby, it will be interesting to go back to a spring fork and it will be my first kit fork. I'm sure that the added weight will take a few hours to get used to.

LumpDog841 wrote:
Make sure you provide an update on the CV forks
Sure, there are lots of people here with them with reviews. Pretty much everyone will tell you that they are the gift from god and just awesome!

I haven't ever rode with kit suspension so it will be exciting to ride next week.
LumpDog841
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5/20/2017 3:10pm
Got about a week riding with the CV forks, and boy are they a lot better. I feel like the forks sometimes are laughing as if saying is that all you got? The harder I push these forks the better they work.



Hcallz5
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UT US
5/21/2017 12:27pm
Damn how much did that little setup cost you? Good to hear you are liking it!

Also what keyboard do you have? My mechanical shit the bed a few weeks ago and I've been using a cheapo ever since, can't decide on a new one....
kwenske321
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Houston, TX US
5/21/2017 6:30pm
LumpDog841 wrote:
Got about a week riding with the CV forks, and boy are they a lot better. I feel like the forks sometimes are laughing as if...
Got about a week riding with the CV forks, and boy are they a lot better. I feel like the forks sometimes are laughing as if saying is that all you got? The harder I push these forks the better they work.



Man that's awesome! Long story short, when I sent my suspension to FC I told them I wanted to stay with the air set up. When I got it back they converted it to spring and didn't even charge me haha! I have two rides on the factory connection aer48 spring conversion and so far it's pretty good. I would say the front wheel definitely seems to follow the ground better with better traction. Also, I have yet to bottom the forks on areas of my local track where the air configuration would bottom. There is some added weight with the spring conversion but it does not hinder the feel or handling characteristics of the bike. Overall I would recommend the FC spring conversion to anyone looking for more performance out of the aer48 or unhappy with the air fork characteristics but unwilling to spend the money on the cone valves.
LumpDog841
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CO US
5/21/2017 8:27pm
Hcallz5 wrote:
Damn how much did that little setup cost you? Good to hear you are liking it! Also what keyboard do you have? My mechanical shit the...
Damn how much did that little setup cost you? Good to hear you are liking it!

Also what keyboard do you have? My mechanical shit the bed a few weeks ago and I've been using a cheapo ever since, can't decide on a new one....
~$3800 including shipping, pretty cool that Factory Connection remembered me as a support rider from 03 to 06 timeframe and helped me out.

The keyboard is a Corsair Vengeance K70 with Brown switches.
LumpDog841
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CO US
5/21/2017 8:32pm Edited Date/Time 5/21/2017 8:38pm
kwenske321 wrote:
Man that's awesome! Long story short, when I sent my suspension to FC I told them I wanted to stay with the air set up. When...
Man that's awesome! Long story short, when I sent my suspension to FC I told them I wanted to stay with the air set up. When I got it back they converted it to spring and didn't even charge me haha! I have two rides on the factory connection aer48 spring conversion and so far it's pretty good. I would say the front wheel definitely seems to follow the ground better with better traction. Also, I have yet to bottom the forks on areas of my local track where the air configuration would bottom. There is some added weight with the spring conversion but it does not hinder the feel or handling characteristics of the bike. Overall I would recommend the FC spring conversion to anyone looking for more performance out of the aer48 or unhappy with the air fork characteristics but unwilling to spend the money on the cone valves.
Dude, that is great to hear. I feel the same way about the spring CV forks, they just follow the ground so much better and it feels a lot more confident going into corners. Now if I get a 450 later this year I'll do the conversion instead of the full CV forks. Honestly I'm over the whole air thing. Also how the heck did the mess up doing the conversion and not charging you? It's like $600 isn't it?
kwenske321
Posts
373
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Houston, TX US
5/22/2017 7:10am Edited Date/Time 5/22/2017 7:23am
kwenske321 wrote:
Man that's awesome! Long story short, when I sent my suspension to FC I told them I wanted to stay with the air set up. When...
Man that's awesome! Long story short, when I sent my suspension to FC I told them I wanted to stay with the air set up. When I got it back they converted it to spring and didn't even charge me haha! I have two rides on the factory connection aer48 spring conversion and so far it's pretty good. I would say the front wheel definitely seems to follow the ground better with better traction. Also, I have yet to bottom the forks on areas of my local track where the air configuration would bottom. There is some added weight with the spring conversion but it does not hinder the feel or handling characteristics of the bike. Overall I would recommend the FC spring conversion to anyone looking for more performance out of the aer48 or unhappy with the air fork characteristics but unwilling to spend the money on the cone valves.
LumpDog841 wrote:
Dude, that is great to hear. I feel the same way about the spring CV forks, they just follow the ground so much better and it...
Dude, that is great to hear. I feel the same way about the spring CV forks, they just follow the ground so much better and it feels a lot more confident going into corners. Now if I get a 450 later this year I'll do the conversion instead of the full CV forks. Honestly I'm over the whole air thing. Also how the heck did the mess up doing the conversion and not charging you? It's like $600 isn't it?
Yeah. I suppose someone wasn't paying attention.
erik_94COBRA
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Houston-ish, TX US
10/26/2017 5:43am
LumpDog841 wrote:
Kept my FC stuff air on my '17 250sx Should have a ride report after this Saturday.
kwenske321 wrote:
Please let me know how it is. Looking to box my stuff up in the next week.
slipdog wrote:
I'm putting a a conversion on my TC 250 right now. Been totally happy with the air performance and just wanted to test out the difference...
I'm putting a a conversion on my TC 250 right now. Been totally happy with the air performance and just wanted to test out the difference with a spring kit.

Using the K-Tech kit because it has an adjustable preload like the Showa SFF forks. I have used Race Tech conversions on TAC forks before, but they are not preload adjustable.
How did you like the K-tech spring conversion kit? Any change in performance over the air?

Any other spring converts that want to chime in? Seriously thinking about it for my TC. The inconsistency is very consistent.
MP818
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Grand Prairie, TX US
10/28/2017 2:36pm
bowser wrote:
anyone selling their air cart who has done a spring conversion?
I've got a couple, what do you need?
bowser
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AU
10/28/2017 2:47pm
I replied to your message, basically all the inner workings. Don't need the outer tubes.

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