[CARL REHATCHEK]

Josh,

I'll go old school on this one

How many hours on the suspension ??

Are the front fork triple clamp bolts torqued to specs(if over torqued they will bind and not work properly)

With the front wheel off the ground remove the air from the forks..

Set sag on the rear shock

Hows all the swingarm and shock bearings..all greased ??

Turning in on the settings make it harder(stiffer) on compression and loosen it makes it softer

Rebound... tightning makes it slower and loosen makes it return faster.

Make the front and rear soft and ride the same section checking it on the same area and doing changes will tell you better if your getting closer or farther way..

[rory teter]

tire selection will help to
i run m59 front with 10 psi and a heavy tube
back i run an intermediate with 10 psi and a heavy tube
stay on the pegs and on the gas

[Josh Headley]

CARL REHATCHEK, on 01 May 2012 - 08:46 PM, said:

Josh,

I'll go old school on this one

How many hours on the suspension ??

Are the front fork triple clamp bolts torqued to specs(if over torqued they will bind and not work properly)

With the front wheel off the ground remove the air from the forks..

Set sag on the rear shock

Hows all the swingarm and shock bearings..all greased ??

Turning in on the settings make it harder(stiffer) on compression and loosen it makes it softer

Rebound... tightning makes it slower and loosen makes it return faster.

Make the front and rear soft and ride the same section checking it on the same area and doing changes will tell you better if your getting closer or farther way..

only few hours on suspension but i did recheck and reset the sag

triple clamps are tightened properly no binding

lower and upper shock bearings are brand spanking new

[JIM AIELLO]

First and foremost revalve your suspension. I always go with my sponsor Factory Connection for my revalving. Believe it or not your suspension works at speed rather than rocks or sand. Yes they do play a part. That is why a good suspension shop will ask what your racing abilty is. They want to know how fast you ride. I took a new Ktm sx250 with stock suspension to the Hancock dualsport many years ago to break it in. My AA buddies were getting bounced around on the fast rocky jeep roads but the sx suspension soaked it up effortlessly. But when we were in the slow single track it felt like a jack hammer. The high speed compression was to stiff (did not flow oil fast enough). For our series we have slow speed technical rock trails so a softer revalve would help. I relate suspension to gears rather than terrain. A good 1st/2nd gear for me would be good for real nasty rock crawling but you're going to get bounced around on power lines. I love 2nd/3rd gear suspension.

The most common revalve I here of is a request to do everything ECEA. It's a little too soft for sand whoops but good in the rocks. In that senario a lot of guys will run a step harder springs for sand. Play with the clickers but I never recommend all out and especially all in because it has a binding effect. If your suspension is too stiff you will feel like you're getting beat up physically. The whole key is to have smooth lines and no bouncing around. Throttle is steady and not skitso.

Factory Connection & WER revalves are top notch but Eric at Town & Country does a really good job along with Bud at Matto cycle for a little less money. All these shops know our series/terrain.

Tires are important too. Use a front tire with a LESS agressive sidewall knob so you don't grab the rocks and deflect. For the rear a trials tire is tops for traction and consistantly driving the front foward.

Finally try a friends bike with revalved suspension. I just tried a friends this past weekend and it felt like a soft pillow in the slow chop. Soon enough you will find out what you do and don't like.

Good luck

[Josh Headley]

JIM AIELLO, on 01 May 2012 - 10:06 PM, said:

First and foremost revalve your suspension. I always go with my sponsor Factory Connection for my revalving. Believe it or not your suspension works at speed rather than rocks or sand. Yes they do play a part. That is why a good suspension shop will ask what your racing abilty is. They want to know how fast you ride. I took a new Ktm sx250 with stock suspension to the Hancock dualsport many years ago to break it in. My AA buddies were getting bounced around on the fast rocky jeep roads but the sx suspension soaked it up effortlessly. But when we were in the slow single track it felt like a jack hammer. The high speed compression was to stiff (did not flow oil fast enough). For our series we have slow speed technical rock trails so a softer revalve would help. I relate suspension to gears rather than terrain. A good 1st/2nd gear for me would be good for real nasty rock crawling but you're going to get bounced around on power lines. I love 2nd/3rd gear suspension.

The most common revalve I here of is a request to do everything ECEA. It's a little too soft for sand whoops but good in the rocks. In that senario a lot of guys will run a step harder springs for sand. Play with the clickers but I never recommend all out and especially all in because it has a binding effect. If your suspension is too stiff you will feel like you're getting beat up physically. The whole key is to have smooth lines and no bouncing around. Throttle is steady and not skitso.

Factory Connection & WER revalves are top notch but Eric at Town & Country does a really good job along with Bud at Matto cycle for a little less money. All these shops know our series/terrain.

Tires are important too. Use a front tire with a LESS agressive sidewall knob so you don't grab the rocks and deflect. For the rear a trials tire is tops for traction and consistantly driving the front foward.

Finally try a friends bike with revalved suspension. I just tried a friends this past weekend and it felt like a soft pillow in the slow chop. Soon enough you will find out what you do and don't like.

Good luck

my suspension is revalved for a woods set up for my weight my ability and for ecea and other series type harescrambles

it was done by rees at pro action by blue diamond mx in delaware

[paul tillberg]

[/quote]

my suspension is revalved for a woods set up for my weight my ability and for ecea and other series type harescrambles

it was done by rees at pro action by blue diamond mx in delaware
[/quote]


You spent the bucks with rees at pro action. To me that means you have the foot in the door to go bug the crap out of rees at proaction until he can help you get it right or at least close.

[Randy Brown]

Have you talked to Rees about adjustments for varying conditions? He is very accessible and always willing to discuss setup and expected reaction to changes.

Ultimately, to best understand your suspension, YOU have to take the time to experiment.

[Denny Mann]

Josh

You asked where the OxBo Hare Scramble would be held earlier. You will need a rock set up for this race because the location is the same as last year @ the Foot Of The Mountain in Neelyton PA.

[mike walters]

Josh: Great topic. Lots of good advice here. Everyone has had good/bad experiences with different tuners. My vote is Drew at WER and Eric at T+C. Personnaly, I have spent thousands at some of the "big names" and will never go back.
I also like Carl's comments. Always start with the basics.
Final thought is steering dampers. I feel they are especially applicable to rocks and deflection problems. More so than sand.

This post has been edited by mike walters: 02 May 2012 - 06:50 AM

[Anthony Ezerskis]

I had my current suspension revalved and had to send it back 4 times before i liked it.you need to go out and test the bike alot to get the true feel for what its doingLuckily i can ride from my house so that made it alot easier

[JIM AIELLO]

Anthony Ezerskis, on 02 May 2012 - 08:23 AM, said:

I had my current suspension revalved and had to send it back 4 times before i liked it.you need to go out and test the bike alot to get the true feel for what its doingLuckily i can ride from my house so that made it alot easier

Goldilocks!

[Josh Headley]

Denny Mann, on 02 May 2012 - 06:46 AM, said:

Josh

You asked where the OxBo Hare Scramble would be held earlier. You will need a rock set up for this race because the location is the same as last year @ the Foot Of The Mountain in Neelyton PA.

do you have an exact location like an address possibly? or is there a way to see the adresses for these events that i cant find???
i didnt do to many races last year i pick and chose my races cause army national guard keeps me from attending many events

[Josh Headley]

mike walters, on 02 May 2012 - 06:49 AM, said:

Josh: Great topic. Lots of good advice here. Everyone has had good/bad experiences with different tuners. My vote is Drew at WER and Eric at T+C. Personnaly, I have spent thousands at some of the "big names" and will never go back.
I also like Carl's comments. Always start with the basics.
Final thought is steering dampers. I feel they are especially applicable to rocks and deflection problems. More so than sand.

Personally i dont like steering dampners i just dont like em they probably would be good for rocks but i personally would never run one

[JIM AIELLO]

Tom Marsh always told me steering dampners cause forearm pump. Without one you will experience rare OH SHEET moments but rarely fall from them. I always use one on my 2 strokes because the front end is light and deflects easy in rocks and sugar sand. On my Ktm 4 strokes I don't need one. The front end is heavy so it rarely deflects.

Like Randy Brown mentioned earlier,"Ultimately, to best understand your suspension, YOU have to take the time to experiment." Testing is key. I went to the Chris Smith riding school 10 years ago at the Moonshine enduro. There was a suspension tech who spoke about tuning and testing. He advised to test with a street curb which is common to your bike's liar. Without going over the long details, adjust your clickers till the bike tracks straight at a consistant speed over and over. It will take time to aquire a skill for body position and throttle control until you will notice changes to your clickers. If the rear end keeps kicking up in the air back off the compression. If it bottoms increase the compression. If it soaks it up good but still kicks increase rebound (slower). Play with one thing at a time. If you get totally confused go back to the suggested settings in your owners manual or suspension tuners suggestions if revaled and start over. Once your suspension is balanced pay attention to speed with your odometer. A moto suspension should work better at faster speed than a rock suspension. You have to find your speed for the terrain you ride.

[John Castaldi]

Josh Headley, on 02 May 2012 - 08:20 PM, said:

Personally i dont like steering dampners i just dont like em they probably would be good for rocks but i personally would never run one

Dude, really? If you go fast, and ride the rocks, you need to control the front wheel deflection. Not so much in the sand, but rocks.... yea. Try one. It takes a little time to see if it works, and you do have to adjust the dampening (yes, just like a shock), so now you have yet another setting to tune. But when you get all 3 set, you will be a rocket