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MX Tech fixed it (took 2 revalves front and rear) and the guy that diassembled it called me back and said something to the effect of "I use to work for FC and generally they don't do a bad job but what they did your suspension is just confusing, really confusing and piss-poor."
The best suspension I have ridden is a local ex-factory mechanic, Don Lackey, that claims he just needs off the shelf valves, no fancy kits, and the correct spring rate. I rode an '08 CRF450F that he had done and it was just golden. H is also local to me so I will using him on my next bike.
Even though my suspension really is great now I must have $600 in back and forth shipping costs and 2 months in downtime. Never again. I'll be keeping it local from here on out.
I hear some tuners are using a high speed video camera to watch your suspension work over braking bumps etc and making adjustments from there. Anyone know anything about that?
When I was less experienced I just assumed that the suspension guy just knew what I needed better than I did. When I had atrocious FC suspension I struggled for a year on that crap. Even though I recognized that I could no longer charge anywhere on the track I convinced myself that I hadn't wasted $1K.
Only when I rode a dead stock new stock bike like mine at a KTM ride day did I realize just how bad my FC suspension really was. Now I ride lots of bikes w/ revalved stuff that rides poorly. The difference is that I can tell that it is crap now!
The largest problem w/ aftermarket suspension is that people associate 'firm' suspension w/ good suspension when nothing could be further from the truth. Good suspension for non Stewarts is very plush on the braking and acceleration chop. This is what makes you cut fast lap times. I honestly couldn't care any less what my suspension does over the jumps as long as it works in the turns. I use more fork travel braking deep into a rough turn than a do on a 110' jump landing.
Tracktor : I know Dave very well. He did my suspension on and off for about 10+ years. I was originally going to use him again on this bike , but I just wanted to try someone else to see what it was like. Dave is a great guy , not just with suspension. I don't get to talk to him as much any more , but when I do , it's always a pleasure. Who knows.....if this guy that I'm with now can't get my stuff to work , I might just go back to Dave. It's hard to do things like that , without rubbing someones feathers the wrong way though.....which is what I'm trying not to do.
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The stock stuff is really good, despite what people say..that + the right springs will make a big difference.
In the software writing world, everybody else's code is confusing and written piss-poorly. We all want to rewrite everything.
I wouldn't be surprised if there was some of that going on here too, especially when dealing with aftermarket stuff like say gold valves. I'm pretty sure that with the right shim stack they work. But since they pass a lot more oil than a stock valve, somebody who is used to deal with shimming a stock valve is going to be utterly confused looking at a gold valve stack.
The other thing I would worry about is that "Misery likes company" You get some glowing recommendations from a local, how do you know if they are really happy or they don't want to admit they paid a bunch of money for a crappy setup?
I bought a used crf450 that came setup for a dude that was 1' shorter than me and a good 45lbs lighter. The front had springs that were stiffer than what was appropriate for my weight and the rear was about right for him (so way too soft for me) He kept telling me they did an awesome job, but I have my doubts...
im happy with what they did.
you basically call them up, tell em your speed, the terrain you'll be on, and they will already have some suggested settings/mods. they mail you a shipping box for your suspension and it gets done on time.
dont go for the full re-valve. just get the oil/springs right and you'll be happy. the turnaround time is fast.
plus, they treat every customer the same. that cant be said about some other big name companies.
all good suspension places pretty much will do the same work with regards to the basic stuff. pick one that has the least chance of leaving u unhappy....FC
It took 3 valvings in 2 months for FC to setup my rear a few years ago, now I have a setting I am comfortable with and will ask for it on my 2012. They were happy to work with me and I totally recommend them.
The most important thinhg with any suspension tuner is you need to be able to communicate what is going on with it, get feedback and adjust settings to make it better.
That's where boingers are going after christmas.
Then we went to Cal @ FTI and he has done most of our stuff since but our new bike is going to FC. My son has a friend that has raced since he was on 50s and his dad has had every "top suspention guy" do his bikes and last year he had FC do his 250Fs and the kid who a fast A rider was in awe at how good the bikes were. He said that he has never had anything even close.
Now that same kid has JGR doing his suspention and he said its even better then the FC stuff but the JGR stuff was big bucks.
Long story short, I took it to the local guy who hooked me up with a stock shim stack and made the thing rideable. He was laughin at what was done, saying the shims were reversed and he couldn't even compress the shock to bleed it at all, not even standing on it. Annd I had perfect numbers after I went to stock valving. I just switched to a cherry 06 RM250 which will be sent to FC in a couple weeks to be set up for my skinny ass.They are very helpful and get alot of business from the local FC dealer so they have a idea of the settings before I even open my mouth as far as the tracks ill be riding. So i vote FC.
Pit Row
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