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62
Joined
6/26/2016
Location
Sydney
AU
Anyone else running the XACT air forks finding them very stiff ?
my 2021 MC450 has 12 hours on it now. I've replaced the rear 42 spring with a 45, as i had read that they are soft, and even with the stiffer spring (stock clicker settings) i can just bottom out the rear, but the forks seem way stiff to me.
I've reduced air pressure down to 140, and reduced comp clickers, but still get a very solid feel from them and cant seem to bottom them out at all.
Should i go less than 140psi ? how low is too low ?
just interested on how others have found these forks.
88kg, vet rider, medium to hardpack track, quite a few jumps. not as fast as the racers of course, but would say i'm towards the quickest of the weekend warriors, for whats its worth.
Would say i'm landing from 6-7 feet height above ground on the biggest jumps. I do get a very 'slap' feel when landing from the biggest jumps, like the fork has compressed to a certain point, then just stopped compressing.
when i ran 150psi i could feel EVERY bump.
Factory connection did a spring conversion on mine and is much better. That may be an option for you
A different handlebar will help with the slap. The stock one is about as stiff as you can get without a crossbar. Try a Protaper EVO or ACF. Even a Renthal Fatbar will help.
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Other than that PSI is something you should play with. Too low and you blow past the initial valving. Or just get springs.
thanks for the advice mate - i didn't know about the 'included o-ring' - should this have come with the bike brand new ? I'm in Australia, don't know if that makes a difference. I'll up the pressure and down the clickers and try the zip-tie trick around the tubes. i assume you mean bleed the air release at the top of the forks each ride, and i do that.
you champion - i hadn't noticed the red rings, will definately use this, thanks for the info.
Great video for fork alignment, every time I do it now and especially the first time the bikes front felt very plush/no binding. As others mentioned above, do this in addition to the PSI increase, back out compression and check the travel you are using!
Brilliant, thanks !
Cleaned out my lug bores with scotchbrite, no improvement. Notice when I moved my brake side fork up in the clamps it improved but to get easy sliding, my brake side fork was half a notch up higher than the other side - video notes this could be an internal fork issue, but would running one fork higher than the other, to get the axle correct, be ok to ride with ?
The most logical reasoning I've heard is Covid cut down on the skilled, experienced labor at the factory and the QC took a dive.
Pit Row
I run forks standard height, and have been trying pressures from 9.8-11bar (10.4 stock) On motocross track I have been most happy with 10.6-10.8 bar pressure, got recomended to increase oil to 270 ml each leg too. The fork is not the plushest , especially on small chop while accelerating but it holds up well into rough brakingbumps .I can also not that im no fast pro rider , would say Vet B-C rider soon 40 years old
Clickers have been mostly stock except Rebound rear that I have gone in 3 clicks to 12.
Good luck and keep us updated on the progress!
Have taken all bits apart and rebuilt exactly as per the video (with brake side fork slightly higher to allow the easy slide of the axle)
Ride the day after tomorrow, we’ll see how it goes.
Yeah, I had the 48 spring on my previous bike (16 husky 350). Glad at least that I changed the 42 for the 45, but yes the 48 might be the next change (or lose a few pounds !)
Have noticed my sag has increased, I thought I had set for 105 but rechecked and showing 108mm, so will adjust this too.
Will report back after the next ride.
The red rings around the forks are a brilliant idea. Realised quickly I was bottoming the rings down to less than an inch of travel. Ended up increasing stiffness to 152psi.
I'll have to do another 'test' day to confirm. I had to increase comp clickers two clicks late in the day, but noticed when I got home that fork pressure was 138psi. I lost the little cap so I think I've bumped the valve but not sure whether I did this when putting the bike on the trailer home or whether I did my last ride of the day with the lower fork pressure.
I also measured the big jump at my local track that I'm using the full suspension travel - just on 90 feet.
Further updates to come after the next ride.
thanks. What shock spring rate are you using ? I changed the stock 42 to a 45, but wondering whether a 48 might be better. I run 105 sag and two clicks stiffer comp on the shock, and not seeing any signs of bottoming out.
If you set it early morning when it’s cool still and the temp rises a bunch by midday you’ll see the pressure is higher than when you set it.
I wouldn’t go stiffer on the shock spring. But I also like the 4.2 rear somehow and I’m 200lbs. I’ve tried 4.5 and 4.8 and for my riding the 4.2 works the best for me.
Either you are low on gas in shock reservoir, or linkage or swingarm is not properly torqued. 100nm swingarm, 60nm for all shock bolts + linkage bolts. Make sure the upper swingarm bolt for linkage does not bind, so check it runs free after torquing that one.
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