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But yeah, let's get back to talking about how every local spode racing 8 minute motos absolutely MUST have a revalve.
Put the correct springs on for your weight and ride the damn thing
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200lbs is a hell of lot difference trying to ride stock than 140
I rode the bike stock for 27 hours with clicker and sag adjustments (I was good on spring rate). Tried stiffer and softer on both the fork and shock to get a feeling for it. Found out what I wanted to improve and told Factory Connection what I wanted it to do better. They did a bang up job and I am much more comfortable now.
Main point: Springs and Sag first. Get a feeling for the bike stock and try everything that you can. Find what you like and don't like about it. Tell who ever you send it to what you want it to do along with your info. You should get what you want or damn close to it. I don't believe sending it out for a re-valve before you have at least 15 hours on it. You don't even know what you do or don't like about it yet, and for some bikes (AER especially), there is a suspension break in period.
IMO getting it done the first time around is best. Robert Reynard does my suspension and motor needs and its well worth it to get it done the first time around, save money and you won't regret it.
Stupid question: Could I keep my current settings with sag and the clickers after having my suspension modified or would I have to find a new setting? I suck so bad with suspension stuff.
Swap springs and sag.
Start with the basics, set sag, grease linkage, set fork height in clamps, set the torques on everything, tyre pressure is very important, axle alignment.
There is a lot to gain from the basics and having them right.
Then springs, then valving, then friction reduction.
Since you're asking, I would have to ask how often you change the suspension oil? do you have the correct springs for your body weight and skill? Have done testing where you try different compression/rebound damping settings?
Most of us don't need revalving. fresh oil, correct springs and clickers adjusted are usually more than enough for most intermediate and lower riders
The settings will not be the same. It is possible it comes back with correct setting or just a click or two off. Best case it will be worth a couple seconds a lap and a bunch of confidence.
If it feels ok to you after testing you likely won't benefit much from a re-vavle. If you ride the bike and say this feels terrible you could be on the other end of the spectrum that sees a bigger gain after if and only if you are in TUNE with your tuner.
Well you got one thing right "save money and you won't regret it"!! You can do this easy enough by making sure your spring rates are good, and then by running lap after lap and making adjustments all day long with sag/oil level, fork Hgt. and damping clickers till she feels good to go!
I ride with guys who get there stuff revalved when their bike is new. Im convinced they wouldn't know the difference if the tuner did fuck all except put the stickers on.
You only need to send your suspension for revalving AFTER you’ve identified a problem.
Too many people are buying a bike & sending the suspension off to be revalved immediately. why?
They are average build, average speed, riding average tracks.
why do these need a revalve?
Get the proper spring and set the sag, check the sag after a few hours on the bike. If you have a chance, ride another bike that is the same model and has had suspension work done. See if it makes a difference to you.
If your track has whoops. Get the revalve setup for whoops. No more jumping 4or 5 in & having the bike stop & jump up. It will still work on the rest of the track . It might be on the stiff side, just ride faster so it works. You still hv to play with the shock a little mostly the sag. Run more sag until you loose front end grip , then back it off 2 mm. Or whatever works.
Have in correct Springs and sag are important and remember that the springs sag and valving all have to work together. If one is off it can throw the rest off.
Learn to Feel how your suspension is working and that will help you in any changes you need.
If you are having a problem with how it is working have someone video you so you can go back and see in slow motion what it is doing. Experiment with your clickers so you can feel what changes they make.
Pit Row
stock valving is made to be durable. A revalve for optimum performance is always necessary in my opinion.
Im more on the woods side of riding/racing and its the exact same. Guys think they need a revalve and the stock stuff sucks and literally have not touched a clicker or probably never touched the sag either.
They take off their fork and shock and take it to the tuner and have no feedback for him just says it sucks. Tuner puts proper spring rates on it and puts the clickers in a good starting point probably does some kind of revalve because he knows most of these slow guys like a soft compression circuit, and has a guess at the sag by measuring the preload on the spring because he is probably done it long enough to have an idea on where it should end up.
Guy gets suspension on his bike rides it with proper sag/spring rate and a minor revalve with the clickers in a balanced setting and raves about how awesome his new $1000 suspension is and wont touch a clicker again.
People are so lost on suspension tuning and how it even works that they rather just not even mess with it. If guys learned what each circuit actually does and spent a whole day on the same track or woods loop 4 clicks one way ride it, better or worse? try the other way better or worse? and go down the line on each setting.
That being said there is certainly tons of people that can benefit from a revalve, really light or really heavy riders certainly. Guys that can pin point what exactly they dont like about it and have experimented with clickers/fork height/minor adjustments in sag.
That's how I feel about ring and pinions!
I very much agree but would like your thoughts as a fellow woods guy.
Have you been able to get stock valving to work in rocks for you? 90% of my racing is either in NJ sand or PA rocks and I don't think I'll be able to get my stock stuff to work in the rocks based on how my testing has gone so far. I have about 7 hours on new YZ250FX that I resprung for my skill/weight; the suspension has broken in considerably from the first ride but I'm pretty much out of adjustment now if I want it to work in lower speed sections. Wondering if I should hold out longer and hope the initial part of the stroke frees up more, race season is closing in quick.
A revalve before you even ride the bike? better throw your money away on a new set of wheels too since you've got money to burn. The same dudes that are faster than you will always be because they are out pounding laps on stock shit and will never let you pass them no matter what bike your riding!
I think a lot of us buy our bikes during our off season (at least in the cold parts of the world). We want to get the bike all ready to go so that we don't have to futz with it after the season starts. So....some of us just send the suspension away without riding the bike. It's not the best way to do it but i get the mindset with that.
When someone says "revalve" generally they are rearranging or substituting different diameters and thicknesses of shims and the order they are arranged. There is also things that can be done with the piston, larger or smaller holes to flow more or less oil to the shim stack.
When you change the order and dimensions of these round shims it alters how the oil flows which effects the damping. Think of a dyno graph, you can make the line a straight upwards line or ramp up more by changing the order and sizes of the shims in the shim stack.
Im no suspension expect by any means just have learned a bit and riding DH mountain bikes the suspension is so much more noticeable and crucial to get dialed in. That being said for your case id say a revalve can certainly help trying to get it set up for rocks and sand at the same time can be a bit difficult, a lot of people make the mistake of setting a bike up softer for the sand but it really needs to be stiffer. Another thing that usually happens when you get a revalve is your range of adjustments gets moved more into the range you are more likely to be in so you actually have a usable adjustment range to suit your riding.
I'm plenty familiar with valving/revalves and how they work, have had it done on my previous bike (twice, to match as I gained speed) and have a settings logbook; was just wondering if I'm being too picky and others have made stock work for them in the rocks as it is the only condition I haven't achieved a comfortable setting for yet, besides clay braking bumps.
I like the stock suspension action for the most part and it is great at GNCC speeds, but for my primary local series it could be softened up a bit in the initial part of the stroke and my preference would be that the rebound could be sped up some. Wasn't sure if it would continue to "break in" further and get more compliant after these first few hours as it has been a few years since I had a new bike.
The 2020-23 YZ250FX is way too stiff stock for trail work. Both the spring rate and valving. I did a ton of work on one and it's a lot softer and better than stock. The fork springs are now 41 's (stock is 4.6 ??) and the rear spring is down a spring rate or two. The valving is also very different (lighter on compression) then stock.
Bone stock that bike deflect off roots and rocks big time.
Thank you. I switched to 4.1 fork springs and went down a few rates on the rear (can't remember exactly what offhand, I had my suspension tuner spec it) after the first ride, which helped a decent bit but still getting a lot of deflection, especially at any lean angle. The MXA reviews of this gen FX really through me through a loop as they talked about how soft the suspension was. I had a '19 WR250F and I don't remember the stock suspension being nearly this stiff feeling.
There is a lot of compression shims in that shock... A LOT. PM your e-mail and I'll send you some specs
This. Not to mention by the time people are sending their new suspension out, a lot of companies will already know of the factory flaws and can address those, especially if you regularly use that company and they know what you prefer when it comes to setup. I don’t see anything wrong with sending off suspension before riding the bike.
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