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267
Joined
3/13/2017
Location
Belfast
GB
I was wondering what people's opinions are on spring forks vs air forks. I see a lot of people complaining about the functionality of the spring forks but have never actually asked what it is in particular that people don't like.
I have had an '08 RMZ250, '13 CRF250, 13 KXF250 and a '17 CRF250 and whilst I do notice different handling characteristics between all the bikes I couldn't say I could narrow a big chunk of that difference down to the change of forks. As far as I am aware the forks between the 2 Hondas and the Kawi are all vastly different but so far I have to say I am really liking the '17 air forks.
So what is it that people don't seem to get along with and also are there any good tuning tips for the Showa air forks that will make them feel even better for me? I am a C grade rider so I don't know if I'm simply not good/aware enough to feel that they're a bad fork but just wanted to know if there is any easy tunability that can be performed to make them even better.
Cheers!
I have had an '08 RMZ250, '13 CRF250, 13 KXF250 and a '17 CRF250 and whilst I do notice different handling characteristics between all the bikes I couldn't say I could narrow a big chunk of that difference down to the change of forks. As far as I am aware the forks between the 2 Hondas and the Kawi are all vastly different but so far I have to say I am really liking the '17 air forks.
So what is it that people don't seem to get along with and also are there any good tuning tips for the Showa air forks that will make them feel even better for me? I am a C grade rider so I don't know if I'm simply not good/aware enough to feel that they're a bad fork but just wanted to know if there is any easy tunability that can be performed to make them even better.
Cheers!
This feeling is especially apparent on corners, where I can't feel out how much I can push/be aggressive.
It's a confusing situation really, as the CRF can corner well, but the numbness of the forks leads me more to the side of caution.
From what I understand, this is the nature of the air folk and therefore I'd rather the bike came with Showa Spring forks.
You don't really need to do the whole SKF glide kit, but I sprung for it. The part with the most friction is the piston seals.
Also, don't forget that you have compression and rebound clickers! So many people get too caught up in the air pressure settings and don't even touch the clickers.
My fork pressure (im 185lb naked):
185psi inner
12psi outer
195psi balance
The Shop
You know, I don't understand why people don't like Air forks.. I love them. They are highly tunable, and you don't need to buy fork springs for your weight. I love my AER, but That's just my opinion.
I can only assume people don't get the Air setup correctly. Looking around on this website you can find great info.
It needs a little more than "correct air set up"...lol
Overall I'm really happy with how they perform now and don't notice a difference between spring and air forks.
The air pressure that FC recommended seemed much lower than I was used to, but works fine. Before that I was running Team Green recommended pressures on stock valving and hating every minute of riding the bike.
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