When did suspension valving make a huge leap?

jeffro503
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jeffro503
Edited Date/Time 1/26/2012 4:20am
All my bikes up to my 2008 needs a valve change ( or stacked different ). With the older bikes you needed a valve change along with different springs , oil height and so forth.......

Now days.....they say all these bikes have such good valving in them , you basically just need to change springs , oil , ect.....

My 2010 Yamaha had awesome stock valving , in fact it was the best stock suspension I had ever rode with. Comparing it to my 2008 Honda......my Honda feels like a 73' Hodoka!

You guys that have owned new bikes every year , or every other year , over the past 5 - 7 years.....when did you see a big change? Or did you?

BTW.....I bring this up because a lot of suspension outfits now days say the same thing. The valving is pretty damn good now days.....not really a need to change them.
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silver753
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silver753 12/28/2011 10:00pm
12/28/2011 10:00pm
I think with the exception of a few bikes over the years, most stock stuff is pretty darn good. Most people don't even touch their comp/reb clickers or even set sag! Of course, buying springs for your weight and setting oil level/clickers/sag will do for about 95% of all riders. Another exception I think is if the rider is very heavy, or very light.

A lot of people read waaaaay too many magazine shoot outs and think most bikes are unrideable out of the box. It's amazing to see how fast a good rider can go on a stock bike that has been set up properly.
SwapperMX
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SwapperMX 12/29/2011 12:06am
12/29/2011 12:06am
I have had new Yamaha's every year for pretty much the last 7 years (there was one Honda in there in 2007), and the way I like my bikes set up, I have to get them valved. I ride the bike once to bed the suspension in, and then the forks and shock come out straight away and are taken to my suspension tuner. He knows what I like suspension wise, and after they have been valved, it is only just a few minor clicker adjustments depending on when I am riding. I find standard valving way off, but that is just me.
mxtech1
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mxtech1 12/29/2011 7:52am
12/29/2011 7:52am
Riders are just getting used to the feel and handling characteristics of the newer bikes. There have been no drastic changes aside from the new SFF fork and KYBs SSS suspension.
Hando
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Hando 12/29/2011 4:23pm
12/29/2011 4:23pm
I think any bike from the past 15 years with stock valving is adequate for most riders.

Re-valving is neccesary if you're doing a different type of riding (gncc, FMX, SX) or you're really fast or not averagely sized (either really small or really big)

When I was 17 I was about 130 lbs in gear and riding a 250 smoker..riding stock suspension was too stiff for me. i've beefed up since then so im looking forward to riding stock suspension and getting it setup right Smile

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machine
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machine 12/29/2011 5:15pm
12/29/2011 5:15pm Edited Date/Time 12/29/2011 5:17pm
Yep, I've noticed the same thing Jeffro. I think now, people are just revalving to suit their riding style/preference. I'm not spending a dime on a revalve on my KX450. I just put springs in it adjusted the oil height and that's it.
PRM31
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PRM31 12/29/2011 5:34pm
12/29/2011 5:34pm
There was a bigger change in suspension from '80 (certainly '78) to '81 than in all the years since.
CamP
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CamP 12/29/2011 6:27pm
12/29/2011 6:27pm
PRM31 wrote:
There was a bigger change in suspension from '80 (certainly '78) to '81 than in all the years since.
That's true...
jeffro503
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jeffro503 12/29/2011 6:45pm
12/29/2011 6:45pm
The reason I was asking is.....when I stepped away from the sport in 05' it seemed like every bike I had or had ridden ( other guys that raced ) all had their bikes re-valved along with everything else. Since I came back last year , a lot of the guys I talk to now days , say that their valving is so good now they don't really need to change them any more. Mostly just like what Machine said above......just springs , oil height and some shimming here and there.

To me , being out for those 6 years , it sure seemed like the suspension made some big leaps over that time period. Maybe for you guys that stayed in the sport it seemed gradual? It seemed pretty abrupt to me......but then again , I didn't ride anything in almost 6 years.
bullpen58
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bullpen58 12/29/2011 7:07pm
12/29/2011 7:07pm
I agree. My bone stock 2011 YZ450 feels TONS better than my 2006 YZ450 that was revalved and resprung by RG3. Of course, RG3 did a GREAT job and I loved my old bike....up until I rode the new one.

I do want stiffer springs for it though. I weigh 215 with no clothes on, after taking a big shit, and before eating anything in the mornings, so I know it would be better with heavier springs.
Xracer
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Xracer 12/29/2011 7:49pm
12/29/2011 7:49pm
I still swear my old 84' RM250 'Full Floater" had the best rear suspension I've ever felt. Forks have been where the real changes have been in the past 7-8 years, I think.
bullpen58
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bullpen58 12/29/2011 7:58pm
12/29/2011 7:58pm
Xracer wrote:
I still swear my old 84' RM250 'Full Floater" had the best rear suspension I've ever felt. Forks have been where the real changes have been...
I still swear my old 84' RM250 'Full Floater" had the best rear suspension I've ever felt. Forks have been where the real changes have been in the past 7-8 years, I think.
My lord dude.....put down the pipe. Laughing
bullpen58
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bullpen58 12/29/2011 9:15pm
12/29/2011 9:15pm
Charles Bronson wrote:
No, bullpen he is right, people are still trying to duplicate the full floater
UNBELIEVABLE. Was it really THAT good?
jeffro503
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jeffro503 12/29/2011 9:49pm
12/29/2011 9:49pm
I had a legendary 82' RM125.....it was my very first real race bike. I was only 16.....and anything would of felt good back then. CB is correct that it was years ahead of the comp back then.....but compared to now? There are a ton of these old Suzukis out in the vintage race scene to test that theory. The thing is.....the tracks way back then....are nothing like what we have to day. The old tracks were rough as hell yes.......but didn't have these huge gaps we have today.

Holy shit.....talking about my old RM125 brings back so many memories. My dad showed me how to tear that sucker down and rebuild it from the ground up. He did this twice.....and at the age of 16 I was totally rebuilding my bike all by myself. That was one great bike! Got an 85' DMC prepped KX125 in 87 to replace it.
Hando
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Hando 12/30/2011 9:39am
12/30/2011 9:39am
jeffro503 wrote:
I had a legendary 82' RM125.....it was my very first real race bike. I was only 16.....and anything would of felt good back then. CB is...
I had a legendary 82' RM125.....it was my very first real race bike. I was only 16.....and anything would of felt good back then. CB is correct that it was years ahead of the comp back then.....but compared to now? There are a ton of these old Suzukis out in the vintage race scene to test that theory. The thing is.....the tracks way back then....are nothing like what we have to day. The old tracks were rough as hell yes.......but didn't have these huge gaps we have today.

Holy shit.....talking about my old RM125 brings back so many memories. My dad showed me how to tear that sucker down and rebuild it from the ground up. He did this twice.....and at the age of 16 I was totally rebuilding my bike all by myself. That was one great bike! Got an 85' DMC prepped KX125 in 87 to replace it.
Smile Lets not turn this into a 2-stroke thread but ah...the wonders of a pinger!

I think when the Showa Airfork becomes more common rider styles will change a bit as things will get "lighter"
Xracer
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Xracer 12/30/2011 10:46am
12/30/2011 10:46am Edited Date/Time 10/28/2012 3:36pm
jeffro503 wrote:
I had a legendary 82' RM125.....it was my very first real race bike. I was only 16.....and anything would of felt good back then. CB is...
I had a legendary 82' RM125.....it was my very first real race bike. I was only 16.....and anything would of felt good back then. CB is correct that it was years ahead of the comp back then.....but compared to now? There are a ton of these old Suzukis out in the vintage race scene to test that theory. The thing is.....the tracks way back then....are nothing like what we have to day. The old tracks were rough as hell yes.......but didn't have these huge gaps we have today.

Holy shit.....talking about my old RM125 brings back so many memories. My dad showed me how to tear that sucker down and rebuild it from the ground up. He did this twice.....and at the age of 16 I was totally rebuilding my bike all by myself. That was one great bike! Got an 85' DMC prepped KX125 in 87 to replace it.
At the time of last ride I also had a 96' CR250 and the old zook' still had a nicer rear end and this wasn't just my opinion...a friend had a 97' KX250 and was of the same belief. The forks and brakes were awful and those old non-power valve 250's ran like big, gnarly125's. But the rear suspension was solid.
mosslander
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mosslander 12/30/2011 11:51am
12/30/2011 11:51am
Charles Bronson wrote:
No, bullpen he is right, people are still trying to duplicate the full floater
bullpen58 wrote:
UNBELIEVABLE. Was it really THAT good?
Yes ! and when a moto was 45+2 laps and the oil in the shock get hot, then it was bad but to cure this was to buy White-Power or Öhlin shock and then it was even better than todays rear suspention
machine
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machine 12/30/2011 11:55am
12/30/2011 11:55am
Some of you guys are stuck in the 80's......sheesh..


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velocitygear
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velocitygear 12/30/2011 12:15pm
12/30/2011 12:15pm
For me, suspension advancement came with doing my own suspension work. At first; I didn't think I could do a better job than a "professional"; THAT was the single biggest improvement I've ever had on a motorcycle. I now have the best forks I've ever felt and a chassis that handles better than anything I've ever owned.

You definitely need to have a mechanical inclination though.....
CamP
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CamP 12/30/2011 12:30pm
12/30/2011 12:30pm Edited Date/Time 12/30/2011 12:31pm
I vintage race a 1982 RM250. The rear suspension is still good by today's standards.

Good forks arrived in '86 with the Showa cartridge forks on the CR's.
machine
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machine 12/30/2011 12:34pm
12/30/2011 12:34pm
CamP wrote:
I vintage race a 1982 RM250. The rear suspension is still good by today's standards. Good forks arrived in '86 with the Showa cartridge forks on...
I vintage race a 1982 RM250. The rear suspension is still good by today's standards.

Good forks arrived in '86 with the Showa cartridge forks on the CR's.
then took a step backwards in 89...lol

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