7/11/2018 10:35 AM
Edited Date/Time: 7/11/2018 10:38 AM
theycallmeebryan wrote:
Bad advice, dmm. The fork is not trash so long as you know how to set it up properly. I love mine.
omalley, you should first download the SFF-Air app on your cellphone. It really helps you visualize how each chamber effects the overall curve.
On the SFF TAC fork, the combination of the 3 chamber pressures is what defines your overall spring rate curve. So, yes, its a spring at the end of the day. Once you find your happy setting you shouldn't need to change from those settings. You should be able to use the clickers to dial in the feel you want for a particular track or condition after that. Expert tuners will use all 5 settings (Inner/Outer/Balance/Comp Damping/Rebound Damping) to really dial in the fork.
-Inner pressure effects the overall force curve.
-Outer pressure effects the last half of the stroke (bottoming resistance).
-Balance (negative) pressure effects the overall curve, but mainly the first half of the stroke. It is super important, especially with the 16-18 TAC fork, that you have the balance chamber pressure at least 15% higher than the inner pressure to achieve initial plushness in the fork.
The very first thing you should do is set your compression and rebound clickers to the factory settings. For your bike, that is 9 clicks out on compression, and 13 clicks out on rebound.
138/16.5/160 is way too soft for your weight. You are likely blowing through the stroke into the mid range.
The standard setting for a 170lb'ish rider is 174/14.5/203.
The "soft" setting is 160/14.5/174.
The "stiff" setting is 189/14.5/218.
I recommend trying the standard setting to start, just to see how it feels. Then try the "soft" setting and the "stiff" setting. Compare how each of the settings feel.
Also very important is how you set the pressures in this fork. Bike needs to be on the stand with the front wheel off the ground. First, deflate the balance chamber. Second, deflate the outer chamber. Then fill inner > outer > balance to your desired pressures. The reason for this is that any pressure in the other chambers actually effects the inner pressure reading.
Report back what you have tried and i will try to help.
Again, the fork is trash. I'll stand behind that. If it wasnt, kawasaki wouldnt of taken a big weight penalty to ditch it on the new bike, and put a spring fork back on.
I tried that "standard setting", was awful.
I'm competent in suspension. I understand how an Air spring works, and it'll always be more progressive than a standard spring.
I'm stoked for you if you like that fork on your bike, but i'd challenge you to put a decent spring or kit fork on that bike and it would probably open your eyes to what that bike COULD be.
You want to know the absolute worst thing about the TAC fork? You can ride Track A on a monday with weather being X deg/%humidity and it may feel decent. Come back on friday, same track, same weather, same surface prep/braking bumps, and the bike will feel like complete dog crap.
I really wanted to give the forks the college try, and they were SO bad that they translated to me believing there was a significant shock issue with the bike, and 2 revalves of the shock later I gave up.