AER Forks

Nellie12
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Nellie12
Is anyone not happy with them? And if not, were you able to fix what you didn't like about them through re-valving? Anyone riding them stock and happy with them? I have yet to be on a bike with air forks on a rough track, where I have thought they were anywhere close to my KYB stuff. Yamaha YZ250F....don't think it even matters what year Smile Mine is a 2014, though. I just got a 2017 350 and so far am not too happy with them. 5 hrs on the bike. I'm getting ready to have Enzo work on them, so we'll see. Just wondering what people's opinion of the forks are considering that I've read some stuff that touts them as a very good fork.
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rjg
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rjg 12/28/2016 8:46pm
12/28/2016 8:46pm Edited Date/Time 12/28/2016 8:47pm
I have not ridden them, but the majority is happy with them being stock with only adjusting pressure and clickers and oil level drop. I have been following threads dedicated to them on other forums. They say that it takes approximately 20 hours for them to break in. You could try lower air pressure to compensate until they are broken in, that's what others are doing.
atrdrvr7
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atrdrvr7 12/29/2016 8:32am
12/29/2016 8:32am
I have a set off a 17 250sx on my 15.5 450 FE. I have been extremely happy with them so far. Incredible bottom resistance and plush through braking bumps. Better than my 14' CRF 450R that has 12' KYB revalved spring forks on it. Bike feels very balanced and super stable. From what I understand the SX models have a different shim, and shim setup in them. I'm also running a 45N/m spring in the rear. Rear shock setup is critical for the forks to work well.
m21racing
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m21racing 12/29/2016 8:59am
12/29/2016 8:59am
Aer forks have gotten great reviews from my friends over the pond. Here it's a mixed bag. One of my friends really likes his, the other swapped spring conversion from csr suspension. But the spring swap was for a 220lb woods rider, all the happy aer people are mx, and in weight spec.
LumpDog841
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LumpDog841 12/29/2016 10:51am
12/29/2016 10:51am
Have a 17 250sx and love the AER forks. Played around with the settings a bunch and ended up going with the clicker settings recommended my MXA, at 146 psi.

The Shop

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rjg
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rjg 12/29/2016 6:23pm
12/29/2016 6:23pm
From another user on a different forum:
SX, TC and XC have the same stacks, only difference being clamp dia on the base and air pressure: SX 18mm, XC 16mm. Both have the wave shim mid and thus have rather stiff looking BV stacks to compensate:

(6) 30x.15
(4) 28x.15
26x.15
24x.15
22x.15
20x.15
18x.15
16x.15 (XC only)
25x1.5

Rebound seems identical on all the AER forks.
LumpDog841
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LumpDog841 12/29/2016 8:41pm
12/29/2016 8:41pm
Nellie12 wrote:
I will probably convert mine. I just like the feel of the spring forks I have been told this company makes a good conversion
.http://www.ktechsuspension.com
Been trying to decide if I'm going to do the same. I know Factory Connection has a conversion now too.
nikita
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nikita 12/30/2016 2:56am
12/30/2016 2:56am
rjg wrote:
I have not ridden them, but the majority is happy with them being stock with only adjusting pressure and clickers and oil level drop. I have...
I have not ridden them, but the majority is happy with them being stock with only adjusting pressure and clickers and oil level drop. I have been following threads dedicated to them on other forums. They say that it takes approximately 20 hours for them to break in. You could try lower air pressure to compensate until they are broken in, that's what others are doing.
Could you post links to those forum threads? Thanks
RickA
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RickA 1/1/2017 5:35am
1/1/2017 5:35am
Enzo will make them better. Remember, they are 1/2" longer, so you need to raise them up
rjg
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rjg 1/1/2017 10:09am
1/1/2017 10:09am
rjg wrote:
I have not ridden them, but the majority is happy with them being stock with only adjusting pressure and clickers and oil level drop. I have...
I have not ridden them, but the majority is happy with them being stock with only adjusting pressure and clickers and oil level drop. I have been following threads dedicated to them on other forums. They say that it takes approximately 20 hours for them to break in. You could try lower air pressure to compensate until they are broken in, that's what others are doing.
nikita wrote:
Could you post links to those forum threads? Thanks
http://ktmtalk.com/showthread.php?529692-AER-forks-psi

You have to be a KTM talk member to see it
shmoo
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shmoo 1/1/2017 10:15pm
1/1/2017 10:15pm
I have '17 350sxf with 6 hours on clock after a few races, and love the forks, shock and whole package.
Only mod is the FE gripper seat cover.
For the forks, I went with MXA settings (Jan 2017 issue) but didn't drop the air pressure as low as they did, but followed their guideline to find the right setting (about 145 psi or 10.0 bar for me)

There is no weirdness in any part of the stroke. If you bottom them you've done something wrong - I have made serious errors of judgement and not used the final 1" of travel. These are great forks. I'm surprised to hear your report- what don't you like about their feel/action?

Good luck!
bowser
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bowser 1/1/2017 11:41pm
1/1/2017 11:41pm
RickA wrote:
Enzo will make them better. Remember, they are 1/2" longer, so you need to raise them up
why do you need to raise them? surely the chassis was design for the extra length forks
RickA
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RickA 1/2/2017 5:27am
1/2/2017 5:27am
The chassis was designed in 2015, before the AER fork which first showed up on the 2016 FE bike and 2017 OEM.
You don't need to raise the fork, go ahead and set it on the second line. The front will just sit 1/2" higher than the previous fork designed for that chassis, it will be extremely stable but won't turn as well. Probably great for a sand track

I switched from 4CS to AER on my 2016.
Fearo
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Fearo 1/2/2017 7:12am
1/2/2017 7:12am
RickA wrote:
The chassis was designed in 2015, before the AER fork which first showed up on the 2016 FE bike and 2017 OEM. You don't need to...
The chassis was designed in 2015, before the AER fork which first showed up on the 2016 FE bike and 2017 OEM.
You don't need to raise the fork, go ahead and set it on the second line. The front will just sit 1/2" higher than the previous fork designed for that chassis, it will be extremely stable but won't turn as well. Probably great for a sand track

I switched from 4CS to AER on my 2016.
Not true. European 2016 SX models had air forks, the new-gen chassis was built around the introduction of air forks, not the other way around.
RickA
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RickA 1/2/2017 7:47am
1/2/2017 7:47am
Ok, I don't live in Europe. I know what happened here.. And I know the 4CS are a half inch shorter. I also know running AER at the same height sucks. You can take it from there
Cuarenta_Uno 1/2/2017 1:09pm
1/2/2017 1:09pm
I work a lot with these suspensions.
I tihnk are a good suspensions.

You can see in my instagram my mods in these suspensions, 41racing.es
I made a second air chamber and work with diferent presures.
Better feeling and bottom control! Are awesome!

Now i work in desing new rebound piston
LeMay_848
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LeMay_848 1/2/2017 8:03pm
1/2/2017 8:03pm
I have a 17 250sx, for stock suspension they are very good, 146 psi is what I use I weigh about 175 geared up, only time I bottomed i came up short on a 110' triple that ended with me breaking my femur. did notice the slight harshness on slapdown landing that other people have talked about but it's nothing bad enough to worry about, if I wasn't expecting it to do it I'd probably barely notice
Nellie12
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Nellie12 1/3/2017 5:45pm
1/3/2017 5:45pm Edited Date/Time 1/3/2017 5:45pm
Thanks for all the input, suggestions, etc... I'm taking it to Decker at Enzo this week. I have 8hrs on it and ...dang, this bike is so good. Just a few little adjustments to the suspension and (for me) this might be one of my favorite bikes I've ever owned. 2014 YZ250F has been in that spot up to this point.

Pit Row

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RickA
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RickA 1/3/2017 6:11pm
1/3/2017 6:11pm
Nellie12 wrote:
Thanks for all the input, suggestions, etc... I'm taking it to Decker at Enzo this week. I have 8hrs on it and ...dang, this bike is...
Thanks for all the input, suggestions, etc... I'm taking it to Decker at Enzo this week. I have 8hrs on it and ...dang, this bike is so good. Just a few little adjustments to the suspension and (for me) this might be one of my favorite bikes I've ever owned. 2014 YZ250F has been in that spot up to this point.
Nellie, little secret.. When Dean Wilson was testing suspension for the Jeff Ward team, he preferred Craig Deckers setup over Showa.
Craig was not only James Stewart's factory test rider for years, he helped develop that bike that James and RV won all those championships on.

He really has the air forks dialed in, he likes them a lot contrary to general opinion. Your making a smart choice, the guy knows how to make a motorcycle work. No knock against other suspension companies, he is one of my best friends so I'm biased.. But I also know how good he is, and I'm being very honest. Being a former Top 3 factory Suzuki and Pro Circuit rider also helps his credibility, before he retired. Trust me, trust him..

Nellie12
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Nellie12 1/4/2017 2:55pm
1/4/2017 2:55pm
Nellie12 wrote:
Thanks for all the input, suggestions, etc... I'm taking it to Decker at Enzo this week. I have 8hrs on it and ...dang, this bike is...
Thanks for all the input, suggestions, etc... I'm taking it to Decker at Enzo this week. I have 8hrs on it and ...dang, this bike is so good. Just a few little adjustments to the suspension and (for me) this might be one of my favorite bikes I've ever owned. 2014 YZ250F has been in that spot up to this point.
RickA wrote:
Nellie, little secret.. When Dean Wilson was testing suspension for the Jeff Ward team, he preferred Craig Deckers setup over Showa. Craig was not only James...
Nellie, little secret.. When Dean Wilson was testing suspension for the Jeff Ward team, he preferred Craig Deckers setup over Showa.
Craig was not only James Stewart's factory test rider for years, he helped develop that bike that James and RV won all those championships on.

He really has the air forks dialed in, he likes them a lot contrary to general opinion. Your making a smart choice, the guy knows how to make a motorcycle work. No knock against other suspension companies, he is one of my best friends so I'm biased.. But I also know how good he is, and I'm being very honest. Being a former Top 3 factory Suzuki and Pro Circuit rider also helps his credibility, before he retired. Trust me, trust him..

Rick,
I'm smiling as I write this. I asked him about you this morning and he said he had already talked to you. Yes, we are fortunate to have him here in Texas. I could watch him ride all day long. Crazy smooth...crazy fast. I have decided to go with a spring conversion kit. I think it is from K-Tech? I just like the feel of a spring for some reason. I'm excited about getting it back. The last few rides, I am REALLY starting to get used to this bike and it is so good.

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