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Looking to get some guidance from the suspension gurus out there... could you confirm or critique my current set up. I'm not convinced its right and I'm looking to improve.
Rider - 180lbs/80KG without kit, 5 9'', 25yo, intermediate level
Bike - 2015 RMZ450
Forks - Showa A Kit 49mm (genuine showa a kit)
0.48 springs
335cc Maxima 5WT Oil
6mm spring preload
51mm rider sag
5mm up in clamps
Comp felt best at full soft, Reb 13 out
Shock - Stock Showa
54N/MM (5.5kg) Spring
102mm Rider sag, 35mm Free Sag, 8mm Shock spring preload
Comp 11 out, Reb 8 out, HS 2 turns out
Forks feel stiff and high in the stroke despite winding out the compression to full soft. Good on the big hits but not supple enough for my liking on the small to mid sized bumps. They feel especially stiff in low speed areas.
Rear feels a little soft and wallowy. I have a 55N/MM (5.6KG) spring at my disposal but this gave free sag numbers of 42mm at 102mm Rider Sag, indicating its on the stiff side?
What do you guys think?
Rider - 180lbs/80KG without kit, 5 9'', 25yo, intermediate level
Bike - 2015 RMZ450
Forks - Showa A Kit 49mm (genuine showa a kit)
0.48 springs
335cc Maxima 5WT Oil
6mm spring preload
51mm rider sag
5mm up in clamps
Comp felt best at full soft, Reb 13 out
Shock - Stock Showa
54N/MM (5.5kg) Spring
102mm Rider sag, 35mm Free Sag, 8mm Shock spring preload
Comp 11 out, Reb 8 out, HS 2 turns out
Forks feel stiff and high in the stroke despite winding out the compression to full soft. Good on the big hits but not supple enough for my liking on the small to mid sized bumps. They feel especially stiff in low speed areas.
Rear feels a little soft and wallowy. I have a 55N/MM (5.6KG) spring at my disposal but this gave free sag numbers of 42mm at 102mm Rider Sag, indicating its on the stiff side?
What do you guys think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8JkekBFhkY
Could well be a valving issue but I would like to try and figure things out a little more myself before sending back for alterations.
The Shop
Rear looks soft, front looks stiff.
On the forks, I'd try lowering the fork oil height to 320cc's. You can always add it back easier than having to remove more, hence the 15cc change. You'll know straight away if this if the feel you're looking for. Also, how many rebound clicks total on your forks? Some Kit has quarter-turn adjustment (about 24 clicks total) while others have eighth-turn (40-48 clicks). Out on the rebound will also 'free up' the forks and let them move more; there's a cross-over between comp and rebound that many don't utilize...Keep us updated and congrats on a clean scoot! Video and detailed notes always help, so thanks for being diligent
So can I rightly assume that the 0.48 fork springs aren't the issue? Seems hard to believe the valving is what's holding the forks so high, even at full soft? I do have a set of 0.45 springs for these forks, so may fit 1, to bring the overall spring rate to 0.465. I think both 0.45's would be too soft?
I will definitely try stiffening up the rear to try raise the rear end. I'll try 1/2 turn in on HSC and a little more on LS comp too.
crc245 - Yes you are correct with the rebound, although only on 1 fork. 1 Fork leg (non brake side) features 24 clicks of rebound, the brake side fork 48 clicks of rebound. So I set the one to 13 clicks out and the other to 26. I did try opening out the rebound to 16/32 clicks out with little improvement.
And no problem! I figure the more info I give the better help I should be able to get. Recently bought the 'Race Tech Suspension Bible' and have been really enjoying getting stuck into the workings of suspension. I haven't started on valving yet but can confidently pull apart and rebuild a set of forks, which should make this process a lot easier, quicker and cheaper!
Curious why one side is different than the other; Any info on this?
+1 on contacting Langhammx, by the way, as he has tons of Suzuki knowledge...
crc245 - It appears as though the 48 click rebound adjuster is an A Kit piece and the 24 click adjuster is a stock Showa piece from another fork.
The 48 click adjuster is light gold anodized and has around 10x 2mm bleed holes at the base of the thread for the fork lug. Where as the 24 click adjuster is unanodized and doesn't have the 2mm holes. I imagine at some point the original A Kit reb adjuster got damaged and was replaced with a stock unit.
Interesting stuff on the rebound, I'll definitely try going even further out in future testing in that case!
Will definitely drop Langham a message if I continue to struggle (unless he is lurking here and has some input?) Bought a fair bit of Suzuki stuff from him now, great guy!
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