how often to have suspension serviced

[forgiven]

I am just a trail rider but I like to think I am OK.

I got a 2010 EC300 with the Sachs which I was convinced that I would have to send off because everyone complained about them. I on the other hand LOVED them. Seemingly they didn't deflect on rocks and allowed me to be more aggressive.

This year seemingly there is more deflection and the front end is not going where I want it so much. Could be that I am just old and out of shape, but I started to wonder if simply not having my forks serviced could be the culprit.

Thoughts?

 

[twowheels]

I am just a trail rider but I like to think I am OK.

I got a 2010 EC300 with the Sachs which I was convinced that I would have to send off because everyone complained about them. I on the other hand LOVED them. Seemingly they didn't deflect on rocks and allowed me to be more aggressive.

This year seemingly there is more deflection and the front end is not going where I want it so much. Could be that I am just old and out of shape, but I started to wonder if simply not having my forks serviced could be the culprit.

Thoughts?

Most aggressive (but non-pro) riders would benefit from fluid changes every 20 hrs - trail riders may be able to stretch that to 40 or so. I've seen some very nasty oil come out of forks in particular when they get much past that.

A regular service interval gives the benefit of being able to inspect the internals as well, and if you're thorough you can catch bushings before they get too far gone or, as was the case with the Marzocchi 45s, the internal anodizing before it's completely gone.

 

[gassergrant]

It would not hurt, there not that hard to do I rebuild and serviced my GG and cr
Read the manual over and over unto your confident
Take of bike, make sure you un screw the top cap ensuring triple clamp is loose
19mm spanner push through the spring or push it out the way then 19mm for the cap, remove cap now you can take of the spring
Poor old oil out and leave to drain the rod in the damper rod will fall out at this point
Fill as per manual and put together in reverse all done

 

[swazi_matt]

If you have not had them serviced since 2010. I think they are about due!

One thing I found when I stripped them down before shipping to Steve was that there were bits of bushings/filings stuck in the shim stack, so if you were happy with them you may just have a similar situation preventing them from operating properly (or knowing the Sachs maybe you had something wedged in that made the stack work properly ;-))

 

[AZRickD]

My service interval was every 9 months or whenever I could sense my shock losing rebound damping.

One year I was busy so I told the shop to "go through everything" to get it ready for next weekend's race. Suspension, wheel bearing, water pump seal... Etc.

I got it back and raced throughout the season. After a while the front end was pinging off everything and I was getting sore hands. I took it to my other suspension guy who said the shock was fine but the fork oil was some of the dirtiest he had see. And fhe shims were stuck together. He did a basic R&R and all was well. I guess the other shop forgot to do the forks in their haste.

 

[forgiven]

If I wanted to ship them somewhere how would I do it without them getting damaged? I have a local guy that does suspension but I am sure he is not as familiar as say Steve or Les.

 

[AZRickD]

A basic service is not a big deal. Keep it local if you can. Much cheaper than shipping all of that.

 

[forgiven]

I thought about doing a revalve while being apart. My local guy does work on GG's but I just want to be happy when it is done.

 

[twowheels]

If I wanted to ship them somewhere how would I do it without them getting damaged? I have a local guy that does suspension but I am sure he is not as familiar as say Steve or Les.

Get a really sturdy two-gun case with rollers. Most guys will wrap the forksliders with cardboard, and most cases have configurable foam to allow you to trap the shock and fork legs in place. Just be sure to mark it "No Firearms" or something similar when you ship it to avoid drama.

As far as servicing the Sachs forks - they operate on the same principles as nearly every other open chamber fork but have some peculiarities that you just need to learn, and they require a different set of tools than say a KYB or WP.

 

[STEVEV]

For the cheap you can go to your local carpet store and get the tube roll that carpet is rolled on. Cut to length and put them into a box that holds 4' light bulbs. I use a gun case. Much easier and reusable.