Stiff springs and no-preload = good ride but?

stvbird

New member
I just picked up an 07 EC250 that was used by a well known GasGas Enduro rider this year and the suspension is set up a little different than I have seen but seems to work, however I have a few questions.

Basically, he put.45 springs in the front to stiffen it up to be able to take a hit, yet put no-preload on the springs at all. In addition, he removed the travel limit in the 07 shock in order to steepen the steering head angle. The result is that the thing really really turns well. The goal of the lack of preload was so that he could get the front end to dive in a turn to hook up and rail around the corner. It really feels good. Go's straight and soaks up about everything with no deflection at all. The only thing is the front end sets a little low compared to a stock 07 due to the sag in the forks without any preload. I could add preload spacers but that would defeat the purpose of the setup, and to tell you the truth it works really well.

I was thinking about dropping the forks in the tripple clamps to the point that the bottom of the cap is level with the top of the upper clamp rather than having any tube showing at all. This would keep the no-preload theory going while raising the front end back up a tad. Any con's associated with this that any of you Gasser suspension guru's may know that I do not? With the rear end raised a tad as it is that should if anything simply put the steering head angle back to stock while keeping the dive and carve philosophy?

Thanks....
 
Whats the race sag with your weight? Just because a capable rider owned the bike does not necessarly mean that it is correctly setup. I'm not saying it is'nt but some guys are much more adaptive than others. Also with .45's I dont really see a need to preload the springs, not exactly sure about what your saying about the shock though? The main thing in setup is try to keep a balance.
 
Back
Top