Suspender settings for UK green-laners (Or any "easy"-riders) ?

[sevenfourate]

Im 3 x 100 miles rides into my 250, and engine and performance-wise its been faultless. I've sorted a few minor 'niggles', given it a full service and replaced pretty much all the consumables, and love the bike as-such........

Im now pretty much really happy with it apart from suspension. Im a big guy; 6'4 tall and fully kitted out i must weigh 250lbs. Tyre Pressure-wise i run 18psi rear and 16 front (Mainly because the amount of tarmac miles i have to do to link the lanes together).

Ive set front and rear sag - all the clickers work and set ive set everything to somewhere just over halfway between 'standard' and 'firm' settings'. The real trouble is im getting no feel from the front, feels possibly too hard ?? (For the gentle green-laning i do here in the UK - this ISNT a MX style ride with big-air etc and so far i havnt bottomed out either end once !), and like its washing out at the first opportunity, and not compressing into mud for example and gripping, but is riding / shearing over the top and loosing grip. I have no confidence in the front at all (Brand new and same front tyre as i always use - Michelin AC10) and in my head its the slowest and the least confident ive been off-road since i started a year ago

The forks have also been raised through the triple-clamps by a previous owner maybe 7 or 8mm, lowering the front which i thought would help me get some weight on the front-end. I havnt tried any other position for the forks.

My best riding buddy has a 2005 EC300. He has alot more experience than me, has raced in the past, is much quicker than me: and said "...for green-laning you want to run as soft as possible" ?


Any suggestions, words of wisdom, or experiences - other than trying totally stock settings all round and seeing how that feels as a start point comparison ?

 

[britishgas]

Im 3 x 100 miles rides into my 250, and engine and performance-wise its been faultless. I've sorted a few minor 'niggles', given it a full service and replaced pretty much all the consumables, and love the bike as-such........

Im now pretty much really happy with it apart from suspension. Im a big guy; 6'4 tall and fully kitted out i must weigh 250lbs. Tyre Pressure-wise i run 18psi rear and 16 front (Mainly because the amount of tarmac miles i have to do to link the lanes together).

Ive set front and rear sag - all the clickers work and set ive set everything to somewhere just over halfway between 'standard' and 'firm' settings'. The real trouble is im getting no feel from the front, feels possibly too hard ?? (For the gentle green-laning i do here in the UK - this ISNT a MX style ride with big-air etc and so far i havnt bottomed out either end once !), and like its washing out at the first opportunity, and not compressing into mud for example and gripping, but is riding / shearing over the top and loosing grip. I have no confidence in the front at all (Brand new and same front tyre as i always use - Michelin AC10) and in my head its the slowest and the least confident ive been off-road since i started a year ago

The forks have also been raised through the triple-clamps by a previous owner maybe 7 or 8mm, lowering the front which i thought would help me get some weight on the front-end. I havnt tried any other position for the forks.

My best riding buddy has a 2005 EC300. He has alot more experience than me, has raced in the past, is much quicker than me: and said "...for green-laning you want to run as soft as possible" ?


Any suggestions, words of wisdom, or experiences - other than trying totally stock settings all round and seeing how that feels as a start point comparison ?

have the forks revalved at steve plain gas gas the , best money you can spend on you bike, which forks do you have ? i can give you the setting steve gave me

 

[sevenfourate]

I THINK they are 45 mm Marzocchi Shivers ??

And whilst i understand suspension is the best 'Bang for your buck' you can buy (And im absolutely sure improvements can be had) at my level of riding id like to see how far i could go on what ive got first of all ! Even if thats only short-term and a small improvement......

What im saying is: I love burning money on bikes. And it would matter none. But things are truly quite bad right now - i cant believe theres not MASSIVE improvements to be had with whats already there.

All i can tell you is my bog-stock XR400 would have eaten this foir dinner in the mud.

And that cant be right ?

 

[britishgas]

the settings i have are for 48 mazzers, there is loads of stuff on here if you put in a search , but if you want too also ring steve plain and im pretty sure he will give you the settings he uses on 45s,

 

[britishgas]

i have just serviced my linkages on my bike and the differance is amazing it has made the whole bike seem smoother

 

[britishgas]

and all it cost me was about ten pence worth of grease ,result

 

[Jakobi]

When were the forks last serviced?
Have they been resprung for you? If not you'll be half way into the stroke just riding it. Going to a firmer spring will allow you to ride it up in the stroke where it will be plusher.
And most importantly, especially with the 45mm zokes! Ensure the forks are aligned correctly not binding, and DO NOT over torque the lower triple clamps. 12Nm will do the job.

 

[britishgas]

When were the forks last serviced?
Have they been resprung for you? If not you'll be half way into the stroke just riding it. Going to a firmer spring will allow you to ride it up in the stroke where it will be plusher.
And most importantly, especially with the 45mm zokes! Ensure the forks are aligned correctly not binding, and DO NOT over torque the lower triple clamps. 12Nm will do the job.

and thanks jakobi for the good advice with the nedw needle i have put a 40 pilot in and its now mint, like you say i think gassers need to be precise with torques and settings ,

 

[Jakobi]

No worries re jetting advice. I saw your update in the sticky thread Good outcome.

In terms of the torque values on the triples, thats not a gas gas specific thing. The internals of the fork leg still needs to pass through the outer leg where clamped by the lower triple. If its too tight all you are doing is creating excess friction which breaks down the oil, wears out the internals and bushings, and adds to the drag/resistance of the fork creating a harsher ride. Some fork designs are effected more than others, and the 45mm zoke in particular doesn't do well when over tightened.

Same applies for the alignment from triples to the axel. You need the bottom to float on the axel on the LHS (looking at the bike from the front). If its pulled in too hard against the hub it'll bind up when compressed. Same effect as above.