to valve or not to valve.... that is the dilema.

dank

dank

New member
ok i need the fork seals on my wp 43 forks replaced either way, but i am trying to decide weather or not to have the valving redone at the same time. to do the seals would be around $150 at ltr, and if i had them revalve, they would just put in fork seals when they put the forks together and charge me for parts. the fork revalve job is around $160 and the seals would cost $44 for both, so total plus shipping and wear parts would be around $240 max. i dont know what to do. i am a novice rider (about 5 months of experience) so i dont know if a revalve woud be beneficial or cost efficient for me to do. the girlfriends dad told me that because i was still a new rider, that it wouldnt be worth the money. but i was thinking that if i had them set up for a rider with more experience than i have that i would just grow into them, and it would save me the money of sending my forks to les twice to have him take them apart. what do you guys think? should i just get the seals done? should i get them valved for me at my skill level? or should i get them set for when i have more experience?
 
I would say, ride it for a year, get a feel for the way you ride and in what area you want to improve things first.
The WP's aren't a bad fork, and there enough adjustment in them to play with for a while, that will give you time to learn how different adjustments effect the way the bike rides, you could play with spring rates and oil hight's before a re-valve. It's all a learning curve, and a steep one in the first year. Chances are your be hitting things 80% faster in a years time.

IMHO.;)

This is not trying to take work away from LTr, if I was in the US i'd use him in a heart beat, but "FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN" do the seals yourself, it's really easy. Or get a friend to help, that will give you an idea in how they work and whats going on in there.
 
see the thing is, i dont know whats in my forks as it is. im at least the third owner, and the previous owners were all intermediate riders who probably weighted close to 200ish. weigh 165. and what i was thinking is that if i have to have the forks torn apart anyway, i might as well have them set up for me. cause from what im told suspension set up for me will help my riding improve significantly faster than trying to ride with suspension set up for someone else. so for 60 bucks or so i would have proper suspension. so i dont know what to do. im starting to lean towards revalving, so if nothing else i would have suspension for me, not for the guy who owned it 2 years ago. thats where im torn.
 
You could replace the springs for your weight when you do the seals, get some used ones, wouldn't cost much.

I doubt the revalve service would include springs anyway?
 
springs would be considered wear parts and priced accordingly, and valve or not im sending them in to have the seals done, im just not quite brave enough to try to do them myself yet.
 
If it was me, I would send the forks to LTR, when he pulls them apart to change seals, ask him to inspect the valving and springs as to what they are, and then to call you and advise you on whether they are way out of spec for your abilities or not, they probably arnt, as it seems OK-ish to ride now. And you can go from there.
But thats just me, if I wouldn't do them myself :)
 
i like noobi's idea but...... the fork seal replacement at ltr would be around 160, ok, but to ship two forks out to the west coast of the US from minnesota im looking at 80 bucks in shipping, and three weeks without a motorcycle. and i dont know about you guys but the withdrawals from a week without is pretty bad, so i dont think id like to experience 3 weeks worth. i think im just going to have a local shop do them this time around, then maybe next year ill have ltr do the works on them. and i would honestly do the seals if i thought that my shop was clean enough, and if i could afford to screw them up, which i cannot. and believe me, with the luck i have, i would find a way to screw them up. im the kind of guy who could burn a salad.
 
Then get any bike shop thats cheapest to do the seals, and get them to look at the internals while there at it. Tuning forks isnt rocket science, its not hard to do, but is hard to do well, the biggest thing is probably whether the springs are right or not. Get them to find out what rate they are for you.
 
I have the WP's and stock they were very soft and compliant on roots and rocks. If you are thinking yours are harsh (didn't you mention that in another thread?) someone may have had them set up tighter to be better for motocross type riding.
I would definately have the valving checked and adjusted as needed. I highly recomend LTR also as he did my revalve front and rear tailored to my riding style. He will take the time to do the same for you.
 
what was the total for your fork revalve at ltr? like all said and done, no springs, how much did it actually turn out to be? shipping and revalve service, without fork seals. im still sitting on the fence on this one, because i have 300 bucks, and i need a new set of boots. girlfriends dad has a set of boots that he got cheap and doesnt like the way they fit, but i do, and hed sell them for 75 bucks. so my budget is 225 with a little swing either way. can i do it, or would i be better off just doing the seals and waiting till i become a better rider before i get the valving done.
 
It was right around $300 but that was including the rear shock service/revalve also. I supplied the springs. Call Les, he is very easy to talk to and will give you a lot of good advice. I was initially just going to respring my components (I'm close to 300lbs) and he explained why to wait for the revalve and do it all at the same time. He may tell you to just have the leaky seal replaced for now if you can't afford to do the rear (revalve) at the same time.
 
talked to him yesterday. i think the total service would be 210 plus shipping and small parts. i dont think ill need springs, but if i do then i would just have him do the seals and wait and do it all at once. the big thing is going to be shipping. thats really the determining factor for all of this. that and necessity, because do i honestly need to have the valving done when ive only been riding for half of a season?
 
You have an 03 EC250 according to your sig

Probably a good indicator if the fork springs have been changed for stiffer ones is to look at the Ohlins rear shock spring. Find the #'s on it and let us know. Stock is a 5.2 I believe. There will be other #'s as well but 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 etc is what you are looking for. I would "assume" if one end is resprung you can be fairly sure the other one was as well. Your bike will work like crap for you if it's been resprung (and possibly revalved) for a 200lb rider. If you have a 5.4 spring or higher IMO that's to stiff for your weight/ability. It WILL make your learning curve far more difficult, frustrating and possibly dangerous. Best thing you can spend money on is suspension that's setup for YOU.

Really since you have no known service history of the forks just changing the seals is a quick bandaid solution. Everything should come apart, inspected, cleaned and parts replaced as needed (which I assume Les would do in his service). Also those 2003 WP forks I believe have that infamous 3rd bushing that many people and tuners remove to get rid of stiction issues.

Recently I sent my forks and shock all together out to Les from MA. FedEx ground and insured for $1000 it was $42. Just the forks from MN should be a good bit less I would think.
 
is that shipping both ways or just one way?
and as far as the spring, im not sure what it is, i havnt had time to look, but when i did the sag, with me on it the sag was like 105mm, and under the bikes own weight it was around the 50mm mark. im not sure what that means in terms of springs, but i was given 35ish mm for the static sag, so that is way off. i sit on my girlfriends bike and the suspension squishes evenly throughout the stroke, whereas mine when i sit it sags some, then comes to an abrupt halt, and takes significant force to squish more. kindof like it gets harder about a third of the way through the stroke, especially the forks. thats the main reason i was considering the revalve. my only problem is that i have 300 bucks, and i need a new pair of boots. the boots are going to be 75 bucks, so im working with 225 ish, with a little wiggle room with my regular pay check. so i dont know what to do, and price of shipping is the major deciding factor here. so if its 42 total for shipping then fantastic, if its really 84 for shipping, then its a problem.
 
Buy the boots, take your forks off the bike and take them to a local shop and get the seals replaced.shops around here do it for $80.

A re valve is shale we say A FRIGING LUXURY I have been riding my hole life on stock suspension.Springs are worth the money $200 at most.

Just my .02
 
its off to gofasters. theres nobody here that knows what to do with WP forks. and gofasters is closest.
 
cbutler said:
A re valve is shale we say A FRIGING LUXURY I have been riding my hole life on stock suspension.
Click to expand...
Sir, you are correct :D

And at 45yrs old I figured It was time I tried it.

It is certainly more suited to those who use their bike to the fullest. My stock suspension was sooo nice on trail rides. It's much stiffer now and not as plush going slow but those "close calls" (steep drop-offs and hidden ditches) when riding fast have made it worth every penny.

If Dank's bike has been revalved for a heavier (and faster) rider then it must be beating him to death.

Still not an easy decision for Dank. I would probably go with the boots and get what I could afford next. Safety first;)
 
it was dylan debels bike. its set up for 180lb aggressive rider. thats were i have the hitch. if it was stock it would be ok, a little stiff but ok, but its whatever dylan had it as. nobody who bought it after him did anything but play with clickers. but im just going to have the seals done, because i do not have the money to do the forks and the shock, and from what im told they should both be done at the same time otherwise they wont match.
 
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