TTX Shock

[Jakobi]

Hello kind people of the Gas Gas Rider Forum,

I'm done with jetting my bike until the season turns again, or I bolt something else on that starts the ball rolling. In the mean time I have decided to really dial in the TTX. The forks I feel comfortable with setting up, but the shock I wouldn't mind some help.

Anyone who used the TTX with the CSC adjuster have some baseline settings they are willing to serve up to get me on the right track? I have started with the recommended 24 clicks out which is ok. I have gone in to 18 which definitely firms things up some, and back out further to make the bike wallow.

The problem I have is when I plow big exposed roots it feels quite harsh in the back. The forks will soak it up but the back slams hard. If I pop the front wheel and wheely right over its not as bad and quite plush. Same with square edged short jumps (that the downhill bikers made). Think short steep face. The front absorbs it well but the back end just wants to skip over. Any thoughts or ideas on what circuit I should be looking at? Rebound or compression??

My approach will be the same as Ohlins recommends, where I use the CSC to get the bike to soak up the big jumps and woops without wallowing, and then fine tune the action with the clickers. I'd just like a bit of assistance on where to start to address that particular harshness.

Sag is set at 35mm/110mm with only 12mm preload on the spring.

Onegreyghost?? I might pm you.

Thanks in advance.
Jake

 

[wence]

Jake,
I know it is 2mm but reduce the preload 2-5 mm and see what that does.
I had 15 mm prelod on my 12 and the thing was a pig .... reduced it to 10 mm( 5mm reduction), and it is unbelievable.
Cheap to try?
Cheers Mark

 

[GasTimppa]

Jake,
I know it is 2mm but reduce the preload 2-5 mm and see what that does.
I had 15 mm prelod on my 12 and the thing was a pig .... reduced it to 10 mm( 5mm reduction), and it is unbelievable.
Cheap to try?
Cheers Mark

I have 10mm in my TTX (newer model) and it's perfect.

 

[Jakobi]

I'm thinking I'm going to pull the whole shock out of the bike in the morning and give it a once over. Double check the preload since I've put a few hours on it, set the CSC back to 20 clicks out, rebound and compression are per manual and then wait to the weekend to do some testing.

It felt pretty sweet on the weekend but I think rear rebound might have been a touch too quick. I really need to get a video to see if I'm blowing through the stroke, or rebounding too fast. Maybe I'm just expecting too much. Talking about smashing into maybe a 20cm heigh square edge at second gear pace. A very well exposed root.

In other news that CSC adjuster is a pig of a thing to adjust! Located on the lower part of the shock, blocked by the chain and linkage dogs. Trying to count the 24 clicks out is a painful exercise! Will be much easier with the shock out of the bike.

 

[GasTimppa]

My suspencion guru added some rebound to my ttx in it's first service. But this is differnt shck, no CSC. After that I haven't needed to touch clickers

 

[GMP]

All this $$ in TTX and you still have to screw with it. Seriously, drop the preload a couple mm and see how it feels. IMO, 10mm is the target max not 12mm. Do this first before touching anything and run the same section of trail hitting the same stuff to establish a consistant reference. Preload has a big effect on feel over trail trash. Like Mark my '12 was jacked up out of the crate. I'm at just under 10mm preload with 110mm sag using the stock spring and the bike eats anything in its path. The '12 chassis seems to like a bit less sag than the '11s and older, so you should be able to drop that preload without affecting the steering. You can also add some low speed comp back in to compensate and quicken steering if needed. Make sure your fork is not preloaded too much either, as this will throw balance off and weight the rear more. FWIW, every number I've seen from Ohlins over the years has been way stiff.

 

[Jakobi]

I know right! You think it would just work on its own

Forks are running 3mm of preload and fork action is great. Bike feels well balanced. As per my last post, I'll pull the shock and go over all the clickers again, set the shock preload to 10mm and then go at it a little at a time during a proper ride.

Its soaking up the smaller trash fine and also the big landings from jumps/drop offs. Its just the hard square hits like logs on uphills that really feel harsh. They have with every shock I've owned too though. Doesn't seem to be kicking really high or anything, just either blowing through or too stiff and I don't know which one. To me it feels almost like too much high/not enough speed compression. Don't think the ttx has the high speed adjuster though, same as the new 888.

 

[GMP]

All adjusters do is change the size of the bleed path around the valve stack. Once the fluid velocity gets to a certain point the bleed is effectively closed and the stack takes over. It only affects low speed and where the valve stack becomes active. To fix high speed compression issues requires changing the stack(revalving). Just drop the preload without touching anything else, one thing at a time. Can you do that on a TTX on the bike?

 

[Jakobi]

Sure can adjust the preload with the shock on the bike. I'll pull it right out to double check the csc clicker setting though. Its painful trying to access it within the confined space. It'll make it easier to measure up the spring again to ensure the 10mm as well.

Thanks Glenn.

 

[Jakobi]

PS. Whats the best way to have a look how much travel the shock is using?? I've used a zip tie around a fork leg in the past to measure travel, but don't want to do this on the shock incase if it is bottoming. Don't want to damage the bumper.

 

[Vindicator]

My suspencion guru added some rebound to my ttx in it's first service. But this is differnt shck, no CSC. After that I haven't needed to touch clickers

Do you run the stock spring ?

 

[GasTimppa]

Do you run the stock spring ?

I ordered my ttx from our ohlins dealer. He recomended 54 spring, and that's what I use.

I have 52 spring too for winter snow enduro (only sitting). But it's totally different story, both front and rear has to be valved and sprung softer

 

[swazi_matt]

PS. Whats the best way to have a look how much travel the shock is using?? I've used a zip tie around a fork leg in the past to measure travel, but don't want to do this on the shock incase if it is bottoming. Don't want to damage the bumper.

some say to put a small zip tie around the shaft, but i have always been worried that the zip tie lock part could damage the bumper or the shock seal if it bottomed hard so what i do is put a thin layer of grease on the shaft that way i can see how far the seal goes down as it pushes the grease down.

another option (never tried it) is to push the bumper up the shaft and see how far it gets pushed down

 

[GasTimppa]

some say to put a small zip tie around the shaft, but i have always been worried that the zip tie lock part could damage the bumper or the shock seal if it bottomed hard so what i do is put a thin layer of grease on the shaft that way i can see how far the seal goes down as it pushes the grease down.

another option (never tried it) is to push the bumper up the shaft and see how far it gets pushed down

My suspesion guru recomends o-ring to that purpose... I have one...

 

[Jakobi]

Well I have the shock out of the bike at the moment, but already set the 10mm preload (it was at 12mm like i thought). I may pop the spring off and slide a little o-ring over.

I had considered grease but we all know that attracts dirt. I'll work something out.

 

[Fred1956]

Well I have the shock out of the bike at the moment, but already set the 10mm preload (it was at 12mm like i thought). I may pop the spring off and slide a little o-ring over.

I had considered grease but we all know that attracts dirt. I'll work something out.

Shock bottoming is difficult to measure as the bumper is so thick. If you put an o-ring above or below it, I guarantee it will be pushed as low as it can go even if the shock is not bottoming. Shock Clock has a way to do it but that is pricey.....O-ring or zip ty works on forks because bottom out bumper is internal

 

[GMP]

How are you going to do that and expect it to be tight enough? Thats a BIG stretch for a shaft size oring and I'm sure your not going to break the shock down. You should be able to feel approx how much travel you use. Like Fred said you will always hit the bumper even with a very stiff setup.

Work with bump compliance and steering precision, over THE SAME section of trail.

 

[Jakobi]

Haha in my half tired state I was thinking I could sneak an o-ring over one side down the bottom. Hahahah! Hows that flawed logic? You should have let me have a go at trying though. Could be amusing.

The bike handles well and feels like it is soaking up jumps and woops really well. I can get a feel for how much travel it uses by riding off a drop off over and over again. Thats not hard to gauge. I can't feel anything but a thud and the back wheel lifting up when I hit the square edges I am talking about though. I wouldn't have a clue if its rebounding too fast, too stiff to soak the impact up, or blowing completely through the shock travel and bottoming harshly.

I think I'll have to set up the camera and watch whats happening.

 

[GMP]

Stick your GoPro on a log or ledge with a good view angle and hit it a few times, it should help you understand. Feeling and interpreting what the suspension is doing is a skill in itself. Like jetting, perhaps a bit more complicated though.

 

[Jakobi]

You're not the first person to compare it to jetting either. I agree it will take a methodical approach and time experiencing differences to learn which circuits have which effect along with how they interact. Also why I can see the importance in running the same section of trail to remove as many variables as possible.

I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be rebounding a bit too fast.