Tuning Question - Sachs 09 Forks

[ferguscawley]

I have a question for the suspension tuners among you .

I am the gasGas distributor for Ireland and having owned a few EC300s with both marzocchi and sachs forks, I want to make the sachs forks behave like the older 45mm Marzocchi shivers if possible. I find the sachs to be hard work over rocky rutted terrain that is common on Irish trails.

I have tried a few changes on the sachs forks - just playing with clickers, oil weight and airgaps but still can't get that lovely controlled feeling I had with my 06.

Here is the valving arrangement for the compression piston for the 2T enduro bikes.

What shim sizes / order should I use to get the same plushness that I got from the Marzocchis on my older 2006 bike ?

Any advice or help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Fergus

 

[ferguscawley]

Correct me if I am wrong but if I removed 3 shims from the stack to give me the stack below, would I not have a more supple compliant ride over rocks and ruts/roots etc ?
I am trying to figure out the workings of the compression stack using various forums and titbits of info I can find.

23 x .2
24 x .2 (removed a 24 x .2 shim here)
16 x .15

20 x .15
18 x .2 (removed a 16 x .2 here)
12 x .12
10 x .3

22 x .45
22 x .45 (removed a 22.45 here)
20 x .1
16 x .3

I am also assuming that the red shims above are the low speed stack, the blue shims relate to the mid speed stack and the pink shims relate to the high speed stack ?

Thanks

Fergus

 

[add]

Any luck on the valving? I found my Sachs to be pretty stiff too.

 

[Keg]

Here is what is in my 300R forks.

Compression

3mm bypass hole
26(D) x .15 (5)
24 x .2
12 x .15
22 x .2
20 x .2
18 x .15
16 x .15
12 x .15
10 x .3

Rebound

Check Valve 26mm
2.5mm clearance/height
3.5mm bypass hole

24(D) x .1 (3) ****this does not fully cover the valve body holes
22 x .15
20 x .15
16 x .15
12 x .15
10 x .3

 

[Transparent tank]

Any luck on the valving? I found my Sachs to be pretty stiff too.

+1

ferguscawley, how does your stack work over rocks and roots?

 

[ferguscawley]

+1

ferguscawley, how does your stack work over rocks and roots?

It was much improved over stock. Forks were iniitially much plusher but I still felt that I couldn't trust the front end over roots etc - sometimes it would deflect without warning and other times it wouldn't.
I think the forks are also over-sprung for enduro use which doesn't help much either.

I have since sold my front end and fitted a set of 2008 marzocchi forks & clamps to my 09 bike. Much much better for the Irish terrain.

 

[Transparent tank]

Well i´m about to try this stack

23 x .2
24 x .2
16 x .2
20 x .2
18 x .2
12 x .15
10 x .3
22 x .45
22 x .45
20 x .10
16 x .3

Along with 110mm airgap, but i really dont have a clue what i´m doing (as always).

 

[Keg]

I have recently had the check plate on the back of the rebound valve converted to a mid-valve by Dirtworks Suspension in Australia. It took a bit of machining and a few re-valves, but it is now miles better than before with a plush feel, but much more planted mid turn and on handles the bigger hits!

And I can survive a whole cross country race now!

 

[GMP]

Those heavy 3 stage stacks never seem to work well in the woods. My Cannondale Ohlins had something like that and the bike was unridable. Best to go to a more conventional 2 stage stack. It appears that stack also uses a 23mm face shim for free bleed. Also, if there is a lot of free bleed in the rebound, perhaps rebound control is an issue as well.

 

[bergerhag]

Anyone got a good woods/rocks stack that they can share? My 2010 ec300 fork does not work at all for the terrain I ride. Guess it is time to redo all the work I put into my zokes...

 

[JRDoz]

Anyone got a good woods/rocks stack that they can share? My 2010 ec300 fork does not work at all for the terrain I ride. Guess it is time to redo all the work I put into my zokes...

That was my impression when I test rode one.. I just couldn't get a nice action from it over small rocky trails

 

[swazi_matt]

also find the forks a bit harsh on the small rocks.

Has anyone tried using air-cells to soften the initial part of the fork stroke. The rest seems fine