125 quick brain storm?
- Thread starter spooly
- Start date
Thats a good amount of travel. But is that just you pushing down on it with your body weight? or is that after a jump. You have to figure in the bikes weight along with your weight. And the bike probably weighs about 14 or 15 stones. So Im just guessing that you might be pretty close on your compression. If not just a little soft. The only way to know for sure is to jump it, and try to land as close to both wheels at the same time. Or maybe just a little front wheel first. If you feel it stop (or bottom out) and you will feel it. You dont have enough compression. Which could mean a few things. And there are lots of variables with in those few things. You should not really feel the suspension transition from compression to rebound. It should be very smooth and fluid. But if your only 12 stones your about the perfect weight maybe just a little on the heavy side of the recommended weight for the stock springs. So I wouldnt worry about having to re spring the forks.
Exactly what type of riding do you do? Motocross with large jumps log big whoop sections? Trail riding (for fun)? The reason I ask your suspension needs to be set up for your weight (mostly the spring rate) but it also needs (should be) set up for the type of riding. I do ride mostly desert type riding. This means very little jumping (bike is less than 3 ft (1meter) off the ground at any given time while riding. Lots of uneven terrain (whoops) rocky trails etc. So I prefer to have my suspension (compression) pretty soft. And my rebound set in the medium high range to prevent packing. Packing is when the suspension never really has a chance rebound fully or almost stays bottomed out. That makes for a really hard ride.
So in order to better help you. I (we) need to know what type of riding you do. What is the suspension doing? Does it feel to soft and bottoming out. Typically after a jump. Does it feel like its springing back too fast? Kinda like jumping on a Pogo stick?
Also you need to remember that you should adjust the rear shock also. What you do to the front you should also do to the rear. When I get new bike I adjust the sag on the rear shock for my weight. Then I go ride. Then I adjust the forks till Im happy with what they are doing. Then I adjust the rear shock till it does what its supposed to in conjunction with the front forks. Your suspension front and rear are a complete system that have to work together and they need to be adjusted at the same time. It sounds complicated but once youve got it figured out its not hard to do. Just take your time and start out with little adjusments no more than 2 clicks in either direction. Also make sure that when you remount your forks. Ensure that you have the same amount of stick out. This means the amount of fork tube above the upper clamp. If they are uneven. Even by a little bit that will upset how they work together. Also the amount of stick out will affect how the bike handles and how the suspension performs. So there is quite a bit of trial and error in getting your suspension set up for you and your type of riding style.
So answer the questions I asked in the third paragraph. And We can go from there.
Exactly what type of riding do you do? Motocross with large jumps log big whoop sections? Trail riding (for fun)? The reason I ask your suspension needs to be set up for your weight (mostly the spring rate) but it also needs (should be) set up for the type of riding. I do ride mostly desert type riding. This means very little jumping (bike is less than 3 ft (1meter) off the ground at any given time while riding. Lots of uneven terrain (whoops) rocky trails etc. So I prefer to have my suspension (compression) pretty soft. And my rebound set in the medium high range to prevent packing. Packing is when the suspension never really has a chance rebound fully or almost stays bottomed out. That makes for a really hard ride.
So in order to better help you. I (we) need to know what type of riding you do. What is the suspension doing? Does it feel to soft and bottoming out. Typically after a jump. Does it feel like its springing back too fast? Kinda like jumping on a Pogo stick?
Also you need to remember that you should adjust the rear shock also. What you do to the front you should also do to the rear. When I get new bike I adjust the sag on the rear shock for my weight. Then I go ride. Then I adjust the forks till Im happy with what they are doing. Then I adjust the rear shock till it does what its supposed to in conjunction with the front forks. Your suspension front and rear are a complete system that have to work together and they need to be adjusted at the same time. It sounds complicated but once youve got it figured out its not hard to do. Just take your time and start out with little adjusments no more than 2 clicks in either direction. Also make sure that when you remount your forks. Ensure that you have the same amount of stick out. This means the amount of fork tube above the upper clamp. If they are uneven. Even by a little bit that will upset how they work together. Also the amount of stick out will affect how the bike handles and how the suspension performs. So there is quite a bit of trial and error in getting your suspension set up for you and your type of riding style.
So answer the questions I asked in the third paragraph. And We can go from there.
mostly trial riding for fun..the bike would never be more then a meter off the ground.. im only starting to practice jumps..i took it out a while ago for a try out around my housing estate and there's a little jumps about a meter high so i was trying over that..felt good and as i got more confident i built my speed up to get more air lol lets just say i mist judge my stoping distance and took a spill when i lock up the front wheel...ouch the tarmac sure does hurt..so now where im at is damage report i think i just bent the bars..hopefully..and a sprained wrist that will be a killer in work tomorrow..it still was great fun tho getting a little bit of air can't wait to get back out for more..
Well Im sorry to hear about your spill. Hopefully you mend quickly. If you think the bars are bent even just a little bit. They probably are. You can live with it or replace them. I wouldnt try to bend them back. So either replace them. Or live with it. Ok so your a recreational rider. We determined earlier what the amount of adjustments you had for compression and rebound. If I recall correctly you stated that you redid the seals on one fork leg. I recommend that you do the other side also if you havent already. Then I would set your compression and rebound settings in the middle. So if you have 26 adjustments for compression set both sides at 13. Do the same for your rebound. Do the same for your rear shock. This will be close to what the bike was set up for when it was new. Then you should adjust your sag on the rear shock. I know there is a thread on here that tells how to do it. So do a search for setting your sag. Once youve found it. Get a helper (its easier) and set your sag. Its not hard to do and should only take 30 min maybe an hour. Trust me its so worth it and makes getting your suspension set up that much easier and better. Then go ride your bike (off road) where you would go ride it. Bring your flat tip screw driver. Then you can start feeling what the suspension is doing. And adjust it accordingly. As for the amount of oil in your forks. Your manual should give you 2 or 3 amounts of oil that should be in forks. If there is 3 different amount I would choose the middle one. It is (in my experience) the best amount for recreational riding. It may also depend on what type of forks you have whether they are dual or single chamber forks. So get those things handled. Ride the bike when your able to adjust them to what you like and get back to us.
great advice im ordering the bars as we speak so that gives me time to change oil and seal..1 more question and im not questioning your knolage but why would i change out the old seal if its good would new oil not be enough..1 thing iv noticed with the new seal and oil is that it leaves a skim of oil one the fork as where the old oil and seal does not..do u think maby iv damaged the new seal putting it on or is that normal..(i only changed the seal not the bashing or other hardware)
It is possible to damage new seals while installing.
It is also possible there is a ding or scratch in the sanction tube of the fork itself not allowing a new seal to seal properly. If you find after trying a few seals, it still leaks on just that fork, I'd consider replacing the lower tube.
Otherwise, just replace both seals at the same time. -BIG DAN
It is also possible there is a ding or scratch in the sanction tube of the fork itself not allowing a new seal to seal properly. If you find after trying a few seals, it still leaks on just that fork, I'd consider replacing the lower tube.
Otherwise, just replace both seals at the same time. -BIG DAN
Like big Dan said. When you order your fork seals they come in pairs and should be replaced in pairs. Its kind of a safety thing. Here is a good YouTube link on how to replace your seals Im going to post two different types. Because I dont know what type of forks you have. They could be dual chamber or cartridge type . And this info is good to know. They will help you with reference also.
part 1 cartridge type
Part 2 cartridge type
Part 1 dual chamber
Part 2 Dual chamber
part 1 cartridge type
Part 2 cartridge type
Part 1 dual chamber
Part 2 Dual chamber
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