Suspension work
12-23-2006, 07:07 PM
#1
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Suspension work
I brought my 1000RR forks and the Fox TC from the Superhawk to the suspension shop yesterday. We installed the Ohlins 20mm kit into the forks and refreshed the Fox. All new seals, oil, and N2 charge and everything's back together with the exception of resetting the sag. I had my spring measured and that's one heavy sucker! It's an 1100# spring. We were wondering why the Fox got up to 1000# rebound force! Nevertheless, we found that the compression clicker didn't really do anything until you got it up to position 5 (of 8). So it's a 4-position adjuster: 1-5, 6, 7, and 8! hehe Opting for a tad more adjustabiltiy I chose a slightly lighter oil. I'll post the dyno graphs tomorrow. I gotta get to bed. Vacation is over as of last night 
and I gotta be up at 5:30am.
and I gotta be up at 5:30am.
12-24-2006, 06:09 PM
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I got the Ohlins kit at a blowout price from www.superbikesupply.com. Brad is a great guy, owns a 1000RR, and is a sponsor on 1000RR.net. He's moving his business, so I basically got it for cost. Cost to installl was $60.
Cost for the shock rebuild was $60. Rebuild kit was only available from Traxxion for $25. The overnight shipping cost me nearly as much. Fox has a delivery hold until Jan 8th for inventory.
Doughnuts for the shop: $8.
Gas to get there and back: $30
Having the guy that helped design the Ohlins kit install it in your forks: PRICELESS!
Cost for the shock rebuild was $60. Rebuild kit was only available from Traxxion for $25. The overnight shipping cost me nearly as much.
Fox has a delivery hold until Jan 8th for inventory.Doughnuts for the shop: $8.
Gas to get there and back: $30
Having the guy that helped design the Ohlins kit install it in your forks: PRICELESS!
12-24-2006, 06:32 PM
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Having known the guy for a while probably helps. Joey used to work for Ohlins and then went to work for Dan Kyle (www.kyleracing.com). That didn't work out so he went over to AMF Motorsports to do some work with race cars. He brings his customers' business to AMF so I don't think they mind. I didn't revalve because I'm happy with the way the shock works now. The compression clicker is interesting in its design. By rotating the ****, 1 being the softest setting and 8 the hardest, this opens progressively larger ports on the bleed. Most other shocks use a needle valve and seat. I'll post the dynos here shortly so you can see what I'm talking about.
Revalves generally cost more because in addition to taking it completly down you have to take the valve design into consideration and come up with a shim stack. Once together you put it on the dyno and you may end up with a second or third attempt to get the right response from the shock. That all takes time. It only took about an hour and a half to put in new seals and oil. I think the dyno time was essentially free as this was the first Fox TC they've done at the shop, so it added to their database.
Revalves generally cost more because in addition to taking it completly down you have to take the valve design into consideration and come up with a shim stack. Once together you put it on the dyno and you may end up with a second or third attempt to get the right response from the shock. That all takes time. It only took about an hour and a half to put in new seals and oil. I think the dyno time was essentially free as this was the first Fox TC they've done at the shop, so it added to their database.
12-24-2006, 07:00 PM
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actually I think it cost a lil more. I paid total for installed which was $450 and it required machine work on the spacers cause they didn't ******* fit!!! The place I took it to didn't have a dyno but he used some contacts in Cali to find out what he needed and got the parts
12-24-2006, 07:27 PM
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How did the spacers not fit? Mine fit fine, though a tad tight. I'd call it an interference fit on the upper mount and just right at the linkage on the bottom.
Here's the dyno. For some reason I didn't get the initial dyno. I'll have to call after the holidays and have them send me the printout. I got two after service printouts. The before service aren't much different but show the very small changes in compression damping at settings 1, 3, and 5.
The table to the right shows the settngs. B is compression. R is rebound. Also, rebound is on the bottom half of the graph, compression is on the top. It's quite linear, which is the way I prefer my suspension. Some shim stacks are progressive or digressive. Progressive being that the faster the shaft speed the faster compression will build up. These stacks are usually stiffer and are sometimes preloaded (with a ring shim). Note the knee at about 2"/sec. This is where the low speed adjuster (bleed) stops working and the shim stack begins to flow oil.
Here's the dyno. For some reason I didn't get the initial dyno. I'll have to call after the holidays and have them send me the printout. I got two after service printouts. The before service aren't much different but show the very small changes in compression damping at settings 1, 3, and 5.
The table to the right shows the settngs. B is compression. R is rebound. Also, rebound is on the bottom half of the graph, compression is on the top. It's quite linear, which is the way I prefer my suspension. Some shim stacks are progressive or digressive. Progressive being that the faster the shaft speed the faster compression will build up. These stacks are usually stiffer and are sometimes preloaded (with a ring shim). Note the knee at about 2"/sec. This is where the low speed adjuster (bleed) stops working and the shim stack begins to flow oil.
12-25-2006, 07:53 AM
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The prices for Fox shock rebuild kits are such a rip off. Fox charges $37 and Traxxion $25. What a deal for about $6 worth of seals. I put together my own seal kits for the Fox shocks that I rebuild. For about $10 I can get better quality materials and also include seals the standard kits do not. I plan to package these kits and put them up on eBay. Frankly it's a little low on the project priority list. Couple that with how lazy I am and you can guess how long it's going to take. If anyone is interested in a set just let me know.
12-25-2006, 10:29 AM
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The two shaft seals are special in that they are recessed and have a lip in the middle vice one end. As for the o-rings, well they're just o-rings. You're right, it's a ripoff but that saves the time from having to research all the parts and order it all separately.
12-25-2006, 11:11 AM
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How did the spacers not fit? Mine fit fine, though a tad tight. I'd call it an interference fit on the upper mount and just right at the linkage on the bottom.
Here's the dyno. For some reason I didn't get the initial dyno. I'll have to call after the holidays and have them send me the printout. I got two after service printouts. The before service aren't much different but show the very small changes in compression damping at settings 1, 3, and 5.
The table to the right shows the settngs. B is compression. R is rebound. Also, rebound is on the bottom half of the graph, compression is on the top. It's quite linear, which is the way I prefer my suspension. Some shim stacks are progressive or digressive. Progressive being that the faster the shaft speed the faster compression will build up. These stacks are usually stiffer and are sometimes preloaded (with a ring shim). Note the knee at about 2"/sec. This is where the low speed adjuster (bleed) stops working and the shim stack begins to flow oil.
Here's the dyno. For some reason I didn't get the initial dyno. I'll have to call after the holidays and have them send me the printout. I got two after service printouts. The before service aren't much different but show the very small changes in compression damping at settings 1, 3, and 5.
The table to the right shows the settngs. B is compression. R is rebound. Also, rebound is on the bottom half of the graph, compression is on the top. It's quite linear, which is the way I prefer my suspension. Some shim stacks are progressive or digressive. Progressive being that the faster the shaft speed the faster compression will build up. These stacks are usually stiffer and are sometimes preloaded (with a ring shim). Note the knee at about 2"/sec. This is where the low speed adjuster (bleed) stops working and the shim stack begins to flow oil.
we used calipers to measure and they were .1" too big... weird but true
12-25-2006, 12:09 PM
#12
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Sorry to burst your bubble Hawkrider, but the piston rod seals are as standard as it gets. The shaft on the Fox shock is even Ø5/8", not the typical Ø14mm or Ø16mm (metric anyway) like other shocks. That means the seals are really easy to get. Seal vendors will have them on their shelf by the 1000's.
The only special part is the piston band. I've found that you don't need to replace them very often anyway.
The only special part is the piston band. I've found that you don't need to replace them very often anyway.
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