Fork Revalve Help - Shim stack changes

[Boris]

Hi All, thanks in advance for taking a look.

I'm looking to install fork springs appropriate to my weight on my 2007 Tiger 1050. I have not actually ridden this exact bike yet, and I never re-sprung my previous 2012 SE. I need a starting point on the shim stack. I do not mind taking the forks back apart to tune it again.

I know I need more rebound damping for the heavier spring. I also want a bit more low speed compression damping.

Spring: 1.00 kg racetech
Oil: Bel Ray 10W (which I see now is slightly less viscous than the SS8 recommended by the manual according to this handy chart (link))

Stock Rebound Shims:
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
15 x .15
15 x .15
15 x .15
13 x .15
13 x .15
13 x .15
10 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

Proposed Rebound Shims:
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
16 x .10
15 x .15
15 x .15
15 x .15
15 x .15
13 x .15
13 x .15
13 x .15
10 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

Stock Compression Shims:
17 x .10
17 x .10
8 x .20
15 x .10
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

Proposed Compression Shims:
17 x .10
17 x .10
16 x .10
8 x .10
8 x .20
15 x .10
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

Do these changes sound like they may be sufficient for the weight of the spring?
Is there a chance of ratcheting with that much more rebound?

[Dave73]

Here is an old link to the mods I made for mine.

https://www.tiger1050.com/index.php/topic,25882.msg287213.html#msg287213

I think toward the end I show about rebound stack.

[indytiger1050]

Originally Posted by Dave73

Here is an old link to the mods I made for mine.

https://www.tiger1050.com/index.php/topic,25882.msg287213.html#msg287213

I think toward the end I show about rebound stack.

  If you have all your mod's in a page etc let me know.. Will add to sticky with the others.

[Boris]

Thanks Dave. I actually decided to try the compression shim stack from the first page of your thread, without modifying the valve itself.

Going to record my results in this thread because why not. Ended up with these stacks

Rebound
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
17 x .15
16 x .10
15 x .15
15 x .15
15 x .15
13 x .15
13 x .15
13 x .15
10 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

Compression
17 x .10
17 x .10
15 x .10
swap places
8 x .20
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

Unfortunately, I was not able to set proper sag on the fork because the spacer was too long. I don't know how useful this feedback is until I cut down the spacer.

Low speed compression was still soft until I turned 3 turns closed on the adjuster. After that braking felt fine. Not sure if it will be too soft under less preload. Going to hold off on changing it.
High speed compression felt overly harsh still on crappy NYC roads. I also don't want to touch this until I have proper preload.

Rebound felt OK, but I had to raise the adjuster all the way to get the forks from topping out when I press down on the handlebars firmly. I didn't get any ratcheting but I also didn't top out or get any pogoing, so I think I'm at least in a good window.

I just started taking the forks back apart today, but hopelessly lost the bolt at the top of the damper rod. I ordered some fairly inexpensive busted ebay forks, so once those come in I can grab a bolt off there, and continue.

Here's a pic of trying the suspension out



 

[Boris]

Forgot that I said I would update here

Adjusted sag to be correct by cutting the spacer, and tried again with those stacks.

It's still a little soft on low speed compression under harder braking.
It's not as harsh on the high speed compression, but still a little harsh.

As for riding curves, it feels great compared to my old stock tiger. Need to read more about suspension tuning and try changing the settings on the shock.

Fluid looked like crap (maybe because new springs). Going to leave it for a few hundred or a couple thousand more miles, and then change it again and give the compression stack another try. Happy with the rebound where it is.

[rhubarbray]

Unfortunately, they are in the UK, but,.........when all this is over? Take a class?
https://suspensionschool.com/


Or in the US,.........when it comes available.
https://www.racetech.com/page/id/27

[Boris]

Might not be a bad idea to take a class.
Instead of continuing to read the racetech book, I've bought another tiger (800xc) to rebuild the engine on, and that's been taking my attention. But I have this adjustable shock on this bike, and I still want to learn how to set it up...


But back to these forks:

My (aftermarket) fork seals have already been leaking whenever I ride in the rain or with dirty roads. It seems that the dust seals are not really doing their jobs.
I could fairly quickly just change the oil and the seals, but I'm considering trying another shim stack. I'm OK with the rebound for now, so it might be worth it to just do the Compression stack again. Thinking about the below. It's a pretty small change.

Compression
17 x .10
17 x .10
17 x .10
15 x .10
8 x .20
11 x .10
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

An alternative is to pull one of the spacers and replace it with a larger but more gradual low speed stack


Compression
17 x .10
17 x .10
15 x .10
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
11 x .10
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
11.4 x .40
11 x .10
11 x .10
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40

[Boris]

I couldn't wait any longer to change the seals. Now that the roads are always dirty, the seals were leaking every time I rode.

Went with the following setup. I used some 16x.1's as extra spacers because that's what I had a lot of. They're the same diameter as the "plate" at the bottom.

Went for a ride after, and if felt nice for the riding I did. I couldn't do any spirited riding due to the road conditions. However:
* turn-in still felt nice and planted (one of the biggest improvements for me since I started tuning the suspension)
* bike did not dive excessively under braking
* hard bumps were not as jarring   

This is going to be it until the roads are cleaner and I can try some harder rides.

Next steps:
- Finish reading the race tech book
- Tune the shock setup
- Return to the forks

so I'll likely stay quiet on this thread for several months til the roads are cleaner.

Compression
17 x .10
17 x .10
15 x .10
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
13 x .10
11 x .10
8 x .20
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
11.4 x .40
16 x .10 (as spacer)
16 x .10 (as spacer)

2 turns in on the low speed compression adjuster