I've about had it with Shivers.

[GasGasDreamer]

Originally Posted by Ud_luz

What's my solution here for plush forks that don't blow through the stroke riding in extremely rocky, technical terrain?

i'm not a suspension expert but it sounds like you may;
-have too much rebound dampning. this would feel harsh and also bottom.
-maybe you are over tightrning the triples and pinching the tubes?
-maybe you arent centering/zeroing/whatever u call it when you adjust the right leg on the axle bolt?

i am assuming that you have started with the clickers at stock and then adjusted them each independently ????

i have all stock 06 ec300 and forks are great. i did add flex bars and tubliss front with trials front and that made it even plusher.

i know dick's suspension [dick wilkes] in cali does some unbelievable work with wp.

[Tlineman]

I'm fairly frustrated with mine as well. I've taken them to my tuner twice, had them revalved and re-sprung for my weight (0.46 / 215lbs), but feel that they could still be much better. The forks feel way too 'busy" and transmit too much back through the bars.

I've now entered into the matter of starting to play with the shim stack (shims on order), myself as my tuners shop is 2hr drive away. I'm going to start slowly, adding a shim or two to the rebound stack and maybe installing a bleed shim on the midvalve. Not to sure what size of bleed shim to us on the midvalve stack, but I may stick a 15mm x 0.1 in there to start and see if it all makes much of a difference.

[GMP]

Why? That will cause more rebound free bleed, exactly what you don't need. Your .46s made things worse, tighten that HS rebound stack up. It feels "busy" because it lacks HS control, the initial rebound travel is very fast and feels harsh like a compression problem.

Some guys epoxy the free bleed hole in the rebound piston closed. Husky Zokes are like this, same piston no free bleed hole drilled. I have not felt the need to yet, the HS part is the main issue, fixed orafice free bleed is limited to low speed.

[Ud_luz]

Well, I see there's no agreement on this issue.

Since my shock is due I think I'll send the shock and forks to Les and have him revalve the shock and maybe take a second look at the forks.

[bchatt]

Originally Posted by Tlineman

I'm fairly frustrated with mine as well. I've taken them to my tuner twice, had them revalved and re-sprung for my weight (0.46 / 215lbs), but feel that they could still be much better. The forks feel way too 'busy" and transmit too much back through the bars.

I've now entered into the matter of starting to play with the shim stack (shims on order), myself as my tuners shop is 2hr drive away. I'm going to start slowly, adding a shim or two to the rebound stack and maybe installing a bleed shim on the midvalve. Not to sure what size of bleed shim to us on the midvalve stack, but I may stick a 15mm x 0.1 in there to start and see if it all makes much of a difference.

Mine came stock with a 11x0.2 bleed shim on the midvlave(checkplate). Removing this is the first step toward increasing rebound control,as GMP says. If yours hasn't got one, I sure woudn't be adding one......
I have also added shims to create a much stiffer and progressive rebound stack. I have taken them from the comp stack with good results there too.
( I like to do things the instant I think of them - waiting around for ordered shims to arrive just aint an option!!) There was a definate decrease in the "harshness' that is often quoted, by beefing up the rebound control. As has been said, alot of it is the bars springing back into your hands.

[Tlineman]

Good to know, I'd wondered if the bleed shim would negatively affect rebound. I'll be leaving the midvalve alone then, and just add some shims to the rebound stack.

[GMP]

FWIW, there is no real "midvalve" setup in the fork, its just a checkplate with a .3mm shim. Yes, start with fixing the rebound stack first and try it to gauge the diference. Next, go back in and replace the .3mm with the following over the spring:

22 x .1
22 x .1
19 x .1
15 x .1 (stack to adjust float)

Try a float of 1.4 - 1.5 for starters, and work down until it gets more harsh, then back up. This helps slow things down a bit.

A fast guy like you might like this, I do and I'm only half fast.

Get rid of any bleed shims on the base valve as well. A bleed shim under the checkplate is totally ridiculous IMO.

[Tlineman]

Originally Posted by GMP

FWIW, there is no real "midvalve" setup in the fork, its just a checkplate with a .3mm shim. Yes, start with fixing the rebound stack first and try it to gauge the diference. Next, go back in and replace the .3mm with the following over the spring:

22 x .1
22 x .1
19 x .1
15 x .1 (stack to adjust float)

Try a float of 1.4 - 1.5 for starters, and work down until it gets more harsh, then back up. This helps slow things down a bit.

Just installed the shims, and I hope to get the bike out for a ride to try it out tomorrow.

I went to the exact MV setup you list above, and need 0.3 mm of 15mm shims to get a float of 1.5mm. What do you think of this rebound stack
22 x 0.1
22 x 0.1
19 x 0.1
19 x 0.1
18 x 0.1
17 x 0.1
15 x 0.1
12 x 0.1

I'm concerned that I may have taken too big of a step here as I was running
22 x 0.1
19 x 0.1
17 x 0.1
15 x 0.1
12 x 0.1
12 x 0.1

Thoughts?

[GMP]

You should feel a definite improvement. Rebound stack is the same as mine.

[Eric K]

I understand your frustration with the shivers.

On my '06 EC300 I started with 0.44 springs and found what you are experiencing. Early on, I was about 215 lb. I am now down to 205 lb. Most of my riding is on rocky, root infested trails.

Step wise I increased the spring rate and oil viscosity (easy stuff first).

I now run 0.47 springs and 20W oil. I have not changed the valving. I did crank in the rebound & compression damping a bit.

They now feel very good over the rock gardens and the whoops. Heavier springs and oil keep it from diving too much. It still has a plush feel.