EDIT: I'm going to try thicker oil... now just to determine which brand/weight. I'm running Maxima 85/150 5wt, so if I look at Maxima 10wt on the chart, it is very similar to Torco 15 and/or Valvoline Maxlife ATF. I just happen to have both of them on the shelf. Let the wrenching begin..... again....

 

If I recall, you're a heavy guy, right? Still, I don't think you'll gain anything with the heavy oil. The stock fork damping tends to have overly aggressive compression damping along with heavy rebound damping. Heavy oil will only make it worse in most cases. Unless you alter the compression damping with a revalve kit, a spring change is about all one can do...along with experimenting with oil level for bottomout effect.

 

TNC, I'm running Gold Valves front and rear... I may play with the oil level a little more before switching to heavier oil. I did changed the oil level from 100mm down to 95mm when I swapped out the springs, so maybe I need to revisit that first.

I had it pretty well sorted with .46 springs. Now with .48's, I get more jarring on roots and such.. thought maybe the new springs were overpowering the non-adjustable rebound. Backing the compression out all the way didn't make much difference.

One way or another I will find the firm yet plush sweet spot. I'm getting pretty good at taking the front end apart

 

Abrams, forgot your GV upgrade. I have GV's in my fork, but at 195 pounds nekkid, I'm good with the .44 fork springs. I'm thinking you may have gone a little high on your spring option, but only you can tell for sure.

 

There is definitely a noticeable difference between the Racetech .46's and the Canon Racecraft .48's. I think I will be happy with the .48's (I've got almost 40 pounds on you..lol) I just want to find a little more square edge plushness, and get rid of the feeling that the front end might be deflecting off of things more than it should. This is all a learning experience for me as I've never ridden 'good' suspension, so most of the time I'm not sure how to diagnose what I'm feeling.

I've got the rear shock dialed in and like the 6.6 over the 6.2.

Thanks for the input!

 

Well, I broke the first rule of toubleshooting and changed more than one variable at a time.. Three to be exact... four if you count springs


I started with .46 springs, Gold Valves set at RT's recommend settings, Maxima 85/150 5wt oil set at 100mm air gap. Springs were right on the edge of being too light, and compression over sharp edge bumps and roots was a little too harsh, but not terrible. I had done the forks first, and later the shock.. turns out the shock is dialed in better and pointed out the flaws in my settings on the forks.


2nd attempt was to go to .48 springs and change the shim stack to go one level softer on RT's chart for HSC. I used the same oil and set it at 95mm which was RT's suggestion. Forks rode higher in the stroke, and felt more harsh on square edge stuff, maybe even deflecting a bit or pogo-ing, and firmer in bottom-out situations. Not terrible, but not right enough for money and time spent. I could put the clickers all the way out and not tell much improvement.


3rd attempt... here's where I went a little crazy. Left the .48 springs in place, changed to synthetic ATF (should be 7wt), dropped shims two steps down on LSC and two more steps (total of 3) on HSC, 100mm air gap, 12 clicks out. I was only going to go 1 step lower on LSC and 2 total on HSC, but felt it would be a good idea to compensate for the thicker oil.


Now we're talking! Front is now a better match to the rear. I can pretty much plow over a 5 inch log at low speed without breaking my wrists. 20 mph down a sandy trail full of washouts and downed tree limbs is smooth as butter. At 12 clicks out I've got a lot of room for adjustments which I will play with this afternoon (assuming the thunderstorms hold off). Only other change I'm thinking I might make is to go back to 95mm air gap to firm up the bottom of the stroke.

UPDATE: Got a little more seat time this afternoon.... LOVE IT! Went to 16 clicks out and I think it is almost perfect (for my riding style). I don't think I will even bother with the 95mm air gap.


NOTE: I'm not a race-pace rider, don't get much more than waist-high air, ride mostly S. Alabama and N. Florida sandy singletrack/woods full of roots, washouts, and mud holes.

PS: I know if you start at the beginning of my threads, they wander all over and the first post says how 'great' something feels... then 3 posts later I've made a change and now it feels 'great'...LOL. Bare with me... I'm usually just thinking out loud and am slowly learning what good suspension feels like... upgrading my standard accordingly

 

Good work. Sometimes it takes a bit of fiddling and experimenting, but if you want optimum performance, that's what it takes. Sounds like you've done a good job of trying out different combos to come to your current setup.

I used to race enduros on our state circuit for quite a few years. Those bikes needed the very best suspension I could dial in with components and adjustments. On the KLX, all I wanted in the fork was to get rid of that nasty stock compression spike and too soft springs. It took me a couple of tries to dial in the shim stack, but it's been worth it. Older KX forks can be installed and dialed in, but I find the stock fork to work quite well for the kind of riding pace I do now.

 

I am going back to 5W Belray fork oil (17cSt.). I put 7W Belray (30cSt.) in the forks in January. The zip tie I placed on a fork leg has never gotten close to bottoming out on travel; it is 5.5 in below the dust seal. I hit speed bump sized crap on the local interstates at 70mph and at 200 lbs. suited up I would expect to bottom some. Perhaps the heavier oil blew out my oil seal which I am replacing in a few days as it started leaking. Ride is harsh with 0 clicks compression dampening(prpbably doesn't affect high speed dampening) on stock springs and I am tired of my forks feeling like the forks on a sportster but stoppies are easier. I found a nice table of tested viscosity values for numerous different suspension oils and the 7W I used shows about double the viscosity of the Kawi recommended oil(15cSt.). ATF was even higher (35cSt.).

 

If your running stock valving, TNC is spot on, lighter oil won't really fix it and heavier oil makes it worse.

I used Valvoline Maxlife which claims to be around 28.82 cSt at 40 degrees C, but you are correct that most ATF is closer to 35.

I'm going to ride the ATF awhile. I can still go 6 clicks lighter on compression if I need to.

Only real solution is to revalve... I think it is worth the money and effort.