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Byhalia, MS
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Racer142
11/1/2018 7:55pm
11/1/2018 7:55pm
So it's getting that time of year that riding is slowing down and I'm looking to freshen up things for next season. I have a 2018 yz450f and I want to see the suspension up properly. I've rebuilt my own suspension for a while now but obviously never messed with the valving. So my question is which is more important: the correct spring rate or revalve? Race tech suggests a .48 fork and .57 shock spring and my bike has a .51 and .57 stock. So I was thinking get the correct spring rate first and freshen up the seals and oil then revalve later but curious what others thought. What would you do?
end up being cheaper then doing separate and makes a whole lot of difference..
its not worth doing one and not the other. same as your rear shock
so if you choose to replace the spring as well,you only get charged for the spring, no added labour to fit the spring.
fluids get changed as well depending on your weight and ridding ability too.
The Shop
re-valving yourself. Immensely satisfying.
In my opinion, there is nothing better than a well setup set of suspension; however, the best you've ridden is the best you know and until you've had it you don't know what you are or aren't missing out on.
Spring rates first for sure, especially when the stock setting isn't terrible and you aren't making a massive jump. You'll notice a good difference in the balance of the bike getting proper rate springs and fresh fluids. If you can do those yourself, it may not be a bad idea to drop in a set of springs with your rebuild along with GOOD QUALITY FLUIDS!!!
Then, later down the road, look at the revalve. You at least don't have to buy the springs twice and you'll get everything fresh at the same time.
If you have the budget, I'd love for you to experience the full setup, but you aren't doing anything bad going with spring rates first.
Get your spring rate right and see how you like it. Play with clickers, sag, and fork height and get it as good as you can.
If you're still unhappy, send it out for revalve and work with your suspension tuner on dialing it in.
I'm not one of the guys on here who will say you're wasting your money though, so do the revalve and springs at the same time and enjoy it. I'm way heavier than the target weight for MX bikes and I will wholeheartedly tell you that getting the suspension to perform properly lives and dies with your ability to get the sag set and have forks that balance the front end with the rear end.
If memory serves me correctly it always seems like Yamaha does different things with spring rates to supplement the geometry of the frame. That might be why you're target for the RT shock set up but you need softer springs for the forks. Go for it though and let us know how it goes.
Pit Row
Have fun. At the end of the day, it's all riding a dirt bike for fun.
Keys: know what weight oil is stock and go up or down from there (good quality oil)
Oil height/amount prevents bottoming. Very little bit makes a big difference
Clicker adjustment the front affects the back and visa versa (balance wise) two clicks at a time is rule of thumb.
Good luck and again be patient
Then correct valving.
Doing both at same time? Priceless....
You'll be very happy.
Sure there are instances to definitely revalve. But I believe there are lots of models coming with really really good setting from the factory and are hard to improve on unless you fall into a very specific category of being incredibly fast, incredibly slow, or way out their on weight.
It's amazing how adjustable modern suspension is. The last few bikes I've had have only needed different valving on one end....and it was very minor shim changes or removals that achieved what I needed.
Lots of guys just want the revalve stickers!
I shake my head at the amount of money some guys on vital spend on their suspension and then still complain that their bike doesn't work
2 weeks ago , I had blown the seal on the air side , and lost most of the fluid. I took it into FC for a re-fresh , and whatever new part's I may need , like seals , bushing's ect... When I got it there , Jake mentioned that when I had mine originally done last year , I was on their " 1st generation " setup. He updated my forks and shock to 19' spec's , and then I opted to install their new performance kit. And holy shit.....that suspension on my 125 is some of the best suspension I've ever ridden with. Especially the fork's , as they felt " Planted " every where and felt great every where on the track. And the harder I rode it , the better it felt. I purposely over jumped a few things throughout the day , and couldn't believe how well it soaked things up. And high speed corner entrance over stutter's.......it stuck like velcro. I'm only pissed because I just now had this done! Wish I would have done it sooner!
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