1. 2 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
     WR = 2st Enduro & CR = 2st Cross

125-200cc Consensus on the stock CR 125 forks?

Discussion in '2 Stroke' started by venturini, May 31, 2013.

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  1. Motosportz CH Sponsor

    Location:
    Vancouver WA
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2021 TE250i, 570 Berg, 500 KTM, 790R
    Other Motorcycles:
    many
    Because it is like fixing a compound break with bandaid. It does not work. You think hundreds of suspension tuners are wrong and should just be recommending the right oil? That oil still has to go through the valve and no matter the viscosity if the valve is not controlling the oil right you don't have the right valving. Case in point. I have a TE511, it was was to soft. Gets walloy in the faster stuff. If is just dumped thicker oil in and at a higher level I would then have forks that sucked on the rocks as the high speed would be stiff and still dive badly into deep stuff. And what about the shock? I just had the same bike revalved and resprung by ZipTy and it complete transformed the bike. It is now very controlled, stable, handles better and feels 30 pounds lighter. No oil was going to do this. You keep telling us how we are "doing yourself a disservice by ignoring it" and having messed with valving and springs for the last 30 years of riding and really carry about suspension performance as I think it is the single biggest gain you make to the performance of a bike period I feel you saying all you need to do is change the oil is "doing yourself a disservice by ignoring it" where "it" is valving. IMHO valving and spring rate is everything. Oil is a slight tweak to that. MY onion and the opinion of every suspension tuner I have had a long chat with which is MANY.
    Motosportz, Jun 8, 2013
    #41

  2. old3 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    NJ
    Well M, everyone is entitled to have their own onion, no doubt about that.

    Haha! Still, if a rider is tight on $, there is no harm in trying to make what you have better on the cheap and easy. Some guys just ride stock legs for the life of a bike. Everyone's needs are different, as are their desires and finances. If you can't get a $600 revalve right now, (or justify it ever) no reason you can't use the adjustments available to you, which include clickers, preload, ride height, oil height and viscosity. Making it work better for $20 is better than just living with it if you don't like it.
    old3, Jun 8, 2013
    #42

  3. Motosportz CH Sponsor

    Location:
    Vancouver WA
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2021 TE250i, 570 Berg, 500 KTM, 790R
    Other Motorcycles:
    many

    Absolutely and very good points. :thumbsup:
    Motosportz, Jun 8, 2013
    #43

  4. MotoMarc36 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    wisconsin
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 CR144, 04 TC450, 04 TC250, CR50
    Other Motorcycles:
    Many. Too many.
    That PVD site is awesome and I actually use this reference when choosing or comparing suspension fluids:

    http://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index.php?title=Suspension_Fluid

    I agree that oils do matter and make quite a difference. But I also think, in reference to the OP's ORIGINAL stated problems and willingness to have it revalved, he is never going to tune this fairly stiff MX fork with oils alone, especially since no one seems to know what the original oil is. Your points on oil, and especially that labeled weight means SQUAT, are excellent but IMO ignore the OP's original conundrum, and the blanket statement on peoples (lack of) knowledge on suspension is , at least, a reckless assumption!:thumbsup:
    MotoMarc36, Jun 8, 2013
    #44

  5. Motosportz CH Sponsor

    Location:
    Vancouver WA
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2021 TE250i, 570 Berg, 500 KTM, 790R
    Other Motorcycles:
    many
    Yep good info and why I have been running redline for years. Also like and Amsoil suspension fluid which was not mentioned there. Full synth. I have used ATF in open chamber forks with good results too.
    Motosportz, Jun 8, 2013
    #45

  6. Kyle Tarry Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 WR 300, 2006 TE 610
    Other Motorcycles:
    Ducati Monster S2R 800
    I was being tongue in cheek about oils lighter than 5W, but they are not common (for a reason). Maxima doesn't make either of their fork oils any less than 5W. BelRay has a 2.5, as does Motul.

    With regard to oil weight, that's the system everybody uses, so it's the system I use.

    However, I strongly disagree with the idea that changing oil is the solution to these types of problems. Changing from 5W to 2.5W oil is not going to make a huge difference in damping forces; it's probably something like 5 clicks on the adjusters (just my best guess). The solution to using a motocross-derived fork in the woods is not to back off the clickers a little bit, but that's similar to what changing oil weight does.

    I disagree with your transmission analogy. In a trans, the oil is there to lubricate, but it's not the primary part of the system. In a damping system, the valving is like the gears in a transmission.

    If somebody didn't like the gear ratios in their transmission, would you fix it by changing transmission oil?

    (You can't rebuild a transmission for the $200 it costs to revalve either, so the comparison may be moot).

    There are lots of little tweaks that can be made to improve a suspension, like the clickers and oil weight. However, the right way to setup a suspension that is more than a little bit off is to have it revalved.
    Kyle Tarry, Jun 8, 2013
    #46
    MotoMarc36 likes this.
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