Many have bemoaned the OEM Marzoc front forks and had them 'fixed'. I am not sure if this applies to 610 and 630 but my '09 610 has the shocks without the compression adjusters on the toes. I know some guys fit the adjusters. PLEASE can anyone give some informed information as to what else is done to improve these shocks - some say it is not the spring rate but the valving that is at fault. I am looking for clear directives if possible as a starting point for my shock treatment I will take them to a shock guy.
I had LTR rework my 630 suspension which included valving, springs, bleeders, compression adjusters (can't remember if they were in stock or not), and an increase in travel of 1" to get it to where the 610 is. Nice to have the adjustability and spring rate to match my weight. He also overhauled the rear shock and it's much better than stock since I can now get the proper sag. Les does excellent work but he's a looonnnng way from SA.
Thanks Kenneth - that is a start. We have a few very good suspension guys here in SA including Hilton Hayward who did the WP suspension for the KTM works riders in Europe for many years (until quite recently). I suppose one of the things is that there are not that many Husky 610/630's here in SA and so the knowledge of their setup is limited. I guess these guys could though open them up an have a look and would know from looking at the internals ... bit like a doctor I guess! I know most complaints re the 610 front has been the harshness - evidently not due to spring rate but valving. Anyone know what the spec of the OEM spring is - ie for what weight rider?
The stock springs on the 07 and 08 I have/had were for a rider of about 225 pounds. You have to remember the bike did come with passenger foot pegs, so the springs are supposed to be able to handle two people (to a point). Have you checked your sag numbers? That would give you an idea of how far off you might be and usually one of first things I do with a new bike. One good read for you is Vinduros suspension thread on this forum.
For some information about the spring rates, see this recent thread: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/06-te610-spring-rates.29649/ Rates on the 2006 610 are .48 front and 6.4 rear. Not sure about your 2009 but it's probably the same or similar. Depending on your weight, this may be "oversprung." Racetech seems to suggest that .48 springs are matched to roughly a 200 pound rider, so that's probably pretty close to "average," if not a bit stiff. It's harder to find info on the rear, due to not knowing the linkage ratio, but it's my belief that it is stiffer than the front, probably (as Xcuvator said) due to the fact that bike is semi-intended for dual-sport use. With regard to how to "fix" the suspension, that depends on what you ride, how you ride, and what is wrong with it. I'm a trail rider, so I like my suspensions to be well sprung but "plush." So, I usually like less high speed compression and a decent amount of low speed compression, and appropriately sprung for my weight. I think that the 610 has a bit too much high speed in both the front and the rear, which is "easy" for any suspension guy to fix by changing the shim stack. HOWEVER, whether or not this is true for a different rider is another thing entirely. You've simply got to decide what you want the suspension to do (relative to what it is doing) and have your suspension guy adjust it as such. Side note: my suspension guy mentioned that the Sachs shock on my 610 has some weird washer/shim arrangement on the rebound side that makes the rebound highly damped (slow). He changed this to a "conventional" shim stack on my shock, but I only have about 50 miles on the bike on easy terrain so I don't know yet how it feels. My forks are still stock; I will have them revalved at some point, but they aren't too far off right now for me, and it's more important to get the race bike (WR) where I want it.
BD, I had my TE 630 suspension done by Hilton and I have to say I was not happy at all. Well actually the rear shock worked nice after his set-up (with proper sag and everything), but all he did to front was he somehow softened it without actually resolving the key problem of harshness on the quick hits. So the result was that the bike was still too harsh on quick hits and on top of that the front was diving too much (to the point I was scared to ride the bike properly offroad) and bottomed at slightest provocation (I don't believe I have ever bottomed the standard one - I weight about 94 kg). So I took it to Conrad (Runner on WD) and he gave it a go and I have to say sorted the forks quite nicely - still not 690Rally Replica forks I have on Tenere, but much better than stock. Somehow he made them much more progressive (without putting in progressive springs). I have no clue what he did (and no clue what valves and shims are), but I'm seeing him tomorrow, so I will ask. Alternatively you can contact him on WD and ask.
One other comment I forgot to make earlier: The common/easy way to check spring rates is to measure your static and race sag. With your race sag set to the "standard" value of about 4 inches, the static sag should be 1 inch. Checking the static sag with the race sag set correctly can help determine if the spring rates are in the right ballpark or not. If, for the correct race sag, you have too much static sag, the spring is too stiff (the bike isn't moving much when you get one). If you have not enough (or zero) static sag, the spring is too soft (the bike is moving too much when you get on). I will try to get out and measure the numbers on my TE sometime in the next week or so and get back to this thread with my results. In the end my bike feels reasonable and I don't usually race it, so I'm not planning on any changes in the immediate future.
To go along with this topic... Do the front fork compression adjusters, that can be added, affect slow or fast compression with adjustment? How will changing to a lighter weight oil (5W) impact front fork compression and rebound?
Thanks if you can get that info from Runner would be great - you know what he is like if I ask he will probably tell me to f-off I am in EC and have used Martin Paetzold before in CT for my HP2 but then had Superfoxi (Mike) do a WP conversion on it and will use him to try and tune my Husky front a bit.
My one came with the compression adjusters fitted If the truth be known I have never understood the complaints about the 610's suspension and was always bemused at the suggestions that it needs work. My one works really well everywhere I ride the bike, including the dunes and the rocky trails.
Maybe the fact that you can set and adjust the compression makes all the difference? I would imagine so. (what year model is your 610?)
What year is your 610? My understanding is that the earlier 610s had forks with compression adjusters, but these were removed on the later models. This unfortunate trend continued with 630, which have not compression adjustment and the forks travel was shortened about 30 mm (from about 300mm on 610 to about 270mm on 630). And my suspicion is that the 630 forks were dumbed down even further - Runner told me (just quoting - I have no clue what he is actually talking about) that they have no damping circuit and he had to add damping valve to them - which he had to somehow fabricate, because there is not space for it in the forks. And yes, the forks on my 630 did not perform particularly well (even though I was not impressed even with the standard KTM690 forks) - while they worked fine on the big humps, they were very harsh on short quick hits - like rocks embedded in dirt and such (and I have ridden shortly AlanB's 610 in Mariesburg and they seemed to suffer from the same problem if my memory serves me - no idea whether he had adjusters or not). Which made for example Lesotho trips much less enjoyable than they should have been. But now - after the work that Runner done - I'm quite happy, they work much better and absorb short hits quite well (not as well as the 690RR forks I have put on Tenere though). However, if you are so happy as you say you are, I may investigate this further and if I may be able to get my hands on the second hand 610 forks from the earlier models I will consider swapping them for mine. Are your forks 45mm - that would make the swap much easier, as mine triple clamps will work?
The suspension valving on my 610 was brutal. The fork would get to about half travel and then hydro-lock. The back end was super stiff, and it would sit back end high even after setting the sag. I went to Precision Concepts thinking that I needed both springs and valving, and would have gladly paid for it. I talked to Bob Bell about my type of riding (everything) and ability (used to be a B rider). Diane (Bell) called me a few days later and said that valving was all that it needed. I had it lowered an inch with spacers while it was there. Now it is beautiful. Single track, fire roads, and even pavement are a joy. I'm 185 Lbs without gear. I didn't get the compression adjusters nor do I miss them. Mike
The same as ours-- 09 -- NO compression setting at the bottom of the forks A friend of mine did X-Pats 630 Conrad sent it to him to be done -- He is in Pretoria and he is --Old School --used to do our race bikes --recently i spoke to him and he was telling me how he was at the Marzochi factory and spent some time with the suspension people -- He also brought in a lot of shimms and special valving for the Zoke shocks. I on the other hand have got Both my 610Te's set up pretty nicely for my type of riding and do not need any work done on them not as good as my 450te --but close enough--He did my xr650r and my xr 400r and they were worlds better -- and btw he can fit compression adjuster on the forks if you want on the 610 te -- Suspension takes time and patience to set up -and you are never going to get them perfect for ALL conditions --set them up to your riding style --- Costs he quoted to do them if i wanted would be under R2k
Mine is the first of the EFI bikes; 07' model. I understand that in the States the 07' was still fitted with a carburetter. I bough the bike unseen from JHB and understood that it was an 09', so when I got it shipped to CT I was really pissed to find it was an 07'; turns out it was registered for the first time in 2009 and the seller had misled me a bit. Anyway seems that the 07' was not so bad after all.
Hey Big Dom, not sure if it was alresdy mentioned, but Ive tslked to Les on the phone before. Great guy! Maybe give him a call and see if he csn give a shock guy next to you some good heads up about tricks with the 610/630 suspenders. Right from the horses/more experienced mouth is the best Id say!. Best luck.
I actually e-mailed him a few days ago and explained the situation and asked for some pointers. I have not had a reply. I guess I could try and call.
Hi, I hope this is the right thread to ask this. Is there anywhere i can buy compression adjusters for my SM610? I used the search function and this thread came up along with a suggestion for Motosportz, but i couldnt find them.
