Harsh front forks

I just got my forks back from a local suspension shop and they told me that all the components to make the forks much improved are all there just not in the proper order. If that makes any sense. They also said that the TE open chamber forks are similar to the Yamaha forks from the early 2000 models so there is some significant R&D out there to reference. I understand the concept but not how it was applied. I want to learn so I don't feel like I have to send every new suspension off and drop $700. Thanks for posting up the info.

Valving changes arent hard to do. Its just hard knowing the science behind it and uderstanding how and when to change around shims, etc. I have done a few forks on my own and Ive even changed a TL1000R rear shock to a standard shock from a CBR600.
That being said, somebody who is a reputable suspension guy and has pro AMA racers using his stuff, is enough for me to send my stuff to him. He's got the science and research and a shock dyno, etc. I dont. If you plan on doing any kind of serious riding or racing on any motorycle, suspension is so vital. Money well spent!

Bob, I think those stacks will be a good test. In lieu of shims, that's probably as good as you're going to get with the stock stuff. My (limited) experience has been that a 2-stage compression stack works well for rocky/rooty stuff, but that's still a pretty soft setup so it may work just fine! Let us know how it turns out.

Also, FYI, if you want help ordering shims or putting together a little kit, I'd be happy to help put something together for you and "sell" it to you at cost.

Reveille, it depends on the year and model bike. For example, your TE has the OC KYB forks (at least, I think it does) which are sort of the generic standard for good open chamber forks, and it's mostly just a matter of shim work to get them set up. For some people you don't even need to buy shims. For some of the Marz stuff, a few extra parts might be in order, depending on what you're trying to accomplish.

Crossover to other bikes depends on the Husky model and year. Your 2012 TE presumably has the OC KYBs on it (same as my WR). These are basically the same forks that 2000-2004 (ish) YZ and KX bikes had on them. They are also very similar to some older KX forks (my buddy has a 97 KX250, very similar) and the forks in a WR450. Not only that, but the geometry (piston diameter, shim sizes, etc) is similar to a bunch of other stuff (DRZ, some KTMs, Husky Marzocchi, etc) so you can use a lot of common knowledge.

The older bikes with the Marzocchi forks don't cross over to as much common stuff, although they did use similar forks on some GasGas bikes. Luckily, the internal geometry of the forks is pretty darn similar to the OC KYBs, so setups that work well in one usually work pretty well in the other. The piston and port geometry on my Marz 45s in my 610 are nearly identical to the ones in my WR, for example (with the exception of port size, which I drill out).

K5PL5, I fully agree that it's money well spent. I think you should get your suspension dialed before you even think about adding power to a bike. A good suspension tuner (they aren't all good, but all the guys we talk about here, like ZipTy, LTR, WER, and our local guy Solid Performance, definitely qualify) is absolutely worth the price you pay, and most of them will keep making changes for free until you're happy.

I do my own stuff partly because I'm cheap, but also just because I like to tinker. I figure passing that info along might help a couple of guys who want to DIY, but most guys are more comfortable sending their stuff out, and that's cool too.

Kyle, I think somebody like you doing your own stuff is def worth your time after reading your posts on the subject. You def know what youre doing.

I got my forks back from Evan last week. I was charged for new fork seals and for a service. He asked me first if I wanted new fork seals. That potentially wouldve saved me about $60 dollars but if the forks are apart, I think its silly not to replace the seals if you want to avoid hassles down the road. I am real happy with his service. He WILL NOT let you out the door until he knows exactly what you're expecting out of the suspension and will not let you take your stuff home until he explains exactly what he did.
I picked up the pace thru out last year and found the original settings on my forks were too soft-I told him 90% brutal rocks is what I ride. Problem is, when you start going faster thru the rocks, you need to go stiffer on the valving again. He stiffened the valving slightly and raised the oil level too so Im excited to see how they are.

Thanks Kyle...we needed someone like you to chime in on a thread like this and help make a good tech base for this stuff ;-)

Bah, I'm just babbling really, I'm about as far from an expert on this stuff as you can be. My advice is worth what you paid for it.

I just like to tinker and have been into my forks like 8 times and done some for friends, so I figured those learnings might apply to your forks too.

Amateur babbling works

Tearing into the forks is not too hard but a little delicate work as compared to other work on the bikes... That's way everyone should not do this work. But anyone with mechanical skills can go inside and come out ok I think. As far as the stacks go, a little complex looking but can't be too hard really after you have looked at 50 or so ...

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One of my bikes has a straight stack ... meaning all the shims are aligned in size order ... Think it had a small mid-valve change also. Works ok for me on trails along with dropping the oil amount down in the outer tubes.

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Probably more than 1 way to get results that a rider is ok with so if you have the time, trying various things can be a good reason to get back out and ride by doing testing on your bike after you have made changes.

I am posting this from the trail...WOW!

They do EVERYTHING better...now showing how under damped the rear is!!

Awesome! Good to hear.

If you still want to try to improve it, I'd suggest buying some shims and trying a 2-stage on the base valve with some thicker shims in the high speed stack (the tapered section). I bet your rebound is pretty good the way you have it.

Out for my first ride today since I got the forks back. Bombing some rocky brutal bits of the trail ans it was awesome. Def feel more confident pushing harder on the rocks. I had Evan make it a little too soft last year. Gotta hit those rocks fast!