so I have been riding my 2009 TXC250 for a few months now and have raced it a dozen times or so,at first the forks were very stiff and it seemed it took forever to break in,well we have had a few really rocky hare scrambles and a very tough rocky enduro last weekend,well i have been turning the bottom of the fork all the was soft then in a click or two and up on top I had been turning them in all the way then out six clicks or so,well I just now glanced at the bike and noticed that it says "C" up on the top of the forks,are these twin chamber forks opposite of a normal fork setup? that would explain why it has a ton of rebound and really didnt feel soft on the compression stroke
Yeah they are upside down as far as adjustments go. That is a quick way to really hate your forks. Later,
...ding ding ding...we have a winner! Just think how much better you'll make your bike overnight and for your next race too!
Did they update the owner's manual for '09 to explain this? It is not covered in my '08 manual. I guessed that the "C" on the fork cap meant compression but am still at the stock settings which are conveniently agnostic (15 for both compression and rebound). Also, my manual does not describe the pre-load adjuster which I think is part of the '08 TXC forks. Any info on how to adjust TXC fork preload (both mechanically, and how to tell if it needs adjusting)?
I would recommend one of the suspension specialists at LTR, ACE, ZipTY, FBF, WER (did I forget any) for getting good answers, all of them now have some good experience on these suspension set ups.
Yeah I really didn't read the manual... I have some photos at home of adjusting the preload. Mine were clicking when topping out and the preload was at zero or less after the springs settled. I set them at 5mm and have been happy. Later,
I did think it had way too much rebound!! I did win the A-senior class at the enduro anyway even in the pounding rocks,the bike is just magic and I cant wait to try it friday with my new settings
forks marazzochi in valencia is doing the zip-ty racing forks. i would call them or ship them there. IMHO
Try dialing them in. If that does not work send them to Les at LT-racing.com. He made my 08 TXC450 forks a magic carpet ride. Amazing performance from those. Everyone who rode it said they were some of, if not the best, forks they had ridden.
Adjusting the fork preload on 50mm twin chamber Marzocchi forks... 1. Loosen top triple clamp bolts 2. Loosen top fork cap. I used the tool for my grinder it worked perfect, the correct tool is a 4mm pin spanner. 3. Remove front wheel and both forks, place fork in soft jaw vice. 4. Loosen the top cap completely and slide the outer tube all the way down. 5. Push down on the spring cup (by my thumb in the photo) and move the circlip out of the groove and up out of the way. 6. The spring cup should move freely to the fully extended position, note what groove this is close too. 7. Each groove is 5mm, the preload should be set between 5-7 mm, select the groove you want, compress the spring cup below that and slide the circlip into the correct groove. This step may be easier with an extra hand. 8. go back to #4 and reverse the process. That is how I did it, no idea if it is the best way but it worked on my bike. Later,
in your pics,what does the red cap function as? I know the compression adjuster is in the center,but is that cap supposed to be loose?? my forks were wet with oil up there and both were loose? is it ok to just tighten them down,the manual doesnt say what its for
That is the cap for the sealed chamber, I have had one of mine come loose but not to the point where oil came out. I marked the caps with a paint pen after I tightened them so I can quickly look to see if they moved. Here is my loose cap.. Now that you had oil come out you have air in your sealed chamber and your forks will not work as well as they should. Here is the procedure for bleeding them... Later,
Nice write-up and pics... Two questions: 1) Do the outer chambers need to be drained here? 2) Where do you measure the amount of sag on the front forks?
Fork Oil?? Hey Guys, I'm going to adjust the pre-load on the forks and probably bleed the inner chamber. I have a liter of Motul Light 5w... is that enough, or do I need more? Should I run 7.5 like the zocci manual specs or will the 5w do ok? thx as always, /abg
I put 5wt back in the forks on my TXC and the ones I did on Shanes WR125. They have a much better feel. The springs I got from Kelly also helped. Later,
I put 5wt in mine also but no spring change...I think 1L came up just short 4 me but you might can add slightly less to the outer chambers if this happens...I'd try not to be too wasteful when filling the inner chambers... I didn't set the inner pre-load on mine but afterwards, that is why I was asking a few questions on the process above in this thread...my forks we about 100% better after the bleeding and oil change ...no deflection and lots of bumps no longer registered on the short tracks I ride on ...and what little jumping I did later, no problems with bottoming out either... The oil wt sort of fine tunes the action of the forks and you'll have to decide what you want to use...I might try 2.5 wt in mine next time to see if I can get an even more plush ride...
