Suspension 101

[bikeslut 1]

I recently took my faithful, but ignored DRZ there for some suspension attention. This DRZ has been through a lot, and all modifications would be considered "minor" or farkling: armor for cases, levers, pedals and pegs, gas tank, 3x3 airbox and jet changes, edge tail light, SDG seat, acerbis body work, smaller turn signals, turkey baster mod, MT43s, renthal bars, handlebar risers... all superficial, but all good mods in my mind

I never really touched the engine or suspension... two things the DRZ could definitely use...

So- I took her over to George @ Suspension 101 in Alpine... I told him what I wanted to do. Mainly, singletrack and double-track, with some fire roads, infrequent track visits, and some highway... I weigh 210 without gear, and consider myself low intermediate.

Due to budget constraints, we agreed to springs, and fluid change. He wanted the whole bike, which was great for me... i didn't want to remove the rear shock anyway. So I delivered the bike Monday (he had ordered some of the parts when I first committed to the repair)

He said, "I'll probably be done Tuesday night, but you can get it Wednesday FOR SURE"

Two day turnaround?!?!? NICE!!!

Then I get a text Tuesday... my forks were so bad, they were chewing up the seals from the inside. So he had to run to a shop, and get a set of seals.

it was STILL done Wednesday afternoon.

He did everything we agreed to: Springs front and rear, fluid change, seals, etc. GREAT! I should get a good feel based on my upcoming trip

that's not "the wow"... he printed out everything he did:

airbox boot on the back side has come apart- re-attached and cleaned out as needed

lubed and re-routed clutch lever as it was interfering with the front brake line (it's like buttah now)

wrapped the front brake line- due to aforementioned routing issue, the rigid liner around the line was broken, so he wrapped it up.

the speedo cable had worn through the fork tube a certain degree... he made up a ziptie and tape barrier to avoid this any more, and did some tweaking of the carriers to reduce this in the future

he washed the bike... do NOT discount this as a special feat; I'm not a neat freak... i ride my bike, hope for a rainstorm on the way home. It looked great!

I was missing a grommet on the right side of the gas tank; I noticed this last maintenance I did, but never got around to fixing it... he made a grommet!

He also added some rubber washers to the rear attachments for the gas tank, as it was metal holding the plastic down.

He then had me put on gear, and sit down on the bike to meticulously set the sag... he said he was pretty close to start with, but made two small adjustments to get it exact. I know for a fact, I would not take the time to do it myself... Hell; i rode on stock suspension for 6 years on that thing... ask Pasta Pilot what he said about the suspension the one time he rode it "I didn't think it was possible, but that suspension is actually WORSE than my XRL" and THAT was after he had got off the TW200 without any remarks

even with the seal replacement, and all the other details that he did (WAY above and beyond what I expected, and I already had high expectations of him) the price was really close to the original quote... like $40 within!

I have NOT ridden it yet (I coasted it down my driveway though, and it feels tight... as opposed to the sloppy wallowing feeling the DRZ usually has, it felt composed)

I can hardly wait to get it out on the trail, and I will update this post while in Arizona

I didn't mean to contradict akcoopers post about his suspension guy, just offering opinions for the less mechanically inclined of us. George has been talking about his mentor pretty much every time we talk, so it's nice to see Aaron's experience with the guy complements George's opinion. Sounds like the garage guys have a great option, and people like me can get the same results without getting knee deep in fork fluid

as for the actual "specs" of what George did... he will supply them to me on request, but as far as I'm concerned: he keeps the info anyway, and he lives a mile from my house... he is my suspension guy until he gets fed up with my ham fisted approach to riding and maintenance

[Bagstr 288]

George did my 690 Shock and was great to work with. We are lucky to have a local guys with these skills.

[KTMrad 512]

George (Suspenders) did my 950 fork seals and fluid change...I was happy and impressed with his knowledge.

[CalNub 0]

wow, great report bob. i may have to bring my bike in just to see if everything remotely correct. i know nothing about suspension and therefore have no expectations for what it should do or how ti should perform. their fork and spring servicing prices seem very fair as well. if i drop in I'll george him know you sent me.

[Crawdaddy 96]

Thanks for the info/hook-up........looks like I'll be making a trip to Alpine at some point....

[TrophyHunter 15]

Even after doing a suspension upgrade myself, I'm absolutely positive I don't have it as dialed in as I could. I've been procrastinating so a trip to George's has been on my mind. The stuff I did was such an improvement over stock for the DR that not getting an expert to finish it out is just stupid on my part. PM sent.

Thx for the report, Bob.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Hey bikeslut....

[baldbeemer 0]

George also did front and rear work on the Mistress' DRZ. Same service that Slut reported. Way above and beyond just putting in new seals and fluid. Total satisfaction and will repeat as customers.

[akcooper9 0]

I didn't mean to contradict akcoopers post about his suspension guy, just offering opinions for the less mechanically inclined of us. George has been talking about his mentor pretty much every time we talk, so it's nice to see Aaron's experience with the guy complements George's opinion. Sounds like the garage guys have a great option, and people like me can get the same results without getting knee deep in fork fluid

as for the actual "specs" of what George did... he will supply them to me on request, but as far as I'm concerned: he keeps the info anyway, and he lives a mile from my house... he is my suspension guy until he gets fed up with my ham fisted approach to riding and maintenance

Bob you arent contradicting me at all. Im well aware that many dont want to get into their suspension...The biggest thing they can do for them self is ask questions and find a company that is WILLING to supply specs etc. Thats when you know you have an honest guy! (Im probably a bit jaided after being ripped by PC )

Im impressed to read that George did so much. Good on him! Can wait to hear how your new springs work out for you.

[bboyle9 24]

George does awesome work, great service and its nice to know when someone working on something u really care about takes a genuine interest in you and what you do. I would recommend to my mom if she rode, he definitely gets things done the right way. anyone feel free to PM me if you need his number.

[paulmbowers 236]

George does awesome work, great service and its nice to know when someone working on something u really care about takes a genuine interest in you and what you do. I would recommend to my mom if she rode, he definitely gets things done the right way. anyone feel free to PM me if you need his number.

Do you have a bike? Or is it still stolen?

[Goofy Footer 539]

bboyle9's bike is still stolen. George did the suspension on his DR650 right before it was jacked. I think bboyle9 rode it to work once, he said he loved hitting speedbumps with that Suspension 101 setup tho!

[Kris 0]

Does George work on the Marzocchi forks and Sachs rear shock on older Husqvarnas? The newer models have Kayaba suspension. The new 650 models have Sachs front and rear.

[bboyle9 24]

Still stolen but the guy.who took it will notice a world of difference from the stock setup!

[Suspenders 43]

Yes I do Marzocchi & Sachs. Not as much testing on these but can definitely make improvements or service them.

geo@suspension101.com

[robertaccio 410]

BS dont know if any revalve work was done, but as you noted just putting in good spring rates will make a night and day difference in performance.

So for all, most importantly- start with the proper spring rates for your weight.

The Race Tech chart system is pretty much the bible for calculating those rates. I have even doubted the rate choices and found them to spot on after installation and proper sag setting procedures. The Race Tech guide is a great tool.

http://racetech.com/VehicleSearch

Just for the record and for some of your notes, this applies to linkage bikes:

Base these percentages on the available travel front and rear with a variance of + - 3 mm.

Front suspension static sag should be 14% ( available travel in mm X .14 = static sag in mm)

Front suspension rider sag should be 25% (X .25 = Rider sag)

Rear suspension static sag should be 11% of available travel (X .11 = static sag)

Rear suspension rider sag should be 34% of available travel (X .34 = rider sag)

Using these principles you can figure the correct sags for any bike and thus the correct springs without guessing and compromising. (I can't vouch for KTM PDS with this instruction).

With these percentages you will see those magic sag recommended numbers come in, ex (from memory so my numbers may a few mm off) my front TE310 is @ 42mm static and 75mm race in the forks, 35mm static and 102 race rear, the bike is very well balanced at these settings. (Just mentioning valve stacks were adjusted by Ty Davis with RaceTech gold valves installed in the forks and shock)

[bikeslut 1]

BS dont know if any revalve work was done, but as you noted just putting in good spring rates will make a night and day difference in performance.

So for all, most importantly- start with the proper spring rates for your weight.

The Race Tech chart system is pretty much the bible for calculating those rates. I have even doubted the rate choices and found them to spot on after installation and proper sag setting procedures. The Race Tech guide is a great tool.

http://racetech.com/VehicleSearch

Just for the record and for some of your notes, this applies to linkage bikes:

Base these percentages on the available travel front and rear with a variance of + - 3 mm.

Front suspension static sag should be 14% ( available travel in mm X .14 = static sag in mm)

Front suspension rider sag should be 25% (X .25 = Rider sag)

Rear suspension static sag should be 11% of available travel (X .11 = static sag)

Rear suspension rider sag should be 34% of available travel (X .34 = rider sag)

Using these principles you can figure the correct sags for any bike and thus the correct springs without guessing and compromising. (I can't vouch for KTM PDS with this instruction).

With these percentages you will see those magic sag recommended numbers come in, ex (from memory so my numbers may a few mm off) my front TE310 is @ 42mm static and 75mm race in the forks, 35mm static and 102 race rear, the bike is very well balanced at these settings. (Just mentioning valve stacks were adjusted by Ty Davis with RaceTech gold valves installed in the forks and shock)

uh... I don't need a bible, I got a george

just kidding

I've referred to the racetech spring rate chart, and I knew I was off with stock springs... as far as I can tell, the DRZ is set up for a Japanese Middle Schooler with a problem with high rates of speed, and I weigh about 210 without gear.

Assuming this works as well as I think it will, I will visit him for a re-valve next time I get the fluid changed

I know quite a few of you guys do all the work on your bike... I don't mind spinning a spanner, but I often lack the tools, and usually lack the know-how. I can replace the springs, but I will trust Suspension 101 and his expertise to nadle all the details

Thanks again George, I will continue to update this thread while in Arizona with Vic and Dan and Rich. They are all riding modern, light KTMs, so all I may ever see is their tail lights, but I'm confident I'll be faster than before

[CL300CAPT 0]

I live in North County. Anybody have feedback on Pro Prept in Escondido?

[akcooper9 0]

I live in North County. Anybody have feedback on Pro Prept in Escondido?

Never Heard of em

[CL300CAPT 0]

A guy on the Bar 10 ride recommended them to me.

http://propreptmotocross.com/

[PastaPilot 17]

Yes I do Marzocchi & Sachs. Not as much testing on these but can definitely make improvements or service them.

geo@suspension101.com

Improvements for sure. Pleased as pie with the work on my 45mm zokes and Sachs shock. I've directed many a rider toward Suspension 101.

Thanks again.

[Guest Crusty]

I live in North County. Anybody have feedback on Pro Prept in Escondido?

I have been working with Rudy (Pro Prept) for about 6 years now (Great Guy) http://propreptmotocross.com/

He is verey well known to the MX crowd, he races and rides every weekend.

Rudy has set up 3 of my bikes and fully rebuilt my CR 500 suspension.

My friends have been using him forever!

Besides great work and being close,

I liked that Rudy met me at the track to fine tune my suspension.

Craig.

I don't trust many shops with this bike!

[Suspenders 43]

If you intend to use a tuner to do your valving I would talk to them about spring rates. The set up they do may be better with a spring other than Race Tech's guide.

If you are just doing springs then they will get you close and I refer to them for comparisons.

Regarding Pro Prept we talked a few months ago and he seems to be a good guy and he knows many in the industry no doubt.

[Goofy Footer 539]

Yesterday, I was talking with another DRZ owner who took their bike to Suspenders and he echoed Bikeslut's experiences with George especially in regards to how meticulous George was on going through the bike and doing Extra work beyond the suspension tuning. He lubed my clutch cable, torqued bolts and secured fasteners that I had overlooked, amongst other things.

A huge benefit for me was the fact that he took my bike whole, as is, with the forks and shock still on the bike. Many suspension guys want you to remove the rear shock and forks. The rear shock on the DRZ isn't the easiest to access either. When I went to pick up the bike, he set the sag with me on the bike and adjusted various things to my personal settings. We talked riding technique and he gave me some pointers (he also coaches motocross).

He talked to me throughout the build, took every step to save me money and was willing to test and experiment with some things for me. He also sourced a set of springs for my CR85 forks for cheap and set up my NX250 with some sweet valving - it made a huge difference.

Trying to make the DRZ "whoop ready" is no easy task. He did some custom work on mine which really worked and saved me money in the process. My bike is specifically set up for fast desert riding but I've taken it on single track, fire roads and the MX track where the bike still preformed much better than stock.

I know George has done at least 4 DRZs for active SDAR members. I personally ride regularly with two of the guys and they abuse their DRZs as much as I do mine. Any future bike of mine will go through Suspenders' shop. Thanks George!

[TrophyHunter 15]

I finally got my DR together (new bars, quick turn throttle, grips, etc) and did a test run out to Georges today. As mentioned, I did suspension upgrades but never set the sag and fine tuned things. George is very interested in everything going on with the bike, your take on it's handling, etc. After a thorough discussion, he set the sag and we agreed on a game plan for resetting fhe forks - okay - he talked, I agreed.

Prior to going out, George got all my valve stack info, spring rates, and a bunch of other info which helped in his assessment. The work done today was minor but made a major difference in the handling. Much more planted on the front end which didn't feel like it wanted to push out on corners anymore. I'll do the next stage - resetting the fork emulators installed on the upgrade and taking some preload out - and go from there.

George cares about how things turn out and wants your bike to fit you. He took the time to work through the possibilities and discussed solutions. Great guy to deal with.

Plus, he has This Guy to keep on the winning circuit.