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Hi everyone,
As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.
When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.
Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.
Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.
Thanks for your patience and support!
Les is more
- Thread starter robertaccio
- Start date
$41 UPS ground with $3k insurance from Les's place to my house. I had my forks and shock in an FMF pipe box.
I have another example of what a cool dude Les is. Eric called him to ask about spring rates for the GasGas ECO250 (Les is known as a GasGas Guru, too) for me. When Eric inquired about purchasing new ones, Les said he had some lightly used ones he'd sell for super-duper cheap. Our buddy that lives in Graham, WA was flying down the following week and agreed to go pick them up on his way to an enduro. Les offered to drive out and meet my buddy on the highway and give him the springs. That's pretty darned cool in my book
Totally outside the realm of expected customer service, but Les was happy to do it. He's the real deal.
WoodsChick
I have another example of what a cool dude Les is. Eric called him to ask about spring rates for the GasGas ECO250 (Les is known as a GasGas Guru, too) for me. When Eric inquired about purchasing new ones, Les said he had some lightly used ones he'd sell for super-duper cheap. Our buddy that lives in Graham, WA was flying down the following week and agreed to go pick them up on his way to an enduro. Les offered to drive out and meet my buddy on the highway and give him the springs. That's pretty darned cool in my book
Totally outside the realm of expected customer service, but Les was happy to do it. He's the real deal.WoodsChick
Motosportz;28276 said:
Tell him the chick on the SM610 says "hi!"
WoodsChick
ioneater
Husqvarna
AA Class
Had the opportunity to speak with "the man" for a good 1/2 hour when picking up my boingers. I highly recommend meeting him in person if at all possible, then ask him how he got into doing suspension. Inspiring chain of events. Great person to deal with and to glean dirt bike info even if it's not a Husky. Still haven't gotten the suspension put back on, my mechanic's been distracted and hasn't really looked at the bike in a couple weeks. I should fire him 
. Looking forward to experiencing the changes made eventually!
. Looking forward to experiencing the changes made eventually!
miketv
Husqvarna
A Class
Geeze, you folks are killing me! After talking with Kelly a few weeks ago I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and send the boingers off my 610 out there for Les to work his magic on. The stock 45mm Marzochi's are still pretty rough even after changing the oil to 5wt and readjusting everything. I rode a friends CRF450 on thursday and was just sad at how bad my forks performed comparatively.
fitness2go
Husqvarna
AA Class
I wonder if Les can make my 08 TE 450 feel more like Jake's TXC 250? I was bottoming my suspension all day long with the compression all the way in...front and back. I lost 20 pounds (205 currently) and I'm feeling much more aggressive!
fitness2go;29597 said:
No but close. The TXC forks are a better design IMHO
DANBRA;30222 said:
Neener-neener...my suspension is going to get there before yours
We shipped Eric's LC4 suspension to him a few days ago. It had been modified before Eric got it and we had no baseline with which to work. It was way too soft and weird, but with super-stiff springs, and wasn't working at all (as those who saw him biff in Baja can attest) so we're having Les do the dirty work for us
WoodsChick
LTR suspension 2008 TC450
New rider of 7months 70% MX | 30% off-road
====================
It took me some time to understand what my suspension was doing and what I did not like about it. The reason I sent out my suspension was to custom tailor me to this bike and how I ride. After I got my suspension back from Les I took two weeks of serious riding to study my new suspension. Everything I have told Les to fix he has fixed plain and simple. It was a simple this is what it’s doing and I don’t like it and this is how I want it to ride after you’re done. I hated to write down that I only been riding for 7months but I wanted to get exactly what I was looking for, I have no regrets its dialed perfectly and its going to take some time, a long time for me to out ride my suspension by les. If you are thinking about a re-valve think about going with Les his reputation on this and many forums are 10/10. Aside from being polite and professional take into account the most important his work, it needs no review or kudos it speaks for itself. This modification made riding a 08 TC450 husky even more fun and that’s what it’s all about for me.
====================
What I told Les:
It feels like a jack hammer on braking bumps on and off track. On long table top jumps If I don’t hit the landing perfectly the front forks tend to squat then bottom out. I can feel the rear handle the landing a lot better. The front forks and rear shock system feel out of sync. On whoop sections I have to force the front end up over all the whoops. If I accidently miss the peak of the whoop (these are not big whoops) the suspension feels harsh and out of control for correction. The suspension feels harsh on the trails; it gets upset on bumps or dips on the trail. It is not happy when turning in or out of uneven terrain. The suspension how it sits now works best on semi flat straits and turns. I have tried the stock compression and rebound setting and also tried increasing and decreasing from the point. The bike always feels either stiff and harsh or soft and harsh.
====================
After I sent to Les
On the track:
I can take any line I want and not worry about braking bumps disturbing my bike and focus on the next obstacle. On long table top jumps if I miss the landing I no longer have the front forks squat, bottom out, or want to knife on me. The suspension takes the impact and the energy is flowed threw the front and rear shocks evenly (This is when landing on both wheels at the same time of course). I feel more comfortable on whoop sections. I can ride them faster and harder and if I miss the peak the suspension eats up the impact and I can continue this rhythm sections with out losing much speed. The rear shock and forks are now in sync with each other. There is a balanced feel to the bike that was absent before.
====================
On trails:
There is no more harshness there is what you call plush now. I can feel the forks use all of its travel. I don’t have to avoid uneven bumps or drops any more and can also take turns on this type of terrain and remain in control. The suspension is deceiving when I’m just cursing its soft not a bad soft enjoyable comfortable one very tame is the feed back. Make no mistake the more I push that bike the more it gets tight, agile and aggressive. I love that most about this setup it’s what I wanted.
New rider of 7months 70% MX | 30% off-road
====================
It took me some time to understand what my suspension was doing and what I did not like about it. The reason I sent out my suspension was to custom tailor me to this bike and how I ride. After I got my suspension back from Les I took two weeks of serious riding to study my new suspension. Everything I have told Les to fix he has fixed plain and simple. It was a simple this is what it’s doing and I don’t like it and this is how I want it to ride after you’re done. I hated to write down that I only been riding for 7months but I wanted to get exactly what I was looking for, I have no regrets its dialed perfectly and its going to take some time, a long time for me to out ride my suspension by les. If you are thinking about a re-valve think about going with Les his reputation on this and many forums are 10/10. Aside from being polite and professional take into account the most important his work, it needs no review or kudos it speaks for itself. This modification made riding a 08 TC450 husky even more fun and that’s what it’s all about for me.
====================
What I told Les:
It feels like a jack hammer on braking bumps on and off track. On long table top jumps If I don’t hit the landing perfectly the front forks tend to squat then bottom out. I can feel the rear handle the landing a lot better. The front forks and rear shock system feel out of sync. On whoop sections I have to force the front end up over all the whoops. If I accidently miss the peak of the whoop (these are not big whoops) the suspension feels harsh and out of control for correction. The suspension feels harsh on the trails; it gets upset on bumps or dips on the trail. It is not happy when turning in or out of uneven terrain. The suspension how it sits now works best on semi flat straits and turns. I have tried the stock compression and rebound setting and also tried increasing and decreasing from the point. The bike always feels either stiff and harsh or soft and harsh.
====================
After I sent to Les
On the track:
I can take any line I want and not worry about braking bumps disturbing my bike and focus on the next obstacle. On long table top jumps if I miss the landing I no longer have the front forks squat, bottom out, or want to knife on me. The suspension takes the impact and the energy is flowed threw the front and rear shocks evenly (This is when landing on both wheels at the same time of course). I feel more comfortable on whoop sections. I can ride them faster and harder and if I miss the peak the suspension eats up the impact and I can continue this rhythm sections with out losing much speed. The rear shock and forks are now in sync with each other. There is a balanced feel to the bike that was absent before.
====================
On trails:
There is no more harshness there is what you call plush now. I can feel the forks use all of its travel. I don’t have to avoid uneven bumps or drops any more and can also take turns on this type of terrain and remain in control. The suspension is deceiving when I’m just cursing its soft not a bad soft enjoyable comfortable one very tame is the feed back. Make no mistake the more I push that bike the more it gets tight, agile and aggressive. I love that most about this setup it’s what I wanted.
ioneater
Husqvarna
AA Class
Money well spent TC450OZ, I wish I'd have tossed my first upgrade money at the suspension instead of other stuff. Just simply amazing how different the bike reacts to the terrain because 1)it's sprung for my weight now 2)the valving is fixed getting rid of the TE's midstroke hit 3)Les's settings were dead nuts on for me based on my description of skill level and type of riding I do. Things are just plain how they should be! My riding perspective was different especially while standing due to the whole bike riding deeper in the suspension stroke than before, yet I've not felt it bottom yet. Dust marks on the forks and shock show that I'm using it all. The clickers are all near the minimum settings just as he set them when I picked them up. I'll recommend him with no hesitation. Glad you had a good experience with his work as well!
robertaccio
Husqvarna
Pro Class
suspension 1st, bling and motor (as long as it runs right from factory of course) after
member of the Zoke/sachs LTR cult.
member of the Zoke/sachs LTR cult.
RLW
Husqvarna
AA Class
I don't think most riders are aware just how nice or how important a properly set-up suspension really is until they've experienced it....that said, I have to let you guys know that after I spent some more time, in more conditions w/my LTR Suspension work, I found a slight flaw in mine.
The rear suspension, of course needed a sag adjustment, but other than that I haven't even touch the clickers from where Les had them. However I was blowing thru the front a bit quicker/harder than I liked on big whoops/hit.
After email to Les to confirm, raised oil level 20mm by adding 16cc oil to each leg, backed out the compression couple more clicks, then took it up to the mtns and abused the bike for a few days........that little adjustment did the trick (I also backed rebound out 1 click). Even plusher on washboards/rocky trails, and soft enough to suck up big rocks, yet w/o deflecting and improved bottoming resistance on faster launches off 3-4ft kelly humps.
sorry, but afraid I'm only able to give him a 99 out of 100
(no doubt I will be a repeat customer.)
The rear suspension, of course needed a sag adjustment, but other than that I haven't even touch the clickers from where Les had them. However I was blowing thru the front a bit quicker/harder than I liked on big whoops/hit.
After email to Les to confirm, raised oil level 20mm by adding 16cc oil to each leg, backed out the compression couple more clicks, then took it up to the mtns and abused the bike for a few days........that little adjustment did the trick (I also backed rebound out 1 click). Even plusher on washboards/rocky trails, and soft enough to suck up big rocks, yet w/o deflecting and improved bottoming resistance on faster launches off 3-4ft kelly humps.
sorry, but afraid I'm only able to give him a 99 out of 100
(no doubt I will be a repeat customer.)
robertaccio;41801 said:
Says the guy who procrastinated forever sending the TXC suspenders off.
john01;41847 said:
Send which ever bike you ride that most.
robertaccio
Husqvarna
Pro Class
Motosportz;41819 said:Says the guy who procrastinated forever sending the TXC suspenders off.
mouth big...... wallet small.......
we need to clone that guy to get all four corners of the country covered plus a couple more of him for the midwest!!