I have a 2008 TC 510 with twin-chamber 50mm Shivers. I recently installed SKF fork seals and while I had the forks apart I decided to change the valving a bit. First off, I highly recommend SKF fork seals. There is almost no stiction and the dust seal does not let anything by. These seals are expensive but worth it. While I had the forks apart I messed with the valving a bit to try to get rid of the harshness these forks are famous for. The stock valving had two 22mm shims right against the piston in the compression stack on each side. I removed one of these shims on each side, set the fork preload, and filled and bled with 7.5wt oil as recommended in the manual.
I weigh 180lbs without gear and ride trails and I have to say that the forks are now super plush over rocks and roots. I was shocked! They were so harsh before. The problem now is that they are too soft through whoops or g-outs. I reduced the high and low speed compression on the shock and this helped but right now the softness is slowing me down. The shock has stock valving and I am using all of the travel on both ends. Unfortunately, I lost the piece of paper I had with the shim arrangement written on it. I do remember there being 3 progressive stacks on the compression side of things. I was thinking of adding shims in the middle part of the compression stack and seeing what effect this has. I don't think raising the oil height will fix the softness in the front. I think it is more a balance issue front to rear making the front feel divey. I don't want to change the shock settings. I think the shock is set up really well.
If there are any suspension experts here who would like to chime in, please do so. I know some of you might recommened suspension tuners but I prefer to do this kind of thing myself, its fun. Also, does anybody know where to buy shims? I know Racetech sells them but in bulk; I don't need 30 12mm shim for example, especially with this fork as there are so few shims.
I weigh 180lbs without gear and ride trails and I have to say that the forks are now super plush over rocks and roots. I was shocked! They were so harsh before. The problem now is that they are too soft through whoops or g-outs. I reduced the high and low speed compression on the shock and this helped but right now the softness is slowing me down. The shock has stock valving and I am using all of the travel on both ends. Unfortunately, I lost the piece of paper I had with the shim arrangement written on it. I do remember there being 3 progressive stacks on the compression side of things. I was thinking of adding shims in the middle part of the compression stack and seeing what effect this has. I don't think raising the oil height will fix the softness in the front. I think it is more a balance issue front to rear making the front feel divey. I don't want to change the shock settings. I think the shock is set up really well.
If there are any suspension experts here who would like to chime in, please do so. I know some of you might recommened suspension tuners but I prefer to do this kind of thing myself, its fun. Also, does anybody know where to buy shims? I know Racetech sells them but in bulk; I don't need 30 12mm shim for example, especially with this fork as there are so few shims.