'06 FE550 - new to me trying to sort out suspension

Hello - I have a relatively new to me '06 FE550. The suspension was done by RPS Suspension in NorCal who so far as I can tell is out of business. My understanding is it was setup for desert and 230 lb rider (which I am). I rode it a few times on single-track, the desert, and fireroads. The suspension seemed a little on the harsh side but was great at soaking up big whoops at speed. It seemed to be acting as expected but it was a complete nightmare on endless sharp-edged braking bumps (Hollister if you know it) at relatively slow speed. Maybe also expected but I was hoping for something better there.

I finally checked my sag and clickers. Front comp/Rebound was at 20/12. Rear comp was at 27 out. Rebound 10 out. RPS called for 14/10 front and 22/10 rear. My sag was initially at 120mm when I did most of the riding. I set it to 107mm and not much seemed to change other than the rear seemed to get a little harsher on small stuff. RPS calls for 100mm sag so I may stiffen that up a little more too. It already handled great but the forks are high up in the tripleclamps so maybe if I get the sag right I can put them back in the middle.

So here is where I need advice. The settings as I received the bike are sooo far off what RPS specced AND seemly out of whack that I'm not sure where to go to get a little more plush. 6 clicks more compression damping to get back to RPS spec I don't think will get me a more plush ride, but I am wondering if 20 clicks out is so far out of the RPS spec that the suspension has become unbalanced or something?

I was literally pogo'ing on some of the braking bumps so maybe more comp is what was needed to stay up in the stroke and perhaps more rebound to pogo less? Other than being a little harsh the suspension seems good. If I have to live with it or revalve since it was setup for desert I'm ok with that too. Just not sure where to start.

Thanks!

EDIT: I know the manual calls for 21/20 front and 22/15 rear but since it has been revalved are those numbers out the window?

all the numbers on the clickers are now irrelevant since matey played with it.

however, you don't mention your spring codes and you don't mention the sag on the front. so we need them. also the forks are high in the clamps means absolutely nothing! how long is a piece of string *********! :lol: :lol:

how much of the fork travel are you using? do you have a zip-tie on the leg?

regards

Taffy

Rear spring is WP 71-90/260, front I have no idea what spring. I'll try to measure front sag when I can get some help. Static sag is 30mm.

Top of forks are 5mm from flush, so the first line down from flush is a few mm above the triple clamp. I guess I don't actually know if that is high or not. The bike is very stable and still seems to want to turn inside my brother's '06 WR450.

The last place I rode didn't have any real big hits and I compressed within 70mm of the bottom of the leg (wiper mark). At some point I have compressed within 30mm looking at older wiper marks that I am certain are mine. No zip tie though.

Thanks!

well on the rear someone has been pulling your pisser!

the 71/90 is the standard Husaberg spring of the 2001-2005 era. it is good for about 11 stones maybe 12 max so 154 to 168LB. so there is your FIRST problem!

you need the heaviest they did just about. the genuine WPs stop at 95/111 i believe and it is great for my 200LB racing and is on the even to firm side. unless you stuff the early shocks up with shims get a new secondary piston as the OEM is too 'open' then you haven't done anything.

as for the front. the 14mm rods needed masses and masses of work to make them even barely functional and forget all the cack about WP being good. they were bad then and not a lot better now. probably just 3-5 years behind showa and 10 behind ohlins.

if you have as soft a spring on the front as you do on the rear you should be bottoming out really easily - but you aren't which means that the bottoming cones have never been drilled (as per the doc) so all in all I'd say nothing has ever been done to the front either.

sorry to have to tell you all this.

I spent 3 hard years getting the forks right and two years on the rear. in the end I died of old age first....

regards

Taffy

So are you saying you think it was not re-valved at all? Or just that is has stock springs front and rear? It has stickers with settings from the suspension place on both the forks and shock so I gotta believe it was revalved. Unless they are stupid enough to just recommend a lot more compression for desert lol!

the 71/90 is the standard Husaberg spring of the 2001-2005 era.

Click to expand...

It is an '06 (manufactured 12-19-2005) does that change things at all?

EDIT: Just measured preload and it is at 5mm (260mm - measured length).

10TH DIGIT ON THE FRAME....IS IT A 5 OR A 6?

I should think they stuck a few hims in without knowing WTF they were doing. you have bottoming cups in there that any numpty knows should be drilled as a modification. I think it is in the doc...the doc that I wrote sir. 8O 8O

regards

Taffy

6

I've been reading through the Doc and learning a ton. So basically I need to find someone who knows what they are doing and get the right springs (or lose 40+ pounds)!

I cleaned up the sticker on the fork and under Rate it looks like it says "STK" so I guess that answers that!

Thanks!

it does!

you should have had the 12mm cartridge rod forks in 2006 which was a way better fork.

regards

Taffy

I'm your size and ride Hollister all the time.
For springs on my '07 I run 48's in the forks, Factory connection FCW-H (9~11.5) in the rear.
Pretty well balanced for my weight.
As far as clicker settings- if it's been revalved, you'll just have to play with it.
Post up next time you head to Hollister, let ya ride mine & see if the set-up I run suits ya.
BTW, riding Foresthill this Sat, should be at Sugarpine staging area by 7:30am..

Cheers,
Dan

Wow thanks for the offer! Sooooooo tempted to meet you Sat. but wife has obligations and I have the kid. Damn!

I finally got around to putting in new springs. I thought it was hard and expensive for some reason until a friend did his and said it was easy.

Took it to my closest riding area and O M G what a difference the correct springs make. The area is pretty rocky with round babyheads all over in some places. There was practically no deflection! The ride was plush before, but got harsh quickly. Now it is just plush plush plush! I left my clickers where they were initially. Set rider sag at 109mm. Things were pretty good but the rear was kicking a bit so I added two clicks rebound to the rear. The harsh kicking was gone. It still steps out a little on the whoops but totally controllable, plus they were covered in babyheads too so maybe nothing to fix there.

One thing I noticed is it puts the power to the ground better too! One downhill section I had ridden many times has three, 2 foot vertical step downs about 1 bike length a part. I would usually blip the throttle to lift the front so it will catch the top of the next step down (which wasn't much fun when it was harsh). When I did it this time I just completely cleared the next ledge! That surprised me, plus the landing felt great.

There is also a short, steep uphill with three 1 foot vertical rock ledges at the bottom, a couple in the middle and one 2-3' vertical at the top. This section always made me nervous and I would feel every ledge hit. This time I couldn't feel the lower ones at all! I kept hitting it faster and faster trying to see if I would start to feel the individual ledges but eventually I think I just started jumping them! It felt so controlled I was actually having fun launching off the top one instead of worrying about it!!

Then I hit the little practice track. It was the first time it was predictable off the jumps and it only got better once I added the two clicks rebound on the rear.

I did the ziptie trick on the forks and still have about 1" left and I don't feel like I hit anything particularly hard so it seems I am using most of the travel.

I should have done this years ago lol! I didn't realize how easy it was (even though I still did my best to screw it up)!

Thanks!

EDIT: Figure I would add I'm 230 lbs in my undies, went to .48 forks, 9-11.5 FCW-H rear factory connection springs.

The DOC said:

Servicing notes

...


2.When replacing the fork cap turn the rebound CCW all the way. Otherwise as the cap screws on it can unwind completely the rebound spring/ball mechanism. When tight on the cartridge rod and everything then put together, turn the rebound CW to the bottom. Now turn out the appropriate amount of clicks.

Click to expand...

I think I misunderstood this putting my fork cap back on. If I have 30 clicks of rebound adjustment does that mean it worked correctly or do I need to remove the cap and replace just in case?

One leg is 28 good clicks and 2 -meh- clicks (one meh click fully CW and one meh click fully ccw). Other is 30 good clicks.

Thanks again!

Sounds like you got it right.

Need a little help with my sag numbers.

I measured the sag front and rear, and with the rear rider sag set at 109mm, the rear static sag is 45mm. It seems the rear static is high (but i don't know how relevant it is). When I had the static sag at 35mm, rider sag was only 90mm or so though (at ~6mm preload). I will have to measure again, but I think I am at about 4mm preload on the shock spring now.

For the front, the static sag is 40mm (bouncing suspension and letting it come to rest), and the rider sag is 63mm. I don't know anything about what the front sag means or should be. I left the same spacers as before. Springs were the same height as originals.

Thanks

Rode last weekend (see getting comfy post) and everything felt much better. Plush it was not, but much more controlled and bigger hits felt way better. Tried the zip-tie trick and I was still bottoming even on just bumps on the trail and slamming on the water barges (flat landing jumps). Upped compression 3 clicks and bottoming stopped on all but the bigger jumps, and then it felt good, not slamming. I was able to bomb through some very rocky sections with not a care for the line I took or what I hit (other than flats).

The rear was kicking pretty good occasionally so I upped the rebound 2 more clicks to 6 out. I think I need even more so I am probably at the limits of the current valving. I left the rear compression alone.

Front end is washing every turn while seated. Not sure if that is a setup issue or body position/technique issue.

basalt said:

Front end is washing every turn while seated. Not sure if that is a setup issue or body position/technique issue.

Click to expand...

This is what I was talking about when I said your bars were going to be too high. With two inch risers you are going to have issues turning the bike while seated.

Johnf3 said:

This is what I was talking about when I said your bars were going to be too high. With two inch risers you are going to have issues turning the bike while seated.

Click to expand...

Hmm. Will give it more time and see if I can adjust. I'm not set on these 2" risers yet but definitely need some rise over stock.

Less sag should help? I'm finding too many sources of sag #'s to know where it should really be.

sag should be where it works for you ...

the actual number isn't very important

general rule of thumb is you want between 10 and 2mm of preload on the shock spring, if you go outside of that to get the bike to work then a different spring may be worth a try.

putting bar raisers on takes weight off the front which masks the crappy weight distribution / dodgy forks and makes it easier to stand but like john wrote; now you have a harder time initiating a turn.

Thank guys! I'll start playing with sag and go from there! If I can't find something that works I'll drop the bars an inch. It sure was great to ride 100 miles with no pain or fatigue!

Did 100 miles or so at Jawbone over presidents day. Zero fatigue again and I find myself standing nearly all the time! It is great! This was the first ride ever that my brother was holding me up in some sections!

The first day I didn't notice any cornering issues (it is primarily sand so it is hard to tell if there is any additional front washing out issues), but I added two full turns on the spring preload anyways. I didn't notice a difference in the sand so I will need to get back into the tight stuff to see if taking out some sag made a difference.

I was ending up nose high in single high speed hits/jumps so I added 3 clicks rebound forks. The rear was stepping out a little still in the whoops so I added two clicks on the rear which leaves me at zero rebound. I'm not sure it made a difference but I was able to hammer the whoops wide open and while the front didn't feel good (bottoming hard), front and rear stayed in control. I probably should have also added a bunch of compression for the desert too.

I rode a 2012 Dungey for a long section and while it certainly felt smaller, it was harsh and was only slightly better in the whoops and big hits (no step out at all). I probably was faster on it, but I sure love the motor on the 550! And the fuel injected SX bike sure seems like it would be a handful in the tight stuff.

I also rode a Beta 520rs up a larger sandy hill climb that had several large boulders/steps at the top. Low to mid range seemed flat compared to the 550 and it only felt close once it started ripping. It did of course feel way smaller and the suspension handled the boulders no problem (it was setup for a big guy too).