Handling of fe570

Hi, went out on trail yesterday thro snow, packed ice, mud and deep water 140 miles.
Early morning hit a downhill secton of road glazed over in clear ice, a few went down, sliding with bikes hitting others like a game of skittles lol.
I have put a 76 spring in for this ride giving 38/117 8mm preload and have a scotts damper on, forks are stock and showing 5mm above clamps. All clickers are at standard.

First section was a hill climb thro woods over 1" layer of snow with soft mud roots below making it quite slippery.
The two bikes in front both got stuck, 450ktm was down sideways and a 525 spinning away just over halfway up. I have 14/52 gearing, mapping on standard,clicked into 2nd gear and sailed up to the top changing direction twice to get round the others. This is what the berg is best at, as usually, changing direction on a climb is where it can all end quickly but the berg makes it easy.
There is def a slight skittishness in the rear but i am used to it now , it slides side to side slightly but adjusts quickly when you power on and follows the front straight and true. My 530 would hold the back better but when it did spin offline it would send the bike in a different direction whereas the berg follows the front which is really well planted, wher you point it is where it goes.
Having done over 400 miles now with no offs, i know i would have def been off a few times on the 530 from the front tucking in/washing out.
I think the ride could be a bit plusher over whoops/dips and rough terrain, maybe an 80 spring with less preload?
I might be wrong as i havent tried the sags in the manual but i believe these bergs work well at 35-40 static and 115-120 race. I am not bottoming front or rear but have not slammed it around a track yet.
As i said the berg runs straight and true with the planted front, no twitch and its great at changing lines quickly at speed but the front now seems to be bobbing even pogoing up & down even on flat tarmac, it gets particularly dramatic on decel from high speed ?

Any advice on clicker adjusts that might help would be gratefully received, as i have first event in race mode this weekend.
Maybe Dale or Chris (cimwill) could help here? As you are same weight and have 570 s.
Also tried stony berm at speed, laid the bike over and it seems to want to carry on turning when you counter to go out straight on ?

Cheers,
Nick

Thanks Dale and Chris, great info as usual.
Looks like i'm due the 0.46s on the fork springs then.
Dale, thats exactly it, the berg drops down like a 125 and is happy to stay there, requires more input to stand up again, like the inertia or weight in the crank is working against you for a moment.

Chris, i hear you on the 116, i like 14/52 so its 118 for me which im happy with.The 116 worked well but took the wheel to far forward for 14/52.
Let me know if the heavier fork springs work for you, i will up the preload on mine for now and play with clickers to keep me out of trouble.
I am also tempted to maybe up the rear spring to an 8.0 as i can be 220 + lbs with all gear, tools,wateretc and this would enable me to lower the sags a bit with a lesser preload than the 7.6. I know they come with 10mm on but i dont want to wind up the 7.6 to 10-12 mm to acheive the right sags. I think the pds susp works best around 6mm.


Cheers Guys,

Nick

Hi Viking,

Am happy to try your suggestion as it makes sense.
I will do those settings before the weekend and see how it feels.
To acheive those sags from the 7.6, i will need to increase preload another one or two turns and i am around 8mm at the moment, is this ok?
How much preload would you consider too much with the pds susp ?

Thanks,

Nick