I won't give away my shim stacks this time lads. I'm in business and there are some areas I just can't sorry. But UHE is a place of advice and what I can say i have... and honestly. All my shimstacks for the ol girl (2002 FE400e weighing nothing) are plastered everywhere in that 'fork tuning for enduros' thread.
My experience with K-tech (once) and Full-travel suspension (twice) is that all they do is go to the very latest valving they can find in the book so somewhere out there are some 48 OCs being used on a KTM or Husaberg in 2012 and they'll put exactly those shimstacks in. they'll be an improvement but if the factories build in a wayward fork they only seem to tackle it one shim at a time and to be honest the forks were miles off when I got them.
If you read my 'Taff's racing season 2011' for two Months ago you'll note that I went from being lapped last September for the first time ever, feeling finished and wasted to more or less winning in July. and all I did was work on my suspension - that was the only difference at all. both days were dry.
I did the springs first to suit my weight and then what is left is your valving and clickers plus of course handling. that is all I have to worry about. right now the suspension is great yet I use all the suspension up on fields on the front so I may look at 50s as said - you shouldn't make the valving do the work the springs should be doing - and vice -versa.
I find it a lot harder to feel the rear when the front is giving me grief but so far so good. the HSCD is only out 1/2 a turn the other two are near the middle. BTW Wardy, the rear spring at 84 is also pre-loaded about 9mm and it should and could be a bit less so i may well be close to 50 and 86 as well.
I find K-tech to be good. they do front springs to 46-48-50 and do quote the length BTW because the old springs were 48cm and these 12mm rod OC forks are 505mm. their rear spring at a guess will come O$£^&E in colour (I'm sorry lads but it's the burden we must carry) and they'll probably code them slightly differently at 85, 87.5, 90 etc etc so the 87.5 is the go-to spring. I'll be trying the pre-load on the forks set to maximum this weekend if needed and see what it does. I've done 6 different shimstacks this year and this weekend will teach me a lot again.
I do do fork and shock rebuilds, I've invested a lot of money in tooling up to do them. been doing shocks since the first of the year and forks (as in shimstacks etc) since 2005. these 12mm CR forks don't need the work of the old 14s. they needed lathe work, drilling, different bottoming cones, different float springs - the lot!
I guess springs, seals, fork oil, and a re-valve are going to be 160- 180 front and the rear? well, I don't recommend what i don't know about yet! I have got the 2012 FX and FE rear shim stacks for those that wanna get serious!
regards
Taffy
