Seal Savers / Stiction / Shim stacks / Bladders

Questions and comments about converting to beefier forks..
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Indawoods
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Post by Indawoods »

suspensionnetwork has a ways to go until it's primetime. I though I got lots of critical errors when I was doing this site... but their site takes the cake! :neutral:

Oh well... anyway... I was trying to pull up my stack here at work to see what I was going to change first in the stack after reading more on making the forks plush.

I know from memory that removing 3 or 4 large shims will make a ton of difference in the LSC and this is what I want. You do have to be careful when doing this to make sure there is still enough clamping pressure on the shim stack by the nut.

Reducing the size of the clamping washer effects the entire stack... both LSC and HSC (Makes it softer).Something else to keep in mind.

Mid-valves.... It should not be necessary to remove the mid-valve if you reduce the LSC shims. Although you may hear the mid-valve clicking as you tool through the woods and go over logs and rocks. This is nothing more than you hearing the mid-valve work which is good... it's doing it's job. When the LSC is set stiff... the mid-valve does very little but help clamp the action down... which is not what you want in the woods.

HSC... you want to keep the HSC stiff since this smooths out the really big hits like Ski talks about. These are my observations and my plans when I tear into them... just might have to do it next weekend so I can prove my theories! :razz:
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Post by canyncarvr »

Thanks for the pic. I'd still like to see the whole thing together.

Inda: In your 'disable and fix' thread...you mention separating the tubes. Why?

What I read on the MX-Tech site regarding such disassembly, I would figure the bladder to be part of the fork cylinder...NOT something you have to separate the tubes to get to.

I'm leery of doing the tube sep part. Yeah..I understand the 'short bursts and not long durations of RPM' part to take them apart. I did that with my KDX forks. STILL had to replace the sliders. Now..that is the reason I already had purchased new sliders. I figured the chances of getting the tubes apart and NOT messing up the teflon coating were slim.

Those sliders are expensive! My seals show no signs of leaking..so I'm not going to risk having to replace sliders.

No. I haven't taken mine apart, yet. Have just taken the base valve out. Guess I'd better get to it.

Maybe this weekend.....I still don't have my boots fixed anyway...and it's going to be real wet.

boo hoo....

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Post by Indawoods »

canyncarvr wrote:Inda: In your 'disable and fix' thread...you mention separating the tubes. Why?
Did you read this part?

If your still confusED... read this since that's where I got the info!
http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/archiv ... 86268.html


And fortunate for me... I don't have to take mine apart cause I don't have bladders. Are you sure yours has bladders? And if so... maybe they are already disabled and you won't have to mess with them. Do your forks have a service tag on em anywhere so you could call Pro-Pilot and find out what they did to em?
Last edited by Indawoods on 01:33 pm Mar 31 2005, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by KDXGarage »

"Yeah..I understand the 'short bursts and not long durations of RPM' part to take them apart. I did that with my KDX forks. STILL had to replace the sliders. Now..that is the reason I already had purchased new sliders."

I am NOT trying to be smart. When he mentions "'short bursts and not long durations of RPM'", I think that means with an air impact wrench and socket on the base valve.

Sliders means the tube that slides within the forks, such as the outer tubes (lower legs) on a 95 and newer KDX. I know what you mean though, and they're usually called bushings, actually. Tthe "outer bushings" go in the outer fork tube, and the inner bushings go on the inner fork tube.

Sometimes they get damaged and sometimes they don't, when separating the tubes.

NOW, I'm messin' with ya. Nobody give it away. Let's see if he can figure it out! You may have better luck in preserving the bushings if you use one of the main ingredients used in preparing grits. What would that be? :mrgreen:

Y'all don't hepp him out now!
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Post by canyncarvr »

Of course, you're right. It should have been the 'quick but not forceful' part. I knew it was a 'quick-not-hard' effect...the base valve removal is the first thing that caught my attention.

I've decided I have a brain tumor. Time was I was right about most stuff most of the time. I actually put effort into research and experimentation to get that point...not merely a matter of IMO. Lately I've been wrong about most stuff..and simple things like spring compression and sag setting completely escape me until I've been told how it works about six times.

...and it wasn't too long ago that I understood it all just fine. Heck..and I make more typos and spelling errors than in any previous ten year period!! Oh well........

Yep. It's a tuber. Gotta be. It couldn't be all the alcohol consumption of late.... :?

I don't know I have bladders. That's why I have to take 'em apart to find out.

It stuff like: 'That aluminum seat is slightly pressed onto the cartridge. You can carefully/lightly tap it off and remove the 2 washers and spring inside it.' that just does not compute. I don't see how two washers and a spring can be INside an aluminum seat.

Guess I'll find out.

Thanks folks for your patience. I appreciate it.

uh....hawg belly fat?

Grits are good! Well...with enough butter and brown sugar they are.

Yes. The forks have been serviced by ProPilot. Complete with sticker that has name and service number on it. I've asked them about it. They won't tell me anything about it.
Last edited by canyncarvr on 02:21 pm Mar 31 2005, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Indawoods »

Bastages! :mad:
Tell em you got 121 members on a website waiting to hear if Pro-Pilot is any good with customer service.
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Post by KDXGarage »

BRRR. No, not hog belly fat. Try again. :grin:
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Post by canyncarvr »

Yeah. Bastages indeed.

That's what you get for customer service these days. It took a week and 1/2 to find out from AlpineStar what they could do with my boots.

But...only one day to get TWO reponses from Vesconite Plastics regarding use of their product in suspensions (bushing replacement).

MAIN ingredients?

OK. THE main would be CORN. I don't know how that fits..but...

Uh...hog belly fat would be bacon grease.......

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Post by KDXGarage »

Hot / boiling water. You sound like a grits eater, not a cooker. :grin:

Quaker cheese grits are great, now back to our regularly scheduled fork (non - eating kind ) discussion.
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Post by Indawoods »

canyncarvr wrote:It stuff like: 'That aluminum seat is slightly pressed onto the cartridge. You can carefully/lightly tap it off and remove the 2 washers and spring inside it.' that just does not compute. I don't see how two washers and a spring can be INside an aluminum seat.

Simply stated... the spring and washers are under the seat. :grin:
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Post by KDXGarage »

Indawoods wrote:
canyncarvr wrote:It stuff like: 'That aluminum seat is slightly pressed onto the cartridge. You can carefully/lightly tap it off and remove the 2 washers and spring inside it.' that just does not compute. I don't see how two washers and a spring can be INside an aluminum seat.

Simply stated... the spring and washers are under the seat. :grin:
I thought that is where the airbox lid is?? :mrgreen:
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Post by canyncarvr »

C'mon guys! Words do mean things, right? I try to make sense out of '..washers and spring inside..' something..but it really means 'under'?

If they had SAID 'under', it would have made a lot more sense in the first damn place.

How does hot boiling water 'preserve' the bushings?

And ..yeah...I've called 'em sliders for 40 years. I read the term someplace once. Like it better than 'bushings.'

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Post by Indawoods »

Well CC... if you looked at the pic I posted of the bladder... you can tell that's what he means. The spring seat covers the spring and washers.. covers them... inside...get it?
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Post by KDXGarage »

Just like any other thing on the bike, heat makes it expand. I suppose it causes greater tolerance in the fit between the inner and outer bushings. The area where the inner bushing sets is where it would be heated.
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