Being able to understand the parts of your bike is a part of being a rider. You can’t just rely on your bike technician every time you have encountered problems on your bike. Your dirt bike’s suspension will be the main point in this topic. Here are some tips on how to develop and improve your suspension.
- Tire Pressure – an appropriate tire is a factor in the overall performance of your bike. If your tire has too much air or either under inflated can cause discomfort to you. Not only that, it might not correspond to the suspension in the best way possible. It is recommended to use 11-13 psi for motocross and 13-14 psi or more for off road to prevent flats. Also, Heavy tubes and mousses will surely be a must need issue to be looked upon. Seek the lightest possible set that you can have exclusive of risking punctures. It is also believed that using an 18″ rear wheel also has more rider comfort than a 19″ but it will depend on where you are comfortable.
- Proper Spring Rate and Sag – by ensuring that the dimensions of your sag is about 95-115mm, it will be an aspect for your bike to run well. Confirm that you have the appropriate rate spring in your bike as the spring hold up the rider and bike. It is also common to check the static sag of the bike without the rider. Pick suitable static sag between 25-45mm. If the sag is lesser than 25mm, you may need a stiffer spring and also if you have a sag greater than 45mm you will need a softer spring.
- Correct Installation of the Front Wheel – improper installation of the front wheel will result to the forks to bind and weaken quickly. It is advised that you should install your front wheel squarely with the forks before tightening the axle pinch bolts and axle nut. Start by contracting your axle nut first then torque the left side axle pinch bolts to spec. See to it that the right fork leg will glide without difficulty along the axle before tightening. Squeeze the fork to situate the leg and then tighten the right pinch bolts when you are certain the fork leg is not binding and in its usual place.
- Use a torque wrench – always check your owner’s manual for the proper torque spec. By any means, do not over-tighten the triple clamp bolts for the reason that the fork tubes are very thin and will disfigure easily. Your fork bushings travel past the lower triple clamp mount and can bind if the clamp is over-tightened resulting the fork to be harsh. Ensure that both of the fork tubes are set at the identical height. By raising and lowering the forks in the triple clamps you will have an option to differ the turning and stability of your bike.
- Bleed the air out of the forks every time you ride – make it a habit of bleeding the air out of your forks at the start of the day prior to your ride. Air expands with heat and altitude that is why it is essential to start off your ride without unnecessary pressure.
- Maintain your suspension – Oil breaks down and gets impure as time passes resulting for your suspension to fade when it heats up. It is advisable to change your fork and shock oil every 20 hours and replace wear parts like bushings and seals every 40 hours. If not done, this will cause leaky seals and friction because of excess play. Modern dirt bikes nowadays are specified at the usage of 5wt fork oil. Shocks run at elevated temperatures and use lighter 2.5wt oil so they don’t deteriorate and stop working as rapidly.
- Fork Oil Height – Adjusting the fork oil height changes the total amount of air space in the fork and changes the damping feature in the 2nd half of the suspension travel. Adding oil stiffens the fork and increases bottoming resistance while removing oil softens the fork. By means of adding or subtracting oil in tiny 10cc gradients, you can have a better result that may result in you figuring out the best option that suits you. If you want to remove excess oils, you will have to take away the fork legs from the bike and turn them upside down to allow the oil to be drained. Read more on how to adjust dirt bike suspension
- Grease your linkage and headset – in order to maintain the performance and reduce the wearing of your pivot bearings, it is apparent to clean and grease it. By doing so, the linkage can move more freely and have less friction resulting in a better suspension.
- Chain tension and length – for the drive chain to avoid a bind when the rear suspension is fully compressed, change the chain on a stand with 30-40mm. operating a longer wheel base will offer more straight line steadiness while a shorter wheelbase will have an enhanced turning. Running the axle forward lessens the control on the shock and stiffens the primary suspension movement. You can shift the rear axle backward to augment the leverage on the shock and if you want softer suspension in the start of the travel. Gearing you bike advanced with less teeth on the back sprocket will give for better footing because of lower engine speed.
- Troubleshoot your suspension – learning to troubleshoot your suspension for better performance is also an important factor for a rider to learn. Suspension that bottoms out too easily may need more firmness from your clickers, an elevated oil level, more solidity valving, stiffer spring rate, or just need to be serviced. When you are trying suspension ride the same lines in the region of the track in order to decide if your changes are working. A good rider can keep away from all the bumps on the track and make any suspension feel good.
As a bonus, regulate the air pressure every day previous to the day you ride with the wheel off the ground by using a small dial pump with a good no loss air valve. 2 psi is the equivalent of 1 spring rate. The air in the fork will heat up and get bigger as you ride resulting in an increase in pressure. Nitrogen does not offer a important benefit over air.
