Being somewhat heavier than the 10st gods who compete, I was wondering about changing the front fork springs to something a little chunkier.

What are peoples thoughts on this?

Suspension on these things are a science. I had a different problem where I felt my suspension was fighting me in hops as well as washing out in the off camber turns. 95% of this was due to "forgetting my basics" but I decided to invest some time in the the forks and my rear spring. I am not sure if you have been there yet but Jon Stoodley the technical advisor on www.gasgas.com has a wealth of knowledge. I have my forks the way I want them now thanks to this article http://www.gasgas.com/Pages/Technical/tria...nsion-tips.html

It talks about sag and preload on springs in there as well as fork hydraulic setup. On top of it all he talks about diagnosing your problem in sections. This weekend I tightened up on my rear spring preload to help give the bike a better attitude and less sag. I was worried about being out of control in the rollie pollies but I followed the height setup in this artical and I was right on the money. Hope this helps.

Thanks for this.

The next stage is trying to work out what it all means, how to apply it to my bike and how to test it out. No real sections or test tracks anywhere near me (Central London).

Rob,

Yeah that land problem happens every where.

I am here just out side of detroit michigan and land is as rare as anywhere.

biff

I'd be interested to hear if you do and it makes much difference.

I think I'm about 115Kg riding the expert route. All I've done at the front (Sherco) is forks wound all the way up. I think it's less important than the back. Alot of riding is done keeping the front nice and light and hopping the wheel to where you want it, unlike the rear which has to cope with all the weight all the time.

I've not noticed problems really, I don't seem to be bottoming them out and it's not folding under.

Interesting view on keeping the front light, I was trying to get the front hopping but am having real problems doing it. I'm putting this down to incompetence on my part rather than front/rear suspension setup.

I'll have a look at the rear shock and see if that makes a difference. How's it configured on your Sherco? I've never even looked at the rear shock to date.

So many things to do, so little time to do them...

Thanks,

Rob.

Rob, you can also preload the fork springs to stiffen things up too. Get yourself a short legth of CPVC tubing (the white stuff) and cut small spacers that you can fit on top of the springs. I'd start in small increments, maybe 1" and try it. If you like it, you can go for the heavier springs, if not your out nothing but a little pipe.

The rear shock is easy. There are preload collars that you can turn down to preload the spring. Getting rear springs aftermarket is apparently difficult, so preload may be your only route on this one.

I've just replaced the compression and extension fork tops. Getting that !"

I've just replaced the compression and extension fork tops. Getting that !"