Rear Shock Spring Adjusting - NUTs

[knighttime]

What type and size of tool adjusts these nuts. I think I've seen what adjusts these nuts, but what size and where do I get it at??? :confused:


I'm adjusting the spring cause I just got www.pro-action.com to do their 3 stage incremental valving system to it.

please help

[Zingnut]

I use a big flat head screw driver and a hammer. Works fine for me and does little to no damage to the adjusting nuts on the shock.

[knighttime]

sure that would work, but I'm lookin for the tool specially made to turn these kinda NUTs. :huh

I believe they call them spanner wrenches,,The only way I've found to adjust the spring in a easy way is to have the shock off the quad,,then I use a large wrench to adjust it,,I'm trying to think how much sag the quad should have with no body on it..I'm thinkin like 1 1/2 inches of sag maybe. I'm sure Jeff or Marty can chim in and tell you what the amount of sag a quad needs in the rear for your type of riding..

[knighttime]

The dude at pro-action showed me how to set the sag with the body on it.

Pull up the grab bar till the rear shock "tops-out". The let it go down. The travel from "up" to "down" should be 3/4".

Mine right now is at about 1 1/4" sag. :(

Spanner wrenches - cool - now I can start lookin'. :cool:

[400exBro]

ya it is a spanner wrench, i got one with my shocks for the front, but i just used a flat head screw driver and a hammer just don t be to agresive or else you will ruin the threads....
lata
Bro

[Zingnut]

What I have heard of sag for XC is that you raise the quad till the rear wheels remain on the ground but the shock is at full extension. Take the measurement from an easy to remember position on both swingarm and sub frame. The total sag should be 1/4 to 1/3 of full travel depending on the riding conditions. (ex: rougher conditions 1/4 or smoother 1/3) Just what I have read. I myself have mine set up to sag 2-3 inches when rider is seated. It works for me but it all depends on the riders style and opinion.

[knighttime]

How u do it depends on what kind of shock system u have. As far as having to have the rider on the quad, well thats not needed if u have the shock set for your weight.

There is know one way, it depends on the type of shock and how it's set up, and who u listen 2. :huh

[knighttime]

should be already made for the riders weight to be technical about it.

[knighttime]

:huh :confused:

stunz I beleive knighttime just had his reshock rebuilt so all the settings are off..compression, preload and rebound and I beleive he's starting with the preload setting first.

[Tommy 17]

knighttime... listen to what pro-action tells u... those guyz are probably the best suspension company i know of for dirtbikes... my 80 was set up by them and it was 100 times better then stock... i think they are combined with fmf now... not sure on that... if u wanted to make a trip go to a district 5 race with ur quad and pay like 40$ and they will set it up for u... thats what i had done on my 80... steel city is in delmont pa about 1 hour from u... they are at every race there...

[400exRacerX]

I just use a flat head screw driver and a hammer.

[knighttime]

I went to the pro-action in Beaver Falls PA :D

I agree, they know what they are doin'.

[knighttime]

is for the average rider, which Honda feels is about 165 pounds which is what I am.

If u are much heavier or lighter, u need a different spring to have a finely tuned ride. It doesnt matter what u adjust.

O, and look what I found out in the machine shop.

[knighttime]

Originally posted by Stunz
The adjustment does matter in this case because all we are talking about is the riding height (sag).

If the sag is set to 3/4", you will have a stiffer feeling spring. It will take a greater force (lbs) to compress the spring down, than if you set the sag to say 3".

Do you agree?

Take a look at my examples or do some sample calcs. yourself to see what I'm talking about.

The riding height is not the sag. The sag is when u top out the shock and then let it drop, that difference is your sag.

[knighttime]

dude adjust your stock shocks like u are. What u r doing is making the stock spring a "universal" spring.

My rear shock was completely redone with a 3 stage incremental valving system built to my weight, type of riding, etc (much different than your stock shock). The stock spring just so happens to match my weight so I could keep it. The way I'm adusting the sag is for my particular "rebuilt" shock.

What u r describing is how u would do it i believe using stock equipment and people not weighing approx. 165#

Hey quadshopdudes makes some sense of this. We need some professional thoughts on this.

[knighttime]

Originally posted by Stunz
Yes, we need some professional help.

Who else can help explain the differance between a spring and a shock?


I give up!

Stunz u r explaing how to set up a stock shock. I am talkin about setting a completely custom rebuilt shock.

If you're looking to adjust your rear shock correctly for an MX type of riding, listen to Stunz. It doesn't matter if you have a stock shock or an AXIS shock, what you need to know is the actual shock travel. Most Honda stock shocks have 9 inches of travel @ the rear. So you want to set the rider sag height @ 3". That's 1/3 of the shock travel. If you have 12-inches of travel, then you'll want to set the preload to 4-inches etc.... You "DO" need to sit on the Quad. If you can't find a friend to help you out, just sit on the Quad w/o the rear fender on it & measure in-between the top of the axle & a fixed point on the grab-bar. Then, get off of the Quad & lift up on the grab-bar until the rear shock is fully extended and measure @ the same previous points. This measurement should be 1/3 of the full travel of the rear shock. If it's not, adjust the preload nut accordingly. (Make sure you tighten the Preload Jamnut once you've achieved the desired height) After you do this, you won't have to touch the preload again, unless you plan on losing or gaining over 40-lbs. Now all that you'll have to do is adjust the compression & rebound, one or two clicks @ a time.


Bert (Alaska)