any advice for stock 450r shocks for XC?

[sparky76]

I'm riding XC with stock fronts but a GT Thunder rear link and re-valve (love it), but where should I set the clickers for the compression and rebound up front for now? I already have as little preload as possible.

[gbcap]

thats only up to you and how you ride. if the bike feels springy then you need to lower your rebound a bit. rebound is how fast your shock comes back to normal after compression. if it feels like it is bucking you then it is too fast. if it feels really slow and you don't get full rebound before hitting the next bump that is called packing and you need to raise your rebound.

if you want a smoother ride you lower your compression to be soft. but oversoft will be too unresponsive. meet in the middle where it is enough to take your small hits but only bottoms out every once in a while. bottoming is alright as long as it isn't all the time.

[ajr400ex]

When I ran my stock shocks for XC I has the rebound full hard (slow). The rebound is pretty fast on the stock shocks for XC. I had the compression turned down a bit to soften them up.

[red4r]

so wait is all the way soft slow or fast? cuz if it isnt i mines all the way fast and that would explain me gettign bucked of the other day lol

i thought soft was slow
and hard was fast
lol
:D

[red2004 TRX450R]

I'm going to hijack you thread

i race c class XC and have stock shocks 180 pounds.

what sag should I run?

i get from laz's sight I should run the rear rebound full slow. Right? it also said that for my wight the spring rate is OK.

my wheels are never more than 5 feet off the ground so should i soften up the compression alot? I don't think I could ever bottom out the shocks.

what set up I was thinking to try is compression all most full soft and rebound full slow (sag/ preload???) would this make the quad handle like crap,(push in the corners or any thing) because there are millions of trees in the forest.

any one with experience let me know, thanks

[ajr400ex]

I am pretty sure all the way soft on the rebound is fast.

can someone please confirm this?
i'm getting really confused.

[sparky76]

it's confusing for honda to term the rebound " soft or hard". All it is is a valve, where "soft" is open so the piston can travel fast, hence fast rebound and "hard" is slow the piston will travel slow and pack up.

i thought, if you wanted a softer ride, you set it to soft

Originally posted by force
i thought, if you wanted a softer ride, you set it to soft you'd think so..thats how mine was set up before I sent them to GTThunder and I ride trails. did i have them st up wrong that whole time?

[Colby@C&DRacing]

Soft on the rebound is slow

[DanW]

Originally posted by Colby@C&DRacing
Soft on the rebound is slow

HUH?? The farther that you turn your rebound adjuster screw towards hard, the SLOWER the shock will rebound.

Turn your rebound on the front socks all the way towards hard (look at the arrows on the shock). Then turn the screw towards soft about 2 3/4 turns. This is about where they should be according to GT Thunder. This is set with his shock dyno, so you really shouldn't have to mess with the rebound after that.

I race XC with the stockers on an '06. I raced last year with the stock shocks on an '05, both rebuilt by GT Thunder.

[Pappy]

Dan, you want to rethink your first sentence?

[DanW]

Originally posted by Pappy
Dan, you want to rethink your first sentence?

Nope--Is my brain stuck on dumb? The little double arrow between the H & S is what I'm going by. If I turn the rebound adjuster all of the way towards H, the shocks seem to rebound slower? What am I missing?

[Pappy]

Not sure, but if I turn my comression or rebound adjuster towards H, things get stiff and I can deffinatley tell that when turned towards S the rebound gets slower.

Maybe it has to do with what ever spring rate your running, but I would think it should work as intended unless something was changed inside your shock during a revalve?

[DanW]

When I turn the rebound adjusters CLOCKWISE it makes the the shocks rebound slower. To me turning the screws clockwise is "towards Hard".

When I turn the screws COUNTER-CLOCKWISE the shocks rebound faster. To me this is turning the screws "towards soft".

Clockwise/counter-clockwise..... No more Hard/soft.

:p

[DanW]

Originally posted by Pappy
Not sure, but if I turn my comression or rebound adjuster towards H, things get stiff and I can deffinatley tell that when turned towards S the rebound gets slower.

Maybe it has to do with what ever spring rate your running, but I would think it should work as intended unless something was changed inside your shock during a revalve?

Also---I speak in terms of shock speed. I understand when you say that if you turn the adjusters towards hard, things get stiff. BUT, when you turn the adjusters towards soft, the shock should rebound faster (faster shock speed). :huh

[Pappy]

clockwise is slower/soft

and when you soften the rebound you make it react slower

[DanW]

Originally posted by Pappy
clockwise is slower/soft

and when you soften the rebound you make it react slower

OK---do you want to thumb wrestle?

:D

Going by the little double arrow (between the S & H on the rebound adjuster), when you turn the rebound adjuster clockwise, you are turning it towards hard. Hard to me means a smaller oil passage way and a slower shock speed.

We are both doing the same thing, just woding it a bit differently.

I hope this helps out more people than it confuses. ;)

[Pappy]

Dan, you have officially got my head spinning, I hate shock stuff:p


I was wrong, the clockwise is faster reacting but slower return....and i wonder why i get confused:eek2:

[DanW]

Originally posted by Pappy
Dan, you have officially got my head spinning, I hate shock stuff:p


I was wrong, the clockwise is faster reacting but slower return....and i wonder why i get confused:eek2:

No problem Pappy. I like shock stuff!:p

What we wrote here will help a few people.:cool:

[Pappy]

LOL...help them not ask me for shock help:devil:

its all good, i just always get things backwards even when i know what im talking about:p this is why i stay out of tech stuff, i always get things bassackwards:p

[hoopd450]

i agree with dan on this. i have used stock and aftermarket rear shock revalves. all of them done by gt thunder. and when i turn the screw clockwise or toward the h, the shock gets much stiffer and rebounds much slower. when i turn it counter clockwise or towards the s, the shock feels softer and rebounds alot quicker. with this setup i usually turn it all the way counter clockwise, then back to the the right about 4 or 5 clicks which is pretty quick on the rebound.

[red2004 TRX450R]

"3. Rebound valving that is very fast. Even with the rebound adjustment turned all the way to the stiffest setting the rebound is still to fast for good handling. (GTT)"

does this mean to turn the rebound to hard. will this make the rear more predictable and buck less?

I want to dial in my stockers before I decided to send them to GTT.


does slow = hard and fast = soft.:confused:

[red2004 TRX450R]

Originally posted by Pappy
Dan, you have officially got my head spinning, I hate shock stuff:p


I was wrong, the clockwise is faster reacting but slower return....and i wonder why i get confused:eek2:


could some one explain this sound really contradicting. :eek2:

i'm still confused as well

[DanW]

Turning your rebound adjuster screws clockwise on the stock front shocks will slow down how fast the front end rebounds when you hit a bump. This in effect will make the shock move slower during the rebound cyle. Does that help?

yes, that helps.
i would assume the rear works the same.
now, could i request a explanation on turning the compression CW or CCW?

[DanW]

Compression--I have always started out with the compression all the way soft. I then slow down the compression stroke until the shocks don't bottom, or until the front doesn't dive.

Maybe Colby could add to this?