single rate or dual rate

[01boneless]

Ok guys my rear stock 450r shock is bottoming out bad on big jumps im going with hygear or GTthunder for a new spring kit but im not sure if i need dual rate or single rate kit... of course the spring will be for my weight (175-180lbs),i ride lots of mx tracks when i can and I am planning on racing a few fairs and small mx races this year in pro class. i know dual rate would prolley be better but will i notice a diffrence from the stock 450r spring to a SINGLE rate spring set up for my weight? also will these spring kits affect my ride hight? cause i got the preload up to make it harder at the moment and it sets higher than i like i dont want it any higher....
also i posted it here because the 450r section seems to be slow nowadays

[dxcody]

My buddy just got his YFZ-R year shock revalved and resprung by GT Thunder, his is for XC so its obviously different but it made a world of difference.

They say dual rates are hard as hell to tune but the reason i posted is, having a spring set to the right body weight makes a huge difference in how it rides/sits .

[chronicsmoke]

The way I understood it when I was searching was if you weigh more than Xlbs, then you are better with a single rate spring.. Something about there not being enough room during travel to accomodate a soft/hard spring setup.. Nick at JET suggested I go with a single rate spring on the stock shock..

With an LT Setup, you have the extra room to use 2 differently rated springs effectively.

Please correct me if I'm mistaken..

[01boneless]

sounds legit chronic...lol i found a nice works single rate spring for 30 bucks shipped but its set up for a 315lb rider lol guess i better eat a ton of twenkies lol jk i can get the gtthunder single rate kit set up for my weight for 97 shipped i may have them set it up for a 200lb rider so i can drop the preload some

[chronicsmoke]

if the spring is a 315lb spring, that doesn't mean that it's rated for 315lbs rider.. Its just the tension rating of the spring

[01boneless]

no i just checked thats for a 315lbs rider lol

[CJM]

I talked to Nick from jet a bit about it. If you do long travel then dual rate is worth it and you can take advantage of it. Otherwise its not worth it and just better to leave it single rate.

[quadfmx]

I had this same dilemma,

I am not going to mention which co said what but,
I was told this,
that single rate was better if it was setup right and the dual rate was like a bandaid to correct the single rate not being exactly correct.

Now I dont know which is true, I have never ridden Jet - Nick Adams stuff but I know people who have and love it,
I have ridden GT Thunder and De Risi and really liked them both,
I didnt get to ride santo's enough to say which i liked better but i had a std travel setup from GTT with all elkas on ST houser arms and i had friends with long travel axis wanting to trade me even,
It was one of the best handling quads ive had, But I hit some stuff on De risi 's setup and was expecting to get bucked over the bars bc i ran up on something and had to hit it, and it soaked it right up so I think his stuff is top notch and I had a friend send in to santo and when he got it back it wasnt exactly what he wanted and Santo fixed it free to get it exactly how he wanted,
I am not knocking anyone here but Santo has some of the best customer service I ve seen, but Also I have had several conversations with Nick at Jet and he knows his stuff and he is the only one i know of who can take stock shocks and make them long travel,
So I know i didnt commit to any one of the 3, but I myself am dealing with who to send my stuff to for a build I am doing

[01boneless]

thanks guys i think im gonna stick with gtt single rate rear then maybe some dual rates for the fronts

[dustin_j]

If the linkage is designed correctly, a single rate spring is all you need. The reason for running more than one spring rate is to stiffen the action of the shock as it travels, while having a soft initial ride for smaller obstacles. This is the progression that is built into many linkages. Long travel linkages sometimes are not very progressive; more like a no-link setup that uses a linkage to run a longer shock. These setups need to use multiple springs to build the progression into the shock.

Stock honda linkages have too much progression, so GT Thunder and other links try to lessen this. When changing the progression, they also change leverage on the spring, so a different spring is required to setup the linkage and shock for rider weight. I would recommend a GT Thunder linkage, single rate spring for your weight, and a revalve. Changing spring only will not fix Honda's linkage issue, and it will not match your valving. Valving needs to be setup to control the spring (rebound) and control for riding type and style.

[01boneless]

what kinda mods will i have to do to run the gt mx link?

[blacknblue#2]

no mods needed to run the link. its a dirtect bolt in replacement. Used to be if GTT reworked your rear shock they offered you a linkages at an additional cost

[01boneless]

thanks fellas ill prolley get the gtt shock and link then have a dual rate spring set on the stock fronts from gtt

[dustin_j]

Originally posted by 01boneless
thanks fellas ill prolley get the gtt shock and link then have a dual rate spring set on the stock fronts from gtt

That'll perform well and be easier on your budget. You do need an airbox lifter to run the GTT link.

[01boneless]

yup i thought so to and all for about 300.00 bucks front and rear u cant beat it!!