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2008 Rotec RL9 W/ Remote Avalanche DHS

BRIANBUELL

BRIANBUELL

Monkey
Nov 17, 2005
500
0
Boulder, Colorado
Hey Folks, its that time of year again! Thought I would give all you monkeys a look at the 08 rig that me and my bro will be riding this year in Europe. Its not complete yet, will post complete pics w/ specs as soon as it is accomplished! Thanks for the input yall!!!
 

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Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
Cool, thats awesome Brian. I came very close to buying a new one this year. But I got a deal on a basically unridden 07.

What we need here is our very own Rotec thread.

Here's my new baby. Gotta say, I'm lovin this bad boy.

I was on a Brooklyn Race Link last season and a Turner DHR the season before. The Rotec combines the best traits of both into one bike. It lays pavement over the roughest terrain like the Brooklyn, but has great pop off jumps and is super easy to manual, even easier then the DHR. The Brooklyn tended to suck up everything in its path and was REALLY tough to manual. The DHR was quick and easy to manual and got great pop of jumps, but not so good in square edged hits. The Rotec is like the bastard child of the two.:thumb:

This is for all the threads I read when researching the bike that commented on how it was a "tank". Last pic shows the actual weight as you see it built.We have here a solid DH build with no weight weenie parts. Burley wheels (36h straight gauge, hadleys and EX729's), real pedals (magnesium pedals are quickly destroyed in the rocky Colorado courses, at least for me), Coil sprung front & rear, dual ply tires, Code brakes with Ultimate levers, no carbon (well except the HS spacers). Could easily drop to 41 with only a moderate weight weenie build.

Not a fly weight, but hardly a tank. And I'm pretty sure the 08's dropped a pound.









 
Secret Squirrel

Secret Squirrel

There is no Justice!
Dec 21, 2004
8,150
1
Up sh*t creek, without a paddle
BRIANBUELL said:
Thanks for the Avy setup advice! Still playing on how I'm gunna set mine up! Indeed a very nice setup, how is your Avy running?
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Runs like a dream. Had it rebuilt (seals and nitro recharge) before last season. Rode it like I stole it, then hung it up. Got it out this year once so far and it felt like it hadn't missed a beat. It's awesome. Not nearly the amount of opportunities to ride this season though...so I gots to makes the best of it. Have fun slummin' around with euro babes. I've seen the websites...I can only imagine...remember, most everything can be taken care of with an ointment, a pill, or a rectal suppository.
 
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Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
bpatterson6 said:
That Blue is so nice looking! I really like it. Is that a custom ordered color or did you have it powder coated yourself?
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Stock Rotec color for 07. Think they call it "Blue Chrome".

Funny thing is, I bought an Intense Socom at the end of last season for my next race rig. I had it powder coated what was basically this same color, just a slightly lighter shade of blue. I didn't really like it that much when it was all done. I ended up having to sell the Socom when my son broke his foot at Keystone and the insurance company kept dragging their feet.

When I bought the Rotec, I was bummed cause I didn't really want the color, but when it showed up, it is a little darker then my Socom and turns out I love it.

Not sure if Rotec uses the same process as my Socom, but it's a 3 stage powdercoat. Basically the do the first coat in a shiny silver pc, looks similar to polished aluminum, the second coat is Transparent Blue PC, followed up by Clear PC. Pricey compared to a single solid color. If you polish the frame, you can eliminate the first coat of silver PC.
 
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Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
Mike Buell said:
Old Sckool, nice looking rig, I'm sure you'll love it.
If you ever end up needing that Roco rebuilt, consider sending it to Push, had ours don't like that last year, sooooo nice.
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Hey thanks Mike.

Done deal on the shock. Came back from PUSH a week ago.

I got a question for you. I only start to get any real rebound adjustment in about the last 3/4 of a turn of the rebound knob, and from there it's changes dramatically. A 1/8 of a turn makes a BIG difference. PUSH recommended 1 to 2 turns out from full clockwise, but it's basically a pogo stick at anything over 1 turn back.

I can get the rebound I want, but there is a pretty fine line between to much and to little.

Before I had the shock Push'd, rebound had to be nearly full clockwise to get enough rebound. The 5th that was on it prior seemed to also need a lot of rebound, but it was ready for a rebuild; as it was an old one I had laying around. I even slapped the Avy from my son's bike on there and it was similar. The Avy wasn't valved for the Rotec so I figured that was why. But now I'm starting to think the Rotec needs some serious damping to control the stroke. I'm not having a problem with the ride. I've just never had a bike that seemed to need so much rebound damping.

Just wondering if you had the same experience.

Thanks, Rick
 
Mike Buell

Mike Buell

Monkey
Aug 9, 2005
766
0
On my way to the top of candycane mountain in a ba
Old_Sckool said:
Hey thanks Mike.

Done deal on the shock. Came back from PUSH a week ago.

I got a question for you. I only start to get any real rebound adjustment in about the last 3/4 of a turn of the rebound knob, and from there it's changes dramatically. A 1/8 of a turn makes a BIG difference. PUSH recommended 1 to 2 turns out from full clockwise, but it's basically a pogo stick at anything over 1 turn back.

I can get the rebound I want, but there is a pretty fine line between to much and to little.

Before I had the shock Push'd, rebound had to be nearly full clockwise to get enough rebound. The 5th that was on it prior seemed to also need a lot of rebound, but it was ready for a rebuild; as it was an old one I had laying around. I even slapped the Avy from my son's bike on there and it was similar. The Avy wasn't valved for the Rotec so I figured that was why. But now I'm starting to think the Rotec needs some serious damping to control the stroke. I'm not having a problem with the ride. I've just never had a bike that seemed to need so much rebound damping.

Just wondering if you had the same experience.

Thanks, Rick
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With the 5th on my Rotec a few years back I was never able to get the rebound quick enough, my guess was because it wasn't valved quite properly. Never noticed anything along those lines with any other shocks though, for me both the Roco and the Avy both seem to have a pretty wide adjustment range.
 
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Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
Mike Buell said:
With the 5th on my Rotec a few years back I was never able to get the rebound quick enough, my guess was because it wasn't valved quite properly. Never noticed anything along those lines with any other shocks though, for me both the Roco and the Avy both seem to have a pretty wide adjustment range.
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Thanks for your input. My problem is just the opposite of what you had with the 5th. I can get the rebound plenty fast, it's slowing in down thats the problem. I'll give PUSH a call tomorrow and see what they think.

Thanks again.
 
cheetaprowlerDH

cheetaprowlerDH

Turbo Monkey
May 24, 2006
1,001
0
surviving the hell of the living deceased... VIST
:drool::drool::drool::drool::drool::drool:

wow, the '08 looks so incredible built up!
that Avy looks like it will work like a dream on a Rotec! geez, i dont even know what my suspension is even supposed to feel like because ever since i got mine, i've been riding on a de-pressurized slow Romic... its only like that because i havent had it rebuilt for close to two years though:busted:

looks amazing! i wonder when i'll be able to park both a 2007 and a 2008 RL9 in my garage:think:
have fun:cheers:
 
BRIANBUELL

BRIANBUELL

Monkey
Nov 17, 2005
500
0
Boulder, Colorado
I'm a proud papa as of 3:30am Sunday morning. After 10 hours of labor and absolutely no self medication provided during the labor, a beautiful 2008 Rotec RL9 was brought into this world.

The finished product!!! Weighs in at 44.3, should slim down a little bit after I build up my new wheels. I'm really happy with how it came out, feels really good and after 1 test ride, no problems! Check out the pics----->
 

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John Sullivan`

John Sullivan`

Monkey
Sep 10, 2001
162
0
Seattle,WA
You should be able to loose at least another pound or so by using lighter cranks, those saints are heavy. Doesn't Shimano offer another DH worth crankset?

The bikes built up great guys, good job! Let me know how the sizing and geo feels to you.
 
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dropmachine

Turbo Monkey
Sep 7, 2001
2,922
10
Your face.
Rotecs are the ****, hands down. I have to try so hard to NOT get another one, knowing that I have nowhere that I can really ride it.

Such a great bike though.
 
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PJivan

Monkey
Aug 27, 2006
157
20
Dublin, Ireland
i'm owner of a rotec 07
IS THE FASTEST BIKE I EVER TRY!!!


here is some old pics, now i change preety much everithing, i will post new picture when i will finish everithing









 
Mike Buell

Mike Buell

Monkey
Aug 9, 2005
766
0
On my way to the top of candycane mountain in a ba
John Sullivan` said:
You should be able to loose at least another pound or so by using lighter cranks, those saints are heavy. Doesn't Shimano offer another DH worth crankset?

The bikes built up great guys, good job! Let me know how the sizing and geo feels to you.
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Hey thanks Sully, I'm pretty happy with the way it's coming out.
Shimano also makes the hone cranks, but last I checked they didn't make them in 83shell. Thought about getting some lighter cranks this year but figured it was one place I could save some $ and reuse last years parts, there also a crank I know I can trust to hold up during 6 punishing weeks of riding in Europe, don't want to have to find new parts like that over there. Especially with this exchange rate.

Only have one short ride so far, but the geo with the shorter shock feels awesome, with the fork set at 7 inches I believe I ended up with a 14.25"BB height and a 64 degree head angle. If I raise my crowns all the way and set the fork at 8" I get to a 63 degree HA for major plow action (doubt I'd ever run it like that though).

Mine is currently built at 43Lb 7 oz. and would also be supper easy to shed some weight on. New hoops to be built, DT 6.1 will help. Once Kowa gets us the new direct mount crowns we'll also be able to cut the steer tubes another inch and run lighter direct mount stems. It'll probably end up in the 41-42 range for most of this season. Also switching the drivetrain to shimano XT.
 
cheetaprowlerDH

cheetaprowlerDH

Turbo Monkey
May 24, 2006
1,001
0
surviving the hell of the living deceased... VIST
i still absolutley love the colors on mine... first thing i thought was Slayer-esque:biggrin:

i still have yet to weigh mine:busted: but i'm claiming 45 to anyone who asks...
it might weigh about 60 in this pic tho:busted:

a liiitle cleaner...

and unfortunatley... clean:biggrin:



and Mike, or was it Brian:think:, when i first go the frame and you promised me that i'll love it, well i can tell you right now that i will never leave this bike! holy crap is it amazing!


do i win the "cheapest Rotec award"? lol
 
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Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
Brian,

Have you considered running your Avy reservoir along the chain stay like the Sinister R9?

Seems like a cleaner run with less bend and movement for the hose. Not to mention, less likely for the hose to get damaged in a crash with a well placed hit where it's crossing your frame.

Not sure if it's feasible. But it looks like it would be.

Heres a pic of what I'm talking about.
 

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Mike Buell

Mike Buell

Monkey
Aug 9, 2005
766
0
On my way to the top of candycane mountain in a ba
Old_Sckool said:
Brian,

Have you considered running your Avy reservoir along the chain stay like the Sinister R9?

Seems like a cleaner run with less bend and movement for the hose. Not to mention, less likely for the hose to get damaged in a crash with a well placed hit where it's crossing your frame.

Not sure if it's feasible. But it looks like it would be.

Heres a pic of what I'm talking about.
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I looked at mounting it like that, I actually had it all mounted up to see it had a really clean routing to the seat stay. Decided against it for the sprung weight reason Sully mentioned above, and also with the way the linkage moves with the parallelogram, the reservoir, would move back with the seat stay and it would be hard to keep it from hitting the brake caliper.
 
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Old_Sckool

Monkey
Jun 5, 2007
187
0
Mike Buell said:
I looked at mounting it like that, I actually had it all mounted up to see it had a really clean routing to the seat stay. Decided against it for the sprung weight reason Sully mentioned above, and also with the way the linkage moves with the parallelogram, the reservoir, would move back with the seat stay and it would be hard to keep it from hitting the brake caliper.
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Yeah, I kinda wondered about the brake. Seemed at the very least you'd need a shorter hose. Also couldn't decide about hose movement since both the swingarm and seat stays move, seemed like it might move it in a "inchworm" pattern. Thanks for letting me know, just something I was wondering about when I was considering an Avy.

Not sure how much a problem sprung weight would be, the resi is fairly light. But I guess every little bit helps. Sully says so, that's good enough for me.
 
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