[allsk8sno]

try 45 psi main springs and compress the fork slightly to get the negative air chamber to the correct pressure, i have mine set so it drops the fork about half centimeter into its travel.

for reference i weigh 150lbs and run about 20psi in both
mine is the '06 66sl

 

[Yeti]

ok, i have finished figuring this fork out. found a section near my home i can use as a rock garden "test facility" and some corners with berms.
after some hours of playing around with the fork got this numbers (cliks counted from fully open position):
(+/- 10)130psi spring, (+/- 2) 40psi bottom out, 6cliks compression, 13cliks rebound. this is my neutral setting.
i am 97kg and ride a v10.
would be cool to see other ppl posting their settings too...u noe who u are!
and vitox, don't be lazy, valparaiso is over allready or are ur boys in argentina now racing or something?

 

[Inclag]

ok, i have finished figuring this fork out. found a section near my home i can use as a rock garden "test facility" and some corners with berms.
after some hours of playing around with the fork got this numbers (cliks counted from fully open position):
(+/- 10)130psi spring, (+/- 2) 40psi bottom out, 6cliks compression, 13cliks rebound. this is my neutral setting.
i am 97kg and ride a v10.
would be cool to see other ppl posting their settings too...u noe who u are!
and vitox, don't be lazy, valparaiso is over allready or are ur boys in argentina now racing or something?

???????
You need to run the same if not more pressure for bottom out according to Marzocchi.

Installed mine yesterday and this is definately a sweet fork. Need to spend a little more time tuning mine, but setup is incredibly easy IMHO if you know how to properly setup suspension, much more so than a coil fork. I'll agree that the numbers that Marzocchi recommends don't carry much weight and whoever said to use about half the reccomended pressure as at least a starting point, that's about right, and then just go from there.

 

[Yeti]

???????
You need to run the same if not more pressure for bottom out according to Marzocchi.

Installed mine yesterday and this is definately a sweet fork. Need to spend a little more time tuning mine, but setup is incredibly easy IMHO if you know how to properly setup suspension, much more so than a coil fork. I'll agree that the numbers that Marzocchi recommends don't carry much weight and whoever said to use about half the reccomended pressure as at least a starting point, that's about right, and then just go from there.

i m just tellin u what wokred out for me today on that section. went out there again and i think i will run a bit more in the bottom out cause of brake jack...but i don t think i will use more than in the spring chamber. could u try some settings and post them?

 

[Udi]

???????
You need to run the same if not more pressure for bottom out according to Marzocchi.

From all reports i've heard the fork is far too progressive in stock guise. People seem to be running minimum pressure in the PAR chamber, and a certain bright guy actually removed the PAR floating piston altogether to allow the fork to have a springrate curve more similar to the 888RC2X (which is pretty damn progressive anyway!).

 

[zahgurim]

I'm 90kg, and am running 110psi in the spring, 120 in the PAR, 13 clicks rebound, 4 clicks compression.

 

[zero knowledge]

I think Marzocchi's recommendation is at least 30psi more pressure in the PAR (bottom-out) chamber in order to avoid damaging the floating piston.

With marz's recommended 85psi/115psi in main/par for my 63kg the spring rate was almost ok and I could not get to the last inch of travel -- way too progressive. While playing with pressures with mine, I found out that the PAR chamber was slowly loosing pressure. After opening the air spring assembly and pumping from the PAR valve I could see tiny bubbles around the inner o-ring of the floating piston. I took the PAR part of the assembly out and removed the floating piston. It was tied to the bottom part of the assembly with some kind of thread. It was defective anyway, so I'll try over the weekend if it's less progressive without it.

 

[Udi]

With marz's recommended 85psi/115psi in main/par for my 63kg the spring rate was almost ok and I could not get to the last inch of travel -- way too progressive. While playing with pressures with mine, I found out that the PAR chamber was slowly loosing pressure. After opening the air spring assembly and pumping from the PAR valve I could see tiny bubbles around the inner o-ring of the floating piston. I took the PAR part of the assembly out and removed the floating piston. It was tied to the bottom part of the assembly with some kind of thread. It was defective anyway, so I'll try over the weekend if it's less progressive without it.

That should help a lot, and if you want to make it more linear still (hope vitox doesn't mind me saying this) you can also remove the volume reducer that sits on the damper shaft in the damping leg. The volume reducer serves to make the fork more progressive, and again it's not neccessary as the air leg seems to make the fork progressive enough as it is.

 

[vitox]

i just got a new proto part from my machinist, assembled the not-quite-stock ATA cart and have it under surveillance to see if it holds air, if it does ill test it myself this weekend, im looking forward to this!

no worries on the "disclosure" udi, not quite rocket science anyways, and to zeroknowledge, whats your take, ive experienced no real improvement in the travel dept by removing the floating piston but those two oring seals removed do account for some stiction. still my experiments with the ATA are in line with your findings of too much progressivity due to a very very small chamber volume at bottom out, my new system should cure this but w/o field testing im not going into any more detail.

 

[Yeti]

let us know how it goes vitox. i broke the C-links on my v10 yesterday so i should be out of dh bike for some time now plus there is some lousy weather coming around, and decided to send my 888sl to akira tuning (the guy doing caluoris suspension)...talked to him and he s going to experiment with it....maybe u two could share some information and get better and rule the world or something. let me know, cheers!

 

[vitox]

field experiment was successful for full travel and also confirmed our theories about the original air volume in the ata cartridge, ill readjust neg air volume to reflect the higher pressure we are now running and also see how removing the oil seal works.

 

[zero knowledge]

Thanks for the tip udi and vitox, indeed the volume reducer did make the most part of this progressiveness. I haven't got full travel yet, but I didn't try to. I'm finding the rebound to be too slow for my taste, I raised the pressure a bit to 100psi and I'm still on the min setting -- still slow but at least rideable. I might try lighter oil, but I don't know if the low-speed compression adjuster will work properly -- I'm already at 5-7 clicks and the adjuster on my 06 888 made the fork a bit harsh at more than 7 clicks.

 

[snowskilz]

Everyone Please post your weight and set ups once you have the fork dialed in. Just got mine and want to see what is working for everyone else. Its a super sweet fork

 

[Udi]

I'm finding the rebound to be too slow for my taste, I raised the pressure a bit to 100psi and I'm still on the min setting -- still slow but at least rideable. I might try lighter oil, but I don't know if the low-speed compression adjuster will work properly -- I'm already at 5-7 clicks and the adjuster on my 06 888 made the fork a bit harsh at more than 7 clicks.

Rebound on the front should be set quite fast generally, with the rear only a little bit slower - so it really is a pain if the frontend's rebound is too slow at minimum settings. My friend's RC2X had the same issue and we switched it to silkolene pro RSF 2.5wt (13.6cst) and it helped.. might be worth trying.

You can just wind in the LSC adjuster a little more to compensate for the loss of damping if needed, especially if you are only using a few clicks of it as-is.

The only problem I found was, lighter oil seems to make the damping noise of the fork louder... but that's a small price to pay to have it working right.

 

[al-irl]

im about 90kg and have setteled with 100psi in the main chamber 110 in the bottom out and about 10 clicks of rebound. Not sure what the comperession is set at as my adjuster has fallen off. Not quite getting full travell but happy with the forks performace so far.

 

[snowskilz]

got my first ride in this weekend. after 1 run the fork was def alot more broken in. The fork felt super stiff before the run and at the bottom it was super sweet. i adjusted the top pressure just a bit to tune it to my liking. so far i have it tuned to 100lbs top and 140 and it feels super plush. i weigh 220 lbs

 

[godzilla]

got my first ride in this weekend. after 1 run the fork was def alot more broken in. The fork felt super stiff before the run and at the bottom it was super sweet. i adjusted the top pressure just a bit to tune it to my liking. so far i have it tuned to 100lbs top and 140 and it feels super plush. i weigh 220 lbs

Sweet - you'll have to let me know your thoughts as you get more time on it. I plan to order one for my D8 once the new lowers for my 40 arrive and I can throw it on ebay (my lowers on my 40 lasted a whole day and a half before I pierced them, my first ride ended with a scratched stanchion which is also getting replaced. I've taken this as a bad omen and decided to replace the fork before the season really starts)

 

[sbabuser]

My friend's RC2X had the same issue and we switched it to silkolene pro RSF 2.5wt (13.6cst) and it helped..

That's funny, I didn't have any issues w/ my rc2x having slow rebound, and never heard a complaint like that b4 with that fork. Might've been something amiss from the factory with your friend's...

 

[Udi]

Either that or you (like the majority of people's bikes I ride) just run your rebound too slow. Seems far more likely to me, but thanks for the suggestion.

The damper is fine BTW, everything works as intended - just as with many forks, the minimum rebound setting is on the slow side for lighter riders (who run less compression damping which means that less rebound damping is also needed to stop the fork getting deeper into its travel over consecutive fast impacts).

 

[snowskilz]

Either that or you (like the majority of people's bikes I ride) just run your rebound too slow. Seems far more likely to me, but thanks for the suggestion.

actually 10 of us on our team didnt have any issues with our 888's. Racers from pro to sport. we like our forks so much that half of us have upgraded to 888sl's Mayb you should rethink your comment saying someone doesnt know their bike is not nice

oh and this thread is about the 888sl, lets try to keep it on topic k?

 

[Udi]

oh and this thread is about the 888sl, lets try to keep it on topic k?

Do you want to start by telling me how I wasn't staying on topic? I love it when people have to make up accusations to prove a point.

One person suggested they weren't getting a fast enough rebound setting on the stock SL, I suggested a lighter oil. The RC2X and SL share the same rebound/LSC damper.

Cheers!

 

[John P.]

Just to chime in . . . I weigh 150 lbs and am running 55 PSI in the main chamber and 85 PSI in the bottom out on my 888. Doesn't seem like a whole hell of a lot of air pressure, but it feels great.

--JP

 

[Inclag]

Also chiming in to try to clear up some things about the fork since there seems to be alot of conflicting information as unfortunately the Marzocchi manual doesn't touch on a few things.

This information is straight from Marzocchi's mouth. Always keep at least 30 psi or more in the lower PAR chamber than the upper ATA chamber, if you don't do so you could damage the floating piston in the PAR. Also you should fill up the PAR chamber before filling the ATA, and if you need to de-pressurize the fork, release the air from the ATA first.

Also, the seals on the floating PAR piston can be tight to begin with. If you de-pressurize the fork and drop the floating piston then start filling the PAR chamber, you can hear this piston "Pop" as pressure increases and it crawls up inside the air chamber because of the stiction. The initial stiction after a break in period should go away. It isn't uncommon that out of the box the end of travel feels too progressive, or the last inch or so isn't useable which is leading some people to remove the PAR which isn't neccesary.

I weigh around 180 and I am running 75 in the ATA and 110 in the PAR. Don't have enough real ride time though to recommend a low speed compression setting.

BTW, I haven't gotten around to it yet, but isn't it possible to open up the RC2 cartridge and use that black aluminum air pump adapter to add some pressure to the RC2 cartridge?

 

[vitox]

or the last inch or so isn't useable which is leading some people to remove the PAR which isn't neccesary.

BTW, I haven't gotten around to it yet, but isn't it possible to open up the RC2 cartridge and use that black aluminum air pump adapter to add some pressure to the RC2 cartridge?

there is no way with the stock fork that you can add pressure to the rc2 side, plus, if you were to somehow stick an adapter in the top cap, you wouldnt be doing anything by pumping air into the space between the top cap and the volume spacer, as its a sealed chamber.

the reason for removing the par piston isnt to get more useable travel, if anyone if doing this then they wont be successful, i have done that since i do not think the design needs any more progressivity and that the friction coming from the two orings is unnecesary. i do however know my way around that cartridge and i can tell you that if you were to take it out, take all the air out, and try to bottom it out, then youd have to be a lot stronger than i am to be successfull, even with no air, this is why its hard to get full travel out of it, its like a reserve of travel, for some uses its great, for some i think not so much.

 

[Inclag]

there is no way with the stock fork that you can add pressure to the rc2 side, plus, if you were to somehow stick an adapter in the top cap, you wouldnt be doing anything by pumping air into the space between the top cap and the volume spacer, as its a sealed chamber.

the reason for removing the par piston isnt to get more useable travel, if anyone if doing this then they wont be successful, i have done that since i do not think the design needs any more progressivity and that the friction coming from the two orings is unnecesary. i do however know my way around that cartridge and i can tell you that if you were to take it out, take all the air out, and try to bottom it out, then youd have to be a lot stronger than i am to be successfull, even with no air, this is why its hard to get full travel out of it, its like a reserve of travel, for some uses its great, for some i think not so much.

Thanks for clearing that up Vitox. I haven't opened the RC2 cartridge, and hadn't spoke with Marzocchi about that one particular. I had heard that people were able to thread an adapter to the RC2 damper side on the new 66sl ata and add low pressures 0-10psi. For whatever reason beats me. I figured that maybe the same was true with 888 since it came with a black adapter.

 

[iron1]

Do I need an adapter to run an 8in. disc? How hard are they to set up?

 

[snowskilz]

yes manitou post mount adapter. for an 8 inch rotor

 

[iron1]

So to run a 888 sl ata with an 8 inch rotor you need a manitou adapter????

 

[S.K.C.]

Yeti - you are tha man.

I've been waiting for your review, and so far it sounds like a pretty good fork. I'm about 90% sure I'll be getting one for 08'.

BIG changes on the horizon for Marz stuff in the future BTW.

yeah...wanted to post a review before...

...and what exactly do u mean by changes for zoki?

Yeti - sorry I didn't reply to your question but had I done so, I'm pretty sure ninjas would have killed me in my sleep.

I hate being a tease, but I just saw some info on the new Marzocchi 2008 888 lineup...

...you guys are gonna LOVE what's coming...

:biggrin:

 

[snowskilz]

dood skc, you suck

 

[Dogboy]

So to run a 888 sl ata with an 8 inch rotor you need a manitou adapter????

You need a post-mount adapter.

 

[S.K.C.]

dood skc, you suck

Sorry...:biggrin:

I wish I could say more - maybe in a month or 2.

In 08' there will definitely be something cool for everyone: FR, DH, AM.

 

[bizutch]

wow...just made the mistake of pumping mine to the stock settings and SUCK. Rock hard.
It didn't come with an owner's manual to tell you what does what on the damn thing. It just said "tighten pinch bolts"

 

[Yeti]

Sorry...:biggrin:

I wish I could say more - maybe in a month or 2.

In 08' there will definitely be something cool for everyone: FR, DH, AM.

vitox allready told me a bit about it...

 

[bizutch]

rode mine in over Friday and Saturday and I don't know what you nuts are raving about. It felt like a ton of bricks no matter how far I backed out the air. I'm 195lbs and was at right around half of stock recommendations on both chambers and have my first case of forearm pump in years.

Who wants to buy it?

 

[Yeti]

after a the first test ride on a really hard rocky dh track, where i really felt like having my whole 200mm,i have decided to sell mine...i just kept getting around 175mm of travel...which is not what the brochure said it has!...hehe, anyway getting a cheap boxxer, tuning it and wait for the new 888. cheers!

 

[Udi]

Yeah they have a physical inability to use all their travel, proved by vitox being unable to bottom his air cartridge out even when emptied to zero pressure.

The problem is that there is too little volume in the cartridge at 200mm travel for it to be able to actually bottom out.

Sell it and buy a boxxer

 

[bizutch]

Yeah they have a physical inability to use all their travel, proved by vitox being unable to bottom his air cartridge out even when emptied to zero pressure.

The problem is that there is too little volume in the cartridge at 200mm travel for it to be able to actually bottom out.

Sell it and buy a boxxer

I'll be happy to.

 

[vitox]

I'll be happy to.

well there is a fairly simple mod to get it up to full travel, pm me if you want details on it, only drawback to it is that you have to do some fine tuning to the progression rate, but it gets rid of 3 seals with the resulting stiction decrease.

 

[bizutch]

well there is a fairly simple mod to get it up to full travel, pm me if you want details on it, only drawback to it is that you have to do some fine tuning to the progression rate, but it gets rid of 3 seals with the resulting stiction decrease.

over the years, I've learned there are 2 things I don't do because of my bad mechanical skills:
1. Bleed brakes.
2. Mod my fork.

I've drained and re-filled the oil...but that even scares the crap out of me.

Make that THREE:
3. Trust any local bike mechanic when it comes to forks.