[JJHACK]

I have a Stinky D with this fork. I was wondering what is involved in the adjustment process to make the fork stiff or Less likely to compress. Can I adjust this out to a certian degree or do I need to replace an internal coil spring?

I bottom out the fork pretty regular and weigh 175 pounds. I'm not doing anything brutal when I ride, it just seems soft. I also heard that it will get stiffer with use which contridicts what my other Marz forks did after breakin. They seemed to get softer and smoother with use?

I'm no fork, suspension, or bike expert I just pedal hard! TIA

 

[WTGPhoben]

yes, the little caps on the crown at the top of each leg are preload adjustors (they turn). they should have a + - marking on them to tell you which way does what

 

[WTGPhoben]

some more bomber tips:

bombers are set up so you use 90% of the travel almost all the time, so you might not actually be bottoming the fork at all. you should put a zip tie on your stancion and actually measure that you are bottoming (note: the legs should come within about .5" of the crown when bottoming)

if you are:
open up the fork. the springs should have a dab of red paint on the (170-205lb springs). If they have a yellow, white, or no dab of paint, you have springs that are too light. the heaviest springs have a green dab (195-240lb).

hope that helps

EDIT: yes, the fork will get softer after riding it for a while. If it gets stiff, that means its time to change the oil.

 

[JJHACK]

When you say "open up the fork" where do I do this? At the top of one leg? Never opened up a fork before please excuse my lack of experience on this. Being that there is a spring inside will it launch out when the top is pulled off?

 

[WTGPhoben]

Originally posted by JJHACK
When you say "open up the fork" where do I do this? At the top of one leg? Never opened up a fork before please excuse my lack of experience on this. Being that there is a spring inside will it launch out when the top is pulled off?

this is the 2001 Z1 manual . It gives all the details

 

[JJHACK]

!!

 

[WTGPhoben]

no prob... also check out this thread .

 

[KonaDude]

Also, in a Bomber, if you do bottom out frequently (signified by a loud CLANG!!), raise the oil HEIGHT. Don't crank down the preload, it's a sag adjustment and will not affect spring rate considerably. IT won't stop bottomout problems. Raise the oil height (remove top caps, put 5-10cc's of fork oil in each leg, fork oil should be 7.5 weight, available at any shop), and you'll notice a big difference.

If your fork is stock, it will have the red (heavy) springs in it. Do the oil height adjustment. Bombers come low on oil pretty often.

Do an oil change after a month or so of riding, then twice a year after that. The fork breaks in and leaves small metal flakes in the oil. After that, you can go longer between oil changes.

 

[WTGPhoben]

Originally posted by KonaDude
Also, in a Bomber, if you do bottom out frequently (signified by a loud CLANG!!), raise the oil HEIGHT. Don't crank down the preload, it's a sag adjustment and will not affect spring rate considerably. IT won't stop bottomout problems. Raise the oil height (remove top caps, put 5-10cc's of fork oil in each leg, fork oil should be 7.5 weight, available at any shop), and you'll notice a big difference.

If your fork is stock, it will have the red (heavy) springs in it. Do the oil height adjustment. Bombers come low on oil pretty often.

Do an oil change after a month or so of riding, then twice a year after that. The fork breaks in and leaves small metal flakes in the oil. After that, you can go longer between oil changes.

agreed