[-C-]

Has anyone done this, or had any work done to that effect?

I have an 08/09 fork (08 internals in an 09 chassis) which I want to improve the feel of. I'm circa 180lbs, and running the blue spring, but really struggling to get full travel out of the fork (by circa 0.75") but the travel I am getting feels pretty harsh. The fork doesn't seem to react well to small bumps, and is pretty harsh on the bigger hits. I'm running no preload on it, and the rebound is pretty slow.

Dare I say it, i'm looking to make it feel plusher, along the lines of a Boxxer Team and was wondering if there is anything I can do to the dmaping cartridge to improve the feel. I have read a bit about cavitation problems in the bladder, the removal of the bump stops to help this with increased compression damping etc, but i'm not very clued up when it comes to tuning suspension beyond the external knobs I can twiddle.

Is this something best left to the pro's? Is there in fact much I can do? TF Tuned don't do a huge amount with the 40, citing it as very much a love/hate fork meaning its got to go to Mojo in the UK, but I don't know if its going to be a waste of money chasing the impossible

Any suggestions? I love the stiff chassis of the 40, but want the feel of a Boxxer. I'm starting to wonder if I could make some sort of hybrid frankenfork now!

 

[mccdh]

What are you're HSC/LSC settings at?

 

[-C-]

I'll have to check, but fairly neutral from memory, they were suggested settings from Mojo but if i'm honest, unless i'm at the absolute extreme of either adjustment, I can't notice a huge difference on them...

 

[dilzy]

If you back out the adjusters all the way and your still not getting all travel on it, then I'm afraid you need to go a little harder. The 08' 40s had very few comp shims (the 09's were a bit better shimmed).

40's from my experience have never been very sensitive to small bumps and I could never figure out why. I did love the stiffness though.

888's have the best combo of both.

 

[jonKranked]

When was the last time you changed the oil and cleaned/lubed your dust wipers?

 

[dhkid]

speed up your rebound to make it less harsh on the smaller hits, your fork its probably packing down.

and if you are not getting full travel, it will be the hydraulic bottom out. keep your fork upside down when you store the bike, that way the bushings are lubed up when you want to ride, makes a world of difference.

send it off to mojo, they do good work. just ask them to set the bottom out to medium or low setting. makes a world of difference. and a some tlc for the fork goes a long way!

 

[-C-]

Oil was changed a couple of months ago, bike wasn't really ridden much but we have been out in the Alps for 2 weeks and my hands and arms have been beaten by the forks, they could do with a clean now as the sheer volume of riding over the 2 weeks will have worked them hard, which I plan to do.

Mojo suggested removing the bottom out bumpers, and running with a lot more compression to make the fork feel more linear, also opening up the oilways in the bladder to stop the cavitation issues. Maybe it was highlighted due to the volume of riding over the past few weeks.

I think i'll send the cartridge off for some work & see if Mojo can do anything. I don't want to give up on them just yet, and it seems silly not to at least try?

 

[jonKranked]

Oil was changed a couple of months ago, bike wasn't really ridden much but we have been out in the Alps for 2 weeks and my hands and arms have been beaten by the forks, they could do with a clean now as the sheer volume of riding over the 2 weeks will have worked them hard, which I plan to do.

Mojo suggested removing the bottom out bumpers, and running with a lot more compression to make the fork feel more linear, also opening up the oilways in the bladder to stop the cavitation issues. Maybe it was highlighted due to the volume of riding over the past few weeks.

I think i'll send the cartridge off for some work & see if Mojo can do anything. I don't want to give up on them just yet, and it seems silly not to at least try?

I'd recommend an oil change and wiper cleaning before trying anything else. Cheapest & easiest (not to mention quickest) thing to try. Personally, I can really notice the difference in small bump compliance between dirty wipers and oil (fork feels harsh, small bump compliance suffers), and fresh oil with clean, properly lubed wipers (I'd recommend packing them with Slick Honey).


As far as your bottoming issue, I have no advice aside from what has already been mentioned.

 

[CoyoteRun]

maybe running a lighter spring, with a lot preload would help. Friend of mine weight the same as you are, and he was running the Blk spring. And he rides pretty aggressivly

 

[CoyoteRun]

wait, purple spring, not black.

maybe running a lighter spring, with a lot preload would help. Friend of mine weight the same as you are, and he was running the Blk spring. And he rides pretty aggressivly

 

[Kanye West]

Soak the foam wiper in 20w gear oil.

 

[nh dude]

Soak the foam wiper in 20w gear oil.

does that oil stay put longer than the 7.5 weight or 10 weight ?
i touch up the seals every month or so unless it is super muddy.

additionally
the fox tech @ mt snow traded me a destroyed 06 damper for an 08 rebuilt damper, which was very generous. I thought the difference between the 2 were significant. I am running only 3 or 4 clicks from wide open for rebound and have lsc and hsc wide open on a 180# spring. the fork stood higher in the travel. BUT... i did put new seals on as well and did 4 runs so im still waiting for them to finish adjusting.

 

[buckoW]

Sounds like you just need a rebuild/service. Sometimes you can suck air into the fork and it makes it too progressive and overly harsh on the small stuff. The Fox site has some good info for doing it yourself with some good tricks as well. It doesn't sound like a tuning problem and the Alps will give any fork a hard time.