Front shock help

[SWR]

My 2013 tmec seems to bottom out easily. What can I do to stiffen it up?

[darmst6829]

Originally Posted by SWR

My 2013 tmec seems to bottom out easily. What can I do to stiffen it up?

Try a little more fork oil, like 20cc per fork. If that's not enough stiffness cut off a couple of coils from each spring then make up the missing length with a spacer such as a chunk of PVC pipe...old racer trick. The shorter the spring the stiffer it becomes.

[SWR]

Just pour it in front the top?

[Bruce's]

Yes ,fork oil gets added from the top .I might be worth your while to drain what you have ,clean out the fork internals ,then go with all new ,from the answers you have given it doesn't sound like you have messed with forks before .Also did your forks always underperform or is this a new thing .

[2LZ]

Does the TMEC have USD forks? If they're the regular forks, on top of adding a little extra fluid, you can cut a piece of PVC pipe an inch or two long (depending on how stiff you want them) and run them under the fork caps on top of the springs. This pushes down on the spring and stiffens them. I've done it to a lot of sacked forks in the past.

[culcune]

TMECs have USD forks

[SWR]

Yes they are USD forks. It's been like that since I've had it. Went riding with some guys on a few fire breaks and off road trails this past weekend and noticed that they seem to bottom out fairly easy. I do weigh 220 lbs though. Lol

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by SWR

Yes they are USD forks. It's been like that since I've had it. Went riding with some guys on a few fire breaks and off road trails this past weekend and noticed that they seem to bottom out fairly easy. I do weigh 220 lbs though. Lol

Ok...so the PVC pipe trick won't work. Odds are, if you change the fork fluid to the proper amount of some decent 10W fluid, that will help tremendously. It's also fun for entertainment value to see how far off each fork is regarding fill amounts from the factory that you drain out.

[SWR]

How much is the correct amount to put in after draining?

[pete]

Changing to a thicker fork oil won't make the forks stiffer..
it will just take them a little longer "half a second or so" to sag
to where they were with a thiner oil..

new springs or preload the ones in it...

thicker oil will do 2 things..
1... make the forks less complyant over small
sharp bumps... harsher..

2... slow down the return "rebound damping"
if the rebound is to slow the forks don't get
a chance te return enough between close bumps
so they slowly get harder on each consecitive bump..

the trick is to run the minimin amount of compression &
rebound damping for the terrain & your riding style...

go no higher than a oil with a CST rating of 15
unless yer road only rider...
(thats in the 5 to 7.5 weight range)



...

[humanbeing]

Maybe similar to http://www.chinariders.net/showthrea...t=10266&page=4
What's the stamped mark in forks ?

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by pete

Changing to a thicker fork oil won't make the forks stiffer..
it will just take them a little longer "half a second or so" to sag
to where they were with a thiner oil..

new springs or preload the ones in it...

thicker oil will do 2 things..
1... make the forks less complyant over small
sharp bumps... harsher..

2... slow down the return "rebound damping"
if the rebound is to slow the forks don't get
a chance te return enough between close bumps
so they slowly get harder on each consecitive bump..

the trick is to run the minimin amount of compression &
rebound damping for the terrain & your riding style...

go no higher than a oil with a CST rating of 15
unless yer road only rider...
(thats in the 5 to 7.5 weight range)



...

Agreed pete.....but keep in mind the garbage that these come with. I've had nothing but excellent results changing out the stock "mystery fluid" to a good quality 10W fork fluid.

SWR, remove front wheel, loosen the top triple clamp bolts, then loosen the fork caps, then loosen the bottom clamp bolts and drop the forks out.

Unthread the caps, slide the fork tube away from the cap and pour out the oil into a measuring cup. It SHOULD be around 220cc's out of a USD fork, if I remember correctly. Measure and pour about that much back into the fork of new, good quality fork fluid. I'm 220 pounds and 10W works for me. I prefer Bel Ray but to each their own. Some use ATF. It's all better than what you'll pour out.