What are your opinions on race tech???

[trialsmasta]

They seem to be a pretty big company, and you can’t beat that do it yourself price. I’m thinking about doing the whole package on my 2003 rm 125, given that I’m on a budget do you think race tech is a good alternative? I realize the customer suppose is utter ****e, but I think once I get the correct shim stacks I should be able to do this myself.

 

[marcusgunby]

I really like the 03 RM suspension, for my weight (165lb) its mainly just needs a softer rear spring and maybe slightly softer compression valving on the shock.How do you feel about the std suspension?? i think as a leaning tool RT is very usefull.

 

[trialsmasta]

Well I weigh 170, and I thought the rear was way soft, front was pretty sweet although there was a bit of bottoming so I went in 3 clicks from stock on that. Rear I'm running 95mm sag, about 3-4 clicks in on LS compression from stock, and 1 to 3/4 turns out on the HS compression. I can't remeber what stock setting where so I can't tell you the number of turns out from all the way in but I basically set my suspension to stock and started turning till it felt good. I had to go in on everything. Ideally I think the front needs more HS compression and the rear more LS. I'm acutally contemplating just leaving it as is cause I'm weary that Race tech won't be able to do better than stock.

 

[marcusgunby]

I wonder if the rear spring rate is the same on the euro spec RM's??im a bit confused why you find the rear so soft-however the one i rode was almost new so maybe it was still tight.

 

[trialsmasta]

Originally posted by marcusgunby
I wonder if the rear spring rate is the same on the euro spec RM's??im a bit confused why you find the rear so soft-however the one i rode was almost new so maybe it was still tight.

Man watching some FIM world round MX I think I understand why the supsension might be a bit stiff, those courses had like no jumps. They did seen to get a bit rough though. My bike has either a 4.8 or 4.9 in the rear.

 

[DEANSFASTWAY]

Marcus do euros get progressive springs more often ?

 

[marcusgunby]

Yes we seem to-however i think i know why trialsmaster feels the shock is soft-the seat gets mushy very fast and makes it feel like the suspension is soft-if you watch the rear end it isnt.The valve stack on the compression is a stiff as most average weight riders could accept IMO.

 

[trialsmasta]

Hey marcus have you done any modifications to your bikes suspension?

 

[marcusgunby]

Im bikeless :( :( sorry if it appeared i have a RM-i actually have had a KX125-the RM is a friends, he lets me ride it when i feel in the mood.Im going to revalve his shock softer as its beating him up.

 

[TR]

The real advantage with the Race Tech products is you can "do it yourself". I think they were the only company which was willing to demystify suspension tuning. I have used their products for about 3 years and on a number of different bikes. Once you get the hang of suspension tuning, you can do it yourself. Some specialist tools make work easier, like an impact wrench and fork oil height measuring device.

However, if you are going to take your bike to a suspension tuner, let them do it their way. Experienced tuners can usually make the standard pistons work well.

 

[Robcolo]

Over the past year, I installed RT Gold Valves in both forks & shock. The supplied directions are quite good and the mechanical end of it is pretty straight forwards if you have some previous mechanical ability. The included video is very good -especially if you aren't all that familiar with the insides of your suspension. Following their "recommended" shim configurations gets you pretty darn close to a good useable setup - which in my particular case was way better than stock. The stacks recommended are based on also using their recommended spring rates, so if you use a different rate [like your stock spring] then the shim stack won't be right. I ended up re-revalving each end several times to "fine tune" it and am pretty pleased overall -and now have a bit of a feeling for what changing the shims feels like when riding. Keep good notes ! I designed and made several tools that really speed up & simlplify taking the shock apart - necessary if you end up re-revalving several times.