Forks or Shock which is more important?

SpDyKen

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Mar 27, 2005
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To not taint my initial opinion, I have not read the other comments posted here yet; I'll post my thoughts later as well, after reading and contemplating the opinions of others.

The answer I would have preferred to give was not an option. I feel that they are both equally important. I do believe, however, that many people are unaware how important the rear suspension set-up is in relationship to the steering and overall handling of their bike. Many believe that the fork has the primary role in steering & handling performance, mistakenly, IMHO.

Just my $0.02 worth, KW
 

dirtracker

Member
Jun 21, 2006
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:cool:I voted for C.I agree to you jeremy. A good expert rider could finnish a race with a blown fork/flat front tire or ride a bike with no front tire ha ha ha!!!! But hell no with blown shock!!! [Think it that way CARMICHAEL was DNF in 06 SX in ST Louis MO becuase of a broken shock spring. If it was a blown fork he might not be in the podium but will still get some points]


Jeremy Wilkey said:
Nikki,
The infamous event "death swap from hell"? That grusome responce was non-other than your shock. Your fork postion was not helping but when your tuner made a bad tunning descion and softened up your shock rebound up it got worse.. (Sorry about that.. :p )


Suspension must work in balence, however the shock IMO is about the most critical.. If one is bad you will pay the price, but if the shock is bad you'll go twice as slow...or crash twice as hard..
Jer
 

Milhaus

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Jan 26, 2005
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I'm going to say it depends on the bike and the rider. For instance, my 01 cr250r forks springs are supposedly good for a rider up to 195lbs. The shock spring however is good only up to 165lbs. So, which do you think is more problematic for a 220lb rider like me? Shock no doubt, as I am just too far off the recommended path for it. Nothing felt right on the bike....felt slow, anything mroe than that would be squirrelly. Forget about bumps and jumps, the rhythm of the bike made them unmanageable. Was really on the verge of getting rid of it altogether or quitting riding.
Instead I got around to adding a stiffer spring, and got the shock revalved at the same time (shop said it was leaking all over too). Cant wait to try it out and if it looks promising, the forks are coming off next for the same treatment!
 

KawiDave

Member
Feb 3, 2005
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Well here is my 2 cents worth, I've read all these posts, went out to my shop, looked at my bikes and realized my 02' KDX200 best represents my answer. I think the rear is important but the forks are by far way more important. On probably the most unbalanced stock machine the KDX is a pain, but toss in some proper front forks and the smoke clears. The rear collars can be messed with on most spring rates on any bike and that will help out but forks are a whole different story, that my opinion anyway.
 

Sage

dirtbike riding roadracer
Mar 28, 2001
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I can't believe this thread is still going! well 5 years later I still think the shock is golden if your on the gas, I guess i'll check back in a few more years!
 

bigmickstar

Member
Sep 18, 2006
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Terrible forks are a serious hazard to your health...

I've got an '03 SH CR500 that I had a local Race Tech rep rebuild. They're so stiff now I swear it's plum full of cement. I've determined using a zip ty I'm using 4" of travel...for MX!! Now I've ridden an older CR500 that had no oil in the shock. That was pretty bad. But my forks take the cake on this topic. My bike is now not only painfull to ride, but just flat dangerous. Won't turn, won't go straight, transmits every pebble and blade of grass to the bars...did I mention it's scary to ride?
 

iamdawalru5

Member
Apr 26, 2006
82
1
Interesting topic. I'm one of the both are equal people. One thing I will say is that my friends old kx250's shocks rebound was so bad that you would fly over the bars trying to land a 3 foot jump. I know that because it happened to me. I also have experience with great rear suspension accented by horrible forks on a cr250. That meant that I couldnt turn for crap on the track and was getting killed by a ttr 125. I like good suspension ehemmmmm suzuki ehemmmmmmmm...
 

onedesign1

Member
Oct 31, 2006
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As long as I am on the gas, My shock is the most important but once I let off to slow the forlks are more important. and if inbetween something isint right and I am losing time.
 

bclark001

Member
Sep 12, 2007
230
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I agree if your shock is not setup it is very difficult to ride well but same applies to the fork if it's not set up it ain't worth a $*!#. but all in all if I had to make a choice it would prob. be the fork
 

Shaw520

Damn Yankees
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May 14, 2000
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I do know that when the shock is not properly tuned to the riders weight, it can make the bike unmanagable and unable to power through turns, we steer more with the rear than you might think.
Although,.. improper tuned forks can cause havock when breaking into turns, but I believe that we as riders can compensate more for an ill tuned front end than we can for an ill tuned rear end. (say that 5 times) :whoa:
 

kiwijohn

Member
Dec 22, 2004
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Throw my 5 cents in...... I will go with the shock for the MX riders (since they are generally on the gas or in the air most of the time) - and forks / shock together for the enduro guys.

Also the quicker guys will probably have different thoughts to an old fart like me but hey - it's my 5 cents:)
 

gearhead119

Member
Mar 18, 2008
6
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riding a bike that has blown fork seals is annoying...they don't work right and usually prevent your brakes from working to their potential.. BUT! ever tried riding something with a blown shock... don't even bother! like riding a pogo stick.

Without a properly working shock most bikes are useless.
 

helio lucas

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Jun 20, 2007
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the shock is important not only to control the bounce of the rear wheel but also to control the bike geometry... if you ride a bike with a blown shock (no oil) not only you could jump to the front of the bike in a small bump, as could happen a uncontrol instability in the front...
sure the forks also control the geometry but not to such an extent as the shock...
and if you ride with a bad forks the most likely is always that you gas the bike will make a wheelie :)

for me the bike geometry is far more important than the bump absortion capacity... thats why we have all the work to set sag and heights...
 

Shaw520

Damn Yankees
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May 14, 2000
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2strokerfun said:
I mostly ride a 1976 Elsinore. What is this thing you call a shock??

76' elsinore didnt actually have a shock,... it had two sticks with springs on them.... :whoa:
 

bigbear08

Member
Jul 27, 2009
54
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i think that the geometry is the key to having a good handling bike. on my xt 250, when i changed the rear tire, i noticed it was taller from the rim to the top of the tire. this made the rear end sit up higher and caused the handling of the bike to be alot different than it was before. it made it hairy to make turns on slick surfaces, and made the bars swap back and forth. my vote is for the shock being most important, but the fork is what is "felt" more.
 

FLYING.FINN

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Mar 3, 2010
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A "crappy" front end will kill your upper body and give you spagetti arms for a week,...but think of the massive control the rear-end gives us...whiplashing to the left...to the right..all under full-throttle keeping us going forward in a straight line. Even coming off a doozy of a jump...sideways!...the rear-end straightens you out,..you "HIT" that throttle again, (unless you never even backed off!), and with space-age precision...somehow the rear-end just guides your a$$ onto the straight and narrow.....put me down for the " REAR-END".... THE END. :cool:
 

pesky nz

Member
Sep 13, 2010
296
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my confidence comes from trusting my front end will stay out front (the rear must follow within reason) I can also use my legs to make up for the rear easier than have steering I don't trust
 
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