How do you feel about the new 2019 500RR-S suspension?

[Go Outside]

Hi, this is my first post.
I am new to dirt bikes having only had a KLR650 and a CRF230F, both with full suspension upgrades, but have been riding motorbikes since 1994.
I just bought a 2019 Beta 500RR-S with the gen4 Sachs fork. I took the bike out to the desert and was disappointed with the forks in the slow speed rocky washes and climbs. The front end was upset really easily.
I tried to set the sag and dial in the damping but I am not noticing any response from the fork. I am capable of setting up the dampening and sag on my other bikes so i dont think it is all me, but it could be, I am very far from an expert.
In any case I did expect that I could set the dampening soft for slow trails and firm for the track and notice the changes. Or that I could change the sag with the preload adjuster.
Am I mistaken ?

[Goatse]

Uh oh. Hopefully the new forks aren't a step in the wrong direction.

[aj_mariner]

It depends on if the bike is sprung for your weight (fully geared up) and the weight of any extras installed on the bike. Im not sure if the 2018 fork spring rates are the same for 2019 since they went to a separate function fork. I would assume that the shock spring rates are the same. Best to email BetaUSA and ask. Once that’s done, or during the process of changing springs, you can decrease the amount of oil in each fork to the minimum amount required. The closed cartridge fork supplemental guide had a min and max quantity. There should be something similar for the open cartridge forks. If you are still unhappy, then have them professionally tuned by someone who’s familiar with Sachs. It was the best money I’ve spent on my bike.

[Ed Lew]

Don’t waste money on the Sachs, look for a set of KYB’s off a 2006 Yamaha yzf or 2012 Husqvarna.

[DaddyTJ]

/Funny! I have heard good things about the one 2019 125 being the best suspension they have EVER ridden. So it might be something else besides the suspension. Are your fork tubes parrallel? I thought mine were but purchased the Motion Pro alignment tool and it was eye opening. Old methods out the door and new ones in.

[Go Outside]

I took some measurements yesterday.
With stock springs and 205lb rider/gear.
The fork can be adjusted from 29mm static and 47.5mm total sag, to 37mm static and 52mm total sag. There is 15mm of stiction, which seems like alot.
The manual says for my weight i need heavier fork springs, but the measurements say i need lighter fork springs.

The rear shock with the preload maxed out gives me 26mm static and 104mm total with 8mm and 0mm stiction respectively. I will go up one spring rate.

I have 14.5 hrs on the bike, i am not sure how long it should take the fork to break-in.

[aj_mariner]

I just followed the spring rate chart. My mistake was not getting my suspension done sooner. I waited till winter to send off my boingers and wish it would have been the first thing I did. LT Racing, in Port Orchard, WA, did a great job tuning mine up at a very good price. He is local for me though. There is another dude on here named Steve, username: twowheels, who also does suspension work and has a great reputation.

I had wondered the same thing about break in. I had 60 hours, no suspension work other than just installing the right springs, and felt like they were just getting better. A little thing I noticed was that before getting the Sachs tuned, the forks got more stiff with more oil hours. Now, the forks get softer with more oil hours.

[dirtbird]

How many hours on the bike?
They need up to 10 hours to loosen up and then it's not a bad idea to replace oem oil.
Edit : just saw the hours.
Anyway the new forks don't seem to have stiction problems. Remove front preload and adjust rear for 35 to 38 static. Also check again for misalignment.
And replace fork oil with a good one at around 11cm air chamber.

[chasejj]

I took some measurements yesterday.
With stock springs and 205lb rider/gear.
The rear shock with the preload maxed out gives me 26mm static and 104mm total with 8mm and 0mm stiction respectively. I will go up one spring rate.

Explain what you mean by "maxed out".
In my world a rear shock spring is maxed out on preload around 10-15mm from full free length(Zero Preload)
Any more than that and I am shopping for a higher rate spring. This keeps the suspension working optimally and actually is softer in its initial travel.
I have seen buddies crank down preload rings 2-3 inches and complain how horrible their ride is, its because they were trying to push a spring past its intended duty.

[twowheels]

The new Sachs OC suspension on the RRs and RR-s' is designed to be adjustable from the fork caps, but lacks the overall flexibility of the previous OCs, and certainly the CC forks found on the REs.

PM me and we can discuss options if you like.

Steve