Trainer Forks with K9 Kit installed

[LRM]

I'm a new member her and new to Beta. But not new to off road riding. I currently have a 18 TE250 & a 15 350 6Days. I just pick up a new 2018 Xtrainer. I had done my research before I purchased the XT, so I new what to expect. So I had the dealer install the proper weight springs for me and the K9 Kit.
When I picked up the bike, the Tech that had done the work on the bike, told not to adjust the compression on the fork, without dismantling it. My obvious question was, 'What the hell'? He explained that the adjuster is under so much pressure, that the brass adjuster would just break off. Has anyone else been told this? I haven't tried to move it yet, but if this is all true, Beta has just suckered me out of $400!

[wwguy]

Aaron Hlad, owner of All Moto Performance (AMP) Suspension in Montana, has spent considerable time working with the Xtrainer suspension and is gaining a good reputation and loyal following of happy Xtrainer customers. His girlfriend rides an Xtrainer, so he's highly motivated to keep tinkering with it.

I haven't personally ridden on his work, as I've already replaced my Xtrainer suspension at significant cost, but his logical and insightful comments ring true for me.

Aaron has this to say about the K9 kit (copied from his Facebook post on the topic):

"A look into the BPS-K9 fork cartridge kit sold for the Beta Xtrainer.

Unfortunately this kit does not fix the inherent Xtrainer fork issues. The K9 kit is identical to the OEM cartridge with the exception of negligible valving changes and an ineffective compression adjuster.

The compression circuit is tailored with the same mushy low speed damping and slightly less high speed damping. The rebound circuit is the exact same as OEM.

At $386.99 USD you are essentially buying an extra OEM cartridge with a compression adjuster that hardly works. The kit fails to make any meaningful changes or corrections to the OEMs short comings.

With AMP valving, this kit can be made to perform at the same level as our OEM revalve, with the added benefit of a very adjustable compression circuit.

Our pricing starts at $250 per revalve and corrects many of the factories shortcomings. All while tailoring your suspension to you and your riding. Whether its OEM or aftermarket, there is major performance gains to be had."

If interested, he also has this to say about the stock fork, from this post:

"Why does the Xtrainer fork perform so poorly?

The short answer:
Too little low speed damping, too much high speed damping, poor rebound control, ineffective adjusters, and under-rated springs with excessive preload.

The long answer:
The basevalve has a lot of free bleed (valving bypass) incorporated into the design. This gives a very mushy feel, with lots of brake dive, making for a fork that does not want to hold up in the stroke. By removing most of the free bleed and tailoring the final amount to the given rider, we introduce an acceptable amount of low speed damping. This allows the fork to hold up in the stroke and resist bottoming.

Unfortunately the basevalve and midvalve are very restrictive on high speed shaft movements. This gives the fork a harsh and deflective nature. When hitting a rock or log at speed the fork will over dampen (think lock up) and want to bounce off the obstacle instead of absorbing it. To alleviate this we de-restrict the valves, allowing them to flow more fluid when required.

The rebound adjuster at the top of the fork is mostly ineffective until the last few clicks. Again, this is due to excessive free bleed. The adjuster port is very large allowing too much fluid to flow. Along with the large port, the rebound needle is also very blunt and small (not restrictive enough). This makes the forks very bouncy and skittish over terrain. Essentially a major lack of control. To fix this we retaper the rebound needle to more effectively control fluid flow. The clicks will now feel far more effective across the entire range and allow for a much more planted front end.

The last major issue is the spring rates and preload. Beta recommends very soft springs regarding the rider weight. Again this contributes to diving, bottoming, and lack of control. To further complicate the problem, the springs Beta supplies, result in 10mm of preload (with the adjuster fully backed out). This amount of preload is very excessive. More preload changes the ride height and also requires more force in order to start compressing the forks. Typically forks are tuned somewhere between 0-5mm of preload. We strongly recommend the use of a 10mm shorter spring with an appropriate rate for the given rider. A firmer spring, with less preload, will result in a plusher more controlled ride.

All of these modifications are standard in our revalve. This makes for a controlled fork that handles the slow as well as fast, while improving bottoming resistance and adjust-ability. Keep in mind many of this issues are also very apparent in the shock as well.

In the pic is the OEM fork damping compared with a recent AMP revalve. Note the lack of low speed damping on the OEM coupled with excessive high speed damping. Ouch!

Pricing:
$250 per AMP revalve
$140 Custom Fork spring
$110 Shock spring

Feel free to drop a PM if you have any questions or would like to discuss. I feel these prices are an excellent alternative to the expensive aftermarket solutions.

I'm basing all information off many hours of testing on my personal XT, along with careful measurements of each component."

[LRM]

Thank you for the reply! I will get in touch with him and see if we can do business. LOL

[Lotus54]

I have the K9 also, I adjusted both compression and rebound with no issues

[firffighter]

Buddy just installed the K9 kit and no issues either. Nice addition and noticeable improved fork performance.

Lots of options. Every tuner has their twist on improvement. Suggest find a first hand rider experience that you trust and who rides similar terrain and style.

I have found that most tuners have big claims or sales, but rider experience is a much more reliable source.

[Lotus54]

So far, for my use the suspension has worked quite well. I’ve done mostly slow gnarled suff and like it soft for max traction

[LRM]

Well I sent my suspension to Aaron at AMP like "wwguy" suggested. Be cause I personally just can't deal with things that don't work as intended (K9 Kit). When Aaron dismantled the fork he found that the tech that installed them, got a spring in cross ways and then crushed it with the adjuster. So mystery solved! Nothing works when you put tab B & C into slot A. LOL

Now I just have to wait for all the parts to pass though all the different hands so Aaron can finish the set up.

I will give a report on AMP's work. Unfortunately I can't do a before and after with they way things happen.

[LRM]

Well finally got the time to get out and get that Beta ridden and broke in. After a very wet Spring and having to go to Idaho t with my other bikes, to find sunshine LOL
Mod’s to the bike are as follows; Thanks to “wwguy” putting me in touch with AMP my suspension has been modified with Aaron’s work. I now have compression adjustment on the forks as well as having the bike an additional 1 in. lower. FMF Q type silencer, Seat Concepts 1” lower seat, JD Kit in carb, set for 4000 – 8000 ft. The normal things like pipe protectors, bark busters and skid plates, frame and linkage.
I took the bike out for a short ride, because the dealer wanted the fuel in the tank to be used by itself, for break in. So, I road about twenty miles with that fuel and got a feel for the bike. As all of you know, the bike feels like a 125cc bike with a 300cc motor crammed in it! After the short ride, refilled the tank and took it out to sort out the suspension. I was very impressed with what AMP (Aaron) had given me. Being brand new, it was a little stuff, but with just a click or two I found the sweet spot at least for my test location. I’m a 240# guy and with the right springs and Aaron’s re-valving it is on Velcro through my terrain. I have a final test location that is very Rocky, rooty, and either very up or very down, with its of trees and single track.
As proof of Aaron’s work, I’m within 1 click front and rear on rebound and 5 clicks front and rear on compression. I’d say that is on the mark. If you have an XT and are tired of not having control of the front especially the give AMP a call. I was also pleased with the price. Aaron is very inexpensive as suspension go’s!

[wwguy]

That's great to hear!