KYB conversion

[GMP]

I'll fill, bleed, and finish putting mine together tonight with some stiffer valving. Race on Sunday. Hate to do that but running as is would not be that good either. Almost 10 hrs on the new forks and oil was very clean, nice.

[mtdirtbag]

Thought I would copy and paste an interesting post discussing SSS forks from Cafe Husky:

Post by a Dave Lindsay

{I have a 2013 YZ250 smoker...my bike came with the SSS KYB forks and they were very good out of the box. They were stiff...but good.

Now I have always gotten my suspension done for my ability etc. 58 Years young...intermediate trail rider...and have raced District 37 Desert in the past.

Well the bike is so awesome to ride. Ty nailed it. And the one thing that I wanted to share was that he recommended that I put the Marzocci 48 PFP cartridges in as an upgrade. Right away I'm thinking no way!! But Tye said that even though the SSS are real good...for trail riding or open desert the Marzocci PFP cartridges can't be beat. He was right!! He told me that if I didn't like...he would do the SSS KYB's for free. I went for it...based on his recommendation... (he uses them too)

If anyone is on the fence about getting the suspension done...just do it. In MY opinion its the most beneficial modification one can do.

Thanks Zip Tye!!! Hope to see you soon.}

Maybe of interest for those that are swapping the Marzocci forks out.

Tom

[thumperrider1]

I think the majority are swapping out the sachs for the KYB's, which is a major upgrade. I bet Glenn would still be using the zokes if he didn't have the wear issues he encountered.

[celler]

Thought I would copy and paste an interesting post discussing SSS forks from Cafe Husky:

Post by a Dave Lindsay

{I have a 2013 YZ250 smoker...my bike came with the SSS KYB forks and they were very good out of the box. They were stiff...but good.

Now I have always gotten my suspension done for my ability etc. 58 Years young...intermediate trail rider...and have raced District 37 Desert in the past.

Well the bike is so awesome to ride. Ty nailed it. And the one thing that I wanted to share was that he recommended that I put the Marzocci 48 PFP cartridges in as an upgrade. Right away I'm thinking no way!! But Tye said that even though the SSS are real good...for trail riding or open desert the Marzocci PFP cartridges can't be beat. He was right!! He told me that if I didn't like...he would do the SSS KYB's for free. I went for it...based on his recommendation... (he uses them too)

If anyone is on the fence about getting the suspension done...just do it. In MY opinion its the most beneficial modification one can do.

Thanks Zip Tye!!! Hope to see you soon.}

Maybe of interest for those that are swapping the Marzocci forks out.

Tom

Do I have his correct. You put the Marzocchi cartridges in the Kayaba forks?

I ran YZ's for years (valved for offroad) and did think the Kayaba were good and then I got a GasGas and Beta with the Marzocchi PFP and do like them better. Not a big difference but what I like is how good they are stock.

[mtdirtbag]

Cellar it wasn't me - Dave Lindsay over @ cafe husky posted this. I too have ran KYB SSS on my 09 Yamaha that with a little valving massage was a good fork. I have not rode a Marzocchi fork equipped bike - I just posted his experience. Probably worth looking into!

[GMP]

I do like the Zokes for the adjustment, but not to maintain. Parts are more scarce and expensive, and the PFP adjuster is complex and a bit delicate to service. I also don't think the fit of the outers is quite right either as I have said before, or as good as the KYBs. The KYBs are smoother, no question about it. I'm new to the KYB valving but the biggest difference is the pressure the cartridge operates at, piston sizes are the same and ports close, rod size also. I'd bet that if you shimmed up a KYB ICS spring to the level of the Zoke, the valving would be similar. I'll reserve any more comments until I get more time on the KYBs, but the cost and ease of ownership is clearly better.

I don't see how a Zoke PFP cartridge is going into KYB tubes without some work. An adjustable ICS system for a KYB cartridge might be interesting.

[GMP]

Well, another good ride and race on the KYBs with my second round of valving and things are looking good. I can basically hit anything I want without fear of deflection or hard bottoming. Additional rebound shimming fixed the nervous, active feel and its more settlled now. The fork is firm, smooth, with the right proggression. I'm probably at an overall stiffness similar to the Marzocchi but the progression is smoother. Sunday's race was very dusty and had a lot of fast grass track. I hit this pair of large exposed roots (about 8") with the second at an angle in the dust and feared the worst. The fork just sucked it up with minimal abuse. Shock gave me a good kick though. Actually the fork now has me noticing the shock more. Fresh fluid should calm that down. Next two races are on south Jersey sand courses with whoops, lots of chop and braking bumps, some roots, and a small MX section. That will be a good test of the forks scope.

[Hammer]

Glenn I had my shock apart at 130 hours and the fluid was like new. Never seen a shock so clean after that many hours. Fluid change made no noticeable difference.

[Enmerdeur]

Thanks for the update Glenn. I haven't done anything yet on mine except get some lighter springs. I have a race this weekend so after that I am going to start working on the conversion.

Care to share your valving with us?

[GMP]

Glenn I had my shock apart at 130 hours and the fluid was like new. Never seen a shock so clean after that many hours. Fluid change made no noticeable difference.

130 hrs. on an oil change? Wow, I'm at about 50 from the last service, and being its an alloy body shock I was a bit nervous of letting it go that long but had no time until now. I know both Steve and Les told me the same thing, the shocks stay very clean. I have not done this shock myself yet, but my steel body GG Sachs was typical, and an oil change brought it back to normal operation. I'll crack it open in the next couple nights and let you know.