My 2017 Beta Suspension Lessons Learned

[aj_mariner]

Just got off the phone with my local suspension service shop, and am feeling better about Sachs suspension. I wanted to ask about any aftermarket fork bushings that could be an inexpensive upgrade to my Sachs CC forks. Just trying to get my winter servicing parts ready.
Of course I mentioned the fork problems that others are having with their Beta and what I've done with my limited experience to make sure I don't have the same issues. Figured it would be helpful to some to put it on here.

His main points were:
Sachs is a solid product out of the gate. WP can need close to $1200 in upgrades just to get it on par. Most of the issues he's seen are due to either problems with bike assembly, or the bike getting tweaked during shipping. The increased wear he is seeing is usually from having the lower triple clamps torqued too much, from incorrectly installing the front wheel, and triple clamp misalignment.

Solutions:
In other posts it was noted that the lower clamp fork tightening torque should be closer to 9 or 10 Nm. This definitely helps and doesn't create any new issues.

During every fork installation, always loosen the upper triple clamp steering head bolt (item 5 in Tab. 34) and retorque after the forks are torqued in the triple clamps.

There are many videos on how to properly tighten a front wheel so the forks don't bind.

Do your own research.

[Enmerdeur]

triple clamp misalignment.

This is the only time I had any wear. It was after a real nice endo and I continued to ride another 50 miles or so. When I took things a part to check things out when I got home the the triples were misaligned and the right side fork tube had some slight wear on the inside backside where the the lower T-clamp clamps. Aligned the T-clamps and mounted the forks in at 180 degrees from where they were. Ran it another ten hours too see if there would be any further wear and there was zero.

I agree there is nothing wrong with the Sachs units. Good quality. Just need to make sure things are setup correctly like any of the other brands.

[Jebster]

Thanks for the post.

As I read through the suspension posts there seems to be a LOT of folks that don't like the Sachs and comments about inferiority. I can't speak for the forks in past years because the '17 300 is my first Beta and I've read a lot indicating that they used to be a problem.

Personally, I've been impressed with the performance and quality of the stock OC forks on my 300RR. I have friends that ride different years' KTMs who I would group as similar to me in skillset and thus relatively similar requirements for fork performance, and all but one has a revalve or outright conversion kit. Sprung for my weight, forks raised in the clamps a bit, and the right sag and these forks are as good as any revalve I've had in my past.

As of late I've had this inclination to reach out to learn more about the Ohlins inserts and shock and I don't doubt that there's advantages, but right now the Sachs are way better forks than I am a rider.

[cnote308]

I have to agree that the forks and shock are quite good once sprung correctly, broken in, and setup for your riding style and preferences. Getting the rear sag setup correctly, swapping fork fluid, and break in time made the forks go from "ehh" to "wow, these are really quite good" for me. Clicker settings just kind of fine tuned what was a significant improvement from those aforementioned things.

I'm just a slow, crappy rider anyways...the Sachs stuff is as good as I'd ever need.

[firffighter]

Thanks for the post.

As I read through the suspension posts there seems to be a LOT of folks that don't like the Sachs and comments about inferiority. I can't speak for the forks in past years because the '17 300 is my first Beta and I've read a lot indicating that they used to be a problem.

Personally, I've been impressed with the performance and quality of the stock OC forks on my 300RR. I have friends that ride different years' KTMs who I would group as similar to me in skillset and thus relatively similar requirements for fork performance, and all but one has a revalve or outright conversion kit. Sprung for my weight, forks raised in the clamps a bit, and the right sag and these forks are as good as any revalve I've had in my past.

As of late I've had this inclination to reach out to learn more about the Ohlins inserts and shock and I don't doubt that there's advantages, but right now the Sachs are way better forks than I am a rider.

Totally agree! Have had Ohlins, WP, KYB, etc and these '17 Sachs are working awesome. Great performance right out of the box. Coming of of Kreft worked CC WP's, I was worried about the Sachs being inferior, but not the case. Beta nailed it with the '17 Sachs !

[moto367]

Just got off the phone with my local suspension service shop, and am feeling better about Sachs suspension. I wanted to ask about any aftermarket fork bushings that could be an inexpensive upgrade to my Sachs CC forks. Just trying to get my winter servicing parts ready.
Of course I mentioned the fork problems that others are having with their Beta and what I've done with my limited experience to make sure I don't have the same issues. Figured it would be helpful to some to put it on here.

His main points were:
Sachs is a solid product out of the gate. WP can need close to $1200 in upgrades just to get it on par. Most of the issues he's seen are due to either problems with bike assembly, or the bike getting tweaked during shipping. The increased wear he is seeing is usually from having the lower triple clamps torqued too much, from incorrectly installing the front wheel, and triple clamp misalignment.

Solutions:
In other posts it was noted that the lower clamp fork tightening torque should be closer to 9 or 10 Nm. This definitely helps and doesn't create any new issues.

During every fork installation, always loosen the upper triple clamp steering head bolt (item 5 in Tab. 34) and retorque after the forks are torqued in the triple clamps.

There are many videos on how to properly tighten a front wheel so the forks don't bind.

Do your own research.

Good info. thanks. So what is your overall impression with the forks so far and what short comings are you personally experiencing? Just picked up a new 2017 race edition and going to break it in this weekend. I too am coning off WP stuff and spent a lot of coin to get them working. Hoping this isn't the case with the Sachs. I had Sachs shocks in the past on early Huskys and they were really good. See a lot of comments on getting things sprung correctly...are guys re springing even if the sags measurements are correct?

[Bandicoot]

Over here in Australia most guys have found the Sachs either in the OC or CC fork work extremely well if you change the oil out, replace it with a Fork Fluid instead .. takes the spikey & harsh feeling out of them and makes them very plush indeed specially when they are setup for correct weight !!
Break them in which should take about 15hrs .. Give or take of course
Flush out the oil replace with Fork Fluid and set rear sag and adjust springs for weight tweak for personal preferrence

[McKay]

What is fork fluid for us USA guys?

[KB112]

Don't pay too much attention to the weight listed on the bottle. See the link below which explains how suspension oils are rated.

http://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index. ... sion_Fluid

I always use Maxima Racing Fork Fluid in everything just for consistency.

[aj_mariner]

Good info. thanks. So what is your overall impression with the forks so far and what short comings are you personally experiencing? Just picked up a new 2017 race edition and going to break it in this weekend. I too am coning off WP stuff and spent a lot of coin to get them working. Hoping this isn't the case with the Sachs. I had Sachs shocks in the past on early Huskys and they were really good. See a lot of comments on getting things sprung correctly...are guys re springing even if the sags measurements are correct?

My experience so far is good. The suspension, and bike as a whole, exceeds my ability. I have about 55 hours on the bike, 10 of it on new springs for my weight (0.46 in front, 5.4 in shock). Changed the fork oil to Motul Expert 5W at 35 hours the first time, and again at 45 since I was installing new springs. There is wear in the tubes where the lower triple clamp is secured, but have decreased the tightening torque to 10Nm and realigned the triple clamps. After reading posts about how horrid the forks were and the problems others were having, I just felt like offering a post to Beta newcomers who were overly worried like I was.
To each their own.