Fastway linkage guard review for the Beta range

[ballisticexchris]

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[andoman]

Steve, Looks like we'll have to talk about internal shortening then.

[GMP]

Andoman,
I would suggest you have Les, Steve, or another compenent tuner lower the bike with travel limiters at both ends and correctly balance it. Lowering just the rear with the guard is the kiss of death to confidence in the front end. Plus, the ratio change makes the initial travel stiffer. I really think the adjustable feature was never thought out for a Beta and just a KTM legacy part of the design. The bike is not a GasGas with a heavy front end, it sticks and turns well but you can't be sloppy with setup.

All you do is soften the compression a few clicks to make up for the initial stiffness. No need to send out to a tuner unless you're looking to revalve. As long as the front is lowered to match the rear, sag and clickers set, it has the same exact geometry and perfectly balanced as the stock bike. No sloppiness if you take your time and test it on the trails. Keep in mind we are not talking a huge difference here. IMHO there is no need
send your suspension across the country for a revalve and tune for every little adjustment. Hell I'm still testing different adjustments on mine. Tires, pressures and clicker combinations galore to play with.

Wrong. It's a progression curve change that affects initial rate. Why don't you do us a favor, especially the guys that really want to learn and need advice, and know exactly what you are talking about before you post. Nothing personal but you are just wrong.

[ballisticexchris]

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[Timber]

To Glen....
I love your input and insight on setup and bike mechanics. Nothing you have ever posted on the forums clear back to the GasGas days has been bullshit. I usually read without offering much but I feel the need to come to your defense. There seems to be a couple of folks that consider you to be a hater and challenge you on everything you say, weird. It seems that a lot of the gas for the fire has been surrounding your experience with a certain brand of fork. My experience has been identical to yours. The fork performs better than any other I've had but durability problems have shown to be a problem... I've got one leg self destructing and turning the oil into grey goo.

On this topic you are absolutly corect about the geometry of the shock linkage being changed through the curve when you change the length of the link arm. Some will notice s difference and others won't... Depends on skill and sensitivity.

The pictures of your Stillwell link arm speaks volumes about your riding conditions and knowledge of proper bike setup. You are clearly riding a lot and know your stuff. A lot of these other guys on the forums spend way more time on the keyboard than they do the bike or on the wrench.

Thanks for all your help over the years,
Nate

[GMP]

Nate,

Thanks for the kind words. I like to learn or accomplish something every day and if I can help a guy out with something I learned either from experience with the bike directly or from my career that is accomplishing something. That is what this forum is and should be all about. The early days of the GGRC were very good and we learned a lot, lots of sharp guys at the time. Back then in the pre-mobile device era when you had to sit in front of a PC, I think it made you slow down and think more. Now, you can whip out your smartphone and shoot from the hip. Also, the emergence of social media like Facebook has groomed people into a certain form of behavior and it seems to have carried over into technical forums like this one. Anyway just my take. Bummer about the fork, my brother is riding with mine on his 300RR but its a mess. If you want to talk about a conversion or possible fixes give me a shout. Thanks again.

[Dyrtmon]

The Fastway guard is one of the best investments I've made for my Beta as I never had to worry about this on my KTM (PDS system). Left it in the stock position, I never worry about a thing when I hit a rock or log.

[Justsam]

Has anyone actually weighed the Fastway link guard? Quite a chunk I've heard...

[GMP]

Has anyone actually weighed the Fastway link guard? Quite a chunk I've heard...

If you look at it vs. the stock link its primarily the aluminum of the bottom plate section thats added. A few oz more but worth every bit of it.

[Justsam]

I had heard it was about 400g or 14 Oz (thank you google convert) more than the stock link? Must be a different and much heavier grade of aluminium.
Suppose the weight is in low position.