Did someone say it's bloody hot in VIC at the moment?
Still managed to duck out for an early spin before the temps hit 38.
Since it was so hot there wasn't really enough time to do repeats and change settings inbetween. After the bike being in pieces for 5 weeks in a post-Maydena overhaul, I just wanted to ride!
Shockcraft Tune
First impression is the Unharsh treatment has made a noticeable difference in that the fork just gets out of the way more easily when hitting a bump mid corner or when it is already in the deeper part of its travel. I am assuming what they do is high-flow port the compression piston, similar to what they do with the aftermarket Andreani pistons.
With the Matrix Tune as expected they ask you a bunch of questions then build an appropriate set of shimstacks. They must also do something funky with the leaf spring adjuster, as what they have left me with is a set of adjusters that actually have useable range. With the stock setup I was basically running full open compression and rebound was almost full open.
Though they dyno test and have a recommended set of settings, I will still have a play around with them once the weather permits. For now the front is noticeably easier to hold a chosen line and with the ability to now dial in some LSC, the fork generally rides a bit higher but still breaks away when needed on bumps.
Cockpit:
Also swapped the Spank Vibrocore bars for Oneup Aluminium as they have more rise and I wanted to try this oval Koolaid. I was really digging running an extra 10mm stem spacer at Maydena, but didn't want to lose the reach. A higher rise bar made sense. In terms of feel, they are very similar to the Vibrocore. Admittedly it's hard to tell since they went on the same time as the fork tweaks.
The bars went on soon after replacing the 40mm stem with a 45mm, to more closely match the 44mm offset of the fork. Some deep diving says this is ideal to maintain bars with steering axis or something, so I thought why not and a chance to increase reach. In total bout 5mm more reach with the new stem/bar combo. I rode with this stem at Maydena and it felt good, but if I was do to a blind test I probably couldn't notice.
Fluid Focus bumpstop:
Last mod for this round, is the Fluid Focus bumpstop for the rear shock. The stock bumptop is short, rock hard, and feels like you basically hit a wall once you reach it. I notice the new Fox shocks have a longer/softer bumpstop design, so I sought these out. They come in 2 durometers (I went for the firmer one), and act earlier with a shallower rampup than stock.
Definitely noticed an improvement. I was able to open the HSC/HSR a bit and the rear still feels bottomless.
Will update as I have more time to play with the fork. Hope everyone gets out for a ride this weekend!
