2018 Alta MXR Shock Re-Spring and Re-Valve

[snydes]

Oh I see what your saying...they are like anchors! How did this not get noticed during beta testing?

The SX slideplate does somewhat bridge that and leaves the peg mount bosses protruding less, so it certainly will help with the problem.

 

[Fod]

The SX slideplate does somewhat bridge that and leaves the peg mount bosses protruding less, so it certainly will help with the problem.

Yeah I noticed that from your photos! Also it will prevent all the cavities from holding 20+ lbs of dirt!

 

[Fog 25]

Here’s a picture of MXR ground clearance completely bottomed tires in the fender.
Looks like about an inch and 13/16 of Clearance at the foot pegs bolts.

 

[snydes]

Yeah, those stick down entirely too far. I can see it being a significant problem for the guys running endurocross as far as getting hung up on obstacles.

 

[Philip]

I was dragging those footpeg mounts in the ruts today, and the ruts weren't even that deep.

 

[Fod]

I just dropped the bike off at Highland Park which is only 1.5 hours from my house. They said respring and revalve is a must for me. They will have it back to me next week and I’ll report back.

Charlie only comes on the track when my wife Amy is out there. Very protective dog! Lol!!

Matt

When will we get the report?!?!?!

 

[MattB]

I'm still waiting on them to finish the bike. Hopefully I get to ride this weekend!

MattB

 

[Fod]

I'm still waiting on them to finish the bike. Hopefully I get to ride this weekend!

MattB

Ok cool! Hope it gets you where you want to be! I rode with Fog today and I am maxed on my shock LSC and rebound. I dont know how they call this suspension MX!?!?! Forks are not bad but at 145psi, comp 12 and rebound 10. Fog let me play with his settings and he is same as me but is running HSC at just shy to 2 turns out and lsc at 3 clicks out. He also is running a beautiful and light weight (He shed half a lb) red coil spring on the bike at 63N (6.4kg)...shameless plug for diverse spring! I will do the same but with a 61N.

 

[Philip]

I went to a local track yesterday with both bikes. The MX with its revalved suspension did beautifully. The only thing it did not do beautifully is blowing through the stroke on hard landings and in some large whoops. I should try more high-speed compression.

The MXR felt great and very light in choppy hardpack sections, but everywhere else it felt severely underdamped. So bad that I could not do the whoops at all, neither jump nor hammer them. Large sand rollers were pretty bad too. It needs a lot more of low-speed shock control.

Flat landings were great though, I keep getting surprised at how well it handles hard landings. This is an important part for rider confidence. But if the dirt is hard, then it bounces right back and makes a second small jump. This sucks.

My clickers are all the way in. If I do not find a ready-to-use shock stack specification, I will start adding face shims to the piston's stack.

 

[MattB]

I'm happy to hear I'm not alone with my MXR suspension. If Highland Park fixes it, I hope I can get them to give up exactly what they did to the valving so I can share it here.

 

[Fod]

I was thinking because both rebound and lsc are so soft, I may just increase shock fluid viscosity so I move the range up on both!

 

[Philip]

I was thinking because both rebound and lsc are so soft, I may just increase shock fluid viscosity so I move the range up on both!

An interesting approach, but then your high-speed compression and rebound will get messed up.

 

[Fod]

An interesting approach, but then your high-speed compression and rebound will get messed up.

I actually want my compression and rebound both to increase. I'm close to 1-4/5 on my hsc so I have room for it to open up.

 

[Philip]

I actually want my compression and rebound both to increase. I'm close to 1-4/5 on my hsc so I have room for it to open up.

The High-Speed Rebound does not have a knob. But you can try and let us know.

If you have access to a good shock bleeder, you might even be able to mix in the thicker oil without opening the shock up.

 

[Fod]

The High-Speed Rebound does not have a knob. But you can try and let us know.

If you have access to a good shock bleeder, you might even be able to mix in the thicker oil without opening the shock up.

The 17mm is the hsc...I know no hsr. I believe alta recommends 2 turns out on hsc. I actually have a drc bleed funnel for wp shocks but if I know exactly which brand and wt they used I may just completely go up to next wt or maybe mix it like you said depending on what the next wt up is.

 

[Fod]

I'm happy to hear I'm not alone with my MXR suspension. If Highland Park fixes it, I hope I can get them to give up exactly what they did to the valving so I can share it here.

Hey Matt,
Alta got back to me with the latest stacks for the rear shock. From what I can understand from the emails back and forth with warranty is that there were running changes made to the shock valving on the MXR. As of today the latest valving specs I posted are on the resource page. Any way you can let me know what number your MXR is and if Highland Park can tell us what the stock valving that was found in your shock? I really want to get my shock squared away but warranty has been not as accommodating asI assumed from a small local start up company. I am told only way to get my shock warranty processed is to leave my bike at a not so local dealer for an undisclosed period of time. Kinda sucks when I sold my yz along with some vital organs to purchase the bike.
Thanks!

 

[MattB]

Update....

Highland Park finished my suspension! While I was there, we set the sag at 102mm before riding with the stock 6.0 spring. First we tried to use a 6.4 spring but with almost no preload on the spring the most sag I could get was 95mm. The spring was literally flopping around so that was a no go!
I could tell right away the valve work they performed made all the difference in the world. No more bottoming, no more springy feel on rebound. I intentionally over jumped a few times and didn’t bottom out at all, it all just gets soaked up and comes back nicely. I haven’t even touched the clickers yet but will probably mess with them next weekend to see how the suspension responds to change in the clickers.
The suspension now feels really close to my 2018 450 SX-F. I’m thrilled!!

I’ve attached my setup sheet from Highland Park. I know a lot of you guys are running the clickers all the way in to get it close to rideable. I’m at 18 clicks out on everything right now and I don’t feel like I’m going to be changing them much.

Thank You Highland Park! I was worried the Alta would never feel right for a while there.

Fod,

I will get you my bike number tomorrow. I will also try to see if Highland Park will tell me what they found in my suspension.

 

[Philip]

Alta got back to me with the latest stacks for the rear shock. From what I can understand from the emails back and forth with warranty is that there were running changes made to the shock valving on the MXR. As of today the latest valving specs I posted are on the resource page.

Thanks for the specs! Now I just need to find out two things:
A) What the heck do I have in my shock (MXR #323)
B) Is this new spec any good?

Update....

Highland Park finished my suspension! While I was there, we set the sag at 102mm before riding with the stock 6.0 spring. First we tried to use a 6.4 spring but with almost no preload on the spring the most sag I could get was 95mm. The spring was literally flopping around so that was a no go!
I could tell right away the valve work they performed made all the difference in the world. No more bottoming, no more springy feel on rebound. I intentionally over jumped a few times and didn’t bottom out at all, it all just gets soaked up and comes back nicely. I haven’t even touched the clickers yet but will probably mess with them next weekend to see how the suspension responds to change in the clickers.
The suspension now feels really close to my 2018 450 SX-F. I’m thrilled!!

I’ve attached my setup sheet from Highland Park. I know a lot of you guys are running the clickers all the way in to get it close to rideable. I’m at 18 clicks out on everything right now and I don’t feel like I’m going to be changing them much.

Thank You Highland Park! I was worried the Alta would never feel right for a while there.

Fod,

I will get you my bike number tomorrow. I will also try to see if Highland Park will tell me what they found in my suspension.

The stock spring is 60 N/mm. Why did you try the 64 N/mm spring before you tried 62 N/mm? Just curious.

Did they revalve your fork as well?

 

[MattB]

Thanks for the specs! Now I just need to find out two things:
A) What the heck do I have in my shock (MXR #323)
B) Is this new spec any good?



The stock spring is 60 N/mm. Why did you try the 64 N/mm spring before you tried 62 N/mm? Just curious.

Did they revalve your fork as well?

Hey Phillip,

I let them guide me before I started making my own suggestions as they are much more knowledgeable than me on suspension. Not sure why they went straight to 64 as I would have guessed I needed the 62 as well. However, even the 60 is not preloaded very much for my weight.

They did revalve my fork to balance it with the shock.

I’ll check tomorrow but I believe my MXR is around the 200’s

Thanks,

Matt

 

[Fod]

Update....

Highland Park finished my suspension! While I was there, we set the sag at 102mm before riding with the stock 6.0 spring. First we tried to use a 6.4 spring but with almost no preload on the spring the most sag I could get was 95mm. The spring was literally flopping around so that was a no go!
I could tell right away the valve work they performed made all the difference in the world. No more bottoming, no more springy feel on rebound. I intentionally over jumped a few times and didn’t bottom out at all, it all just gets soaked up and comes back nicely. I haven’t even touched the clickers yet but will probably mess with them next weekend to see how the suspension responds to change in the clickers.
The suspension now feels really close to my 2018 450 SX-F. I’m thrilled!!

I’ve attached my setup sheet from Highland Park. I know a lot of you guys are running the clickers all the way in to get it close to rideable. I’m at 18 clicks out on everything right now and I don’t feel like I’m going to be changing them much.

Thank You Highland Park! I was worried the Alta would never feel right for a while there.

Fod,

I will get you my bike number tomorrow. I will also try to see if Highland Park will tell me what they found in my suspension.

That is great news Matt!!!! Please keep us updated with what you find out and also how much fun you are having with the new platform!!! I am kinda stuck deciding whether to do a warranty claim or just screw it and get the bike working right. Leaning toward the later for selfish reasons but I am sure Alta would like to see what is going on with my shock for their records.