Winter suspension

[He Man]

I always thought about this, but couldnt find much...


If one rides often during the winter, wouldnt it be wise to open up the valves? the fork oil is extra thick in the winter, and it doesnt really ever get warmer, in fact, i figure it would get colder as you ride since theres so much wind hitting them.

[IdZer0]

Although this vid is for track use, Dave Moss talks briefly about settings in colder weather (half way through the vid) and indeed recommends reducing rebound to get heat in the oil.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SportbikeWrench#p/u/9/enlKr3xFHvk

[He Man]

Although this vid is for track use, Dave Moss talks briefly about settings in colder weather (half way through the vid) and indeed recommends reducing rebound to get heat in the oil.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SportbikeWrench#p/u/9/enlKr3xFHvk

Good little line there. But i cant find more on it.

theres defintely not enough heat getting into the oil no matter how long i ride for. theres not enough suspension action to generate the heat, and the temps to cold to allow any heat to build up. i guess ill toy around with it and see how hte bike feels.

[junior varsity]

There are shock warmers, just like there are tire warmers

[He Man]

There are shock warmers, just like there are tire warmers

for commuting? thats overkill. im riding in 20degree ambient and park it for hours at a time.

[junior varsity]

screw riding at 20 deg weather!

[pennyrobber]

I have to loosen up my steering damper setting for this reason. Those cold days make the steering noticeably heavier.

[scott_araujo]

Shocks/forks actually can warm up quite a bit, lots of small repeated motions once you're roling even a short while.  Still, may never quite get to usual temps. 

One thing you can do easily is use synthetic fork oil.  It flows far better at low temps than mineral based oil.  Mineral oil can turn into jelly at low temps like you're riding in.  I suppose you could do the same for your rear shock but you'd have to ask them to do it when you have a rebuild.  Not a DIY there.

Scott

[BK_856er]

One thing you can do easily is use synthetic fork oil.  It flows far better at low temps than mineral based oil.  Mineral oil can turn into jelly at low temps like you're riding in.

+1 on the synthetic fluid.  I have a viscometer at work and I tested a bunch of fork oils across a wide range of temperatures.  The synthetic stuff does pretty good, and the lower the weight the flatter the curve.  Aftermarket shocks will frequently already have synthetic inside since the temperature range is more extreme than with forks.  The temp/expansion of the metal bits is probably equally important, so synthetic fluids might help, but probably won't maintain identical damping at temp extremes.

BK

[BK_856er]

+1 on the synthetic fluid.  I have a viscometer at work and I tested a bunch of fork oils across a wide range of temperatures.  The synthetic stuff does pretty good, and the lower the weight the flatter the curve.  Aftermarket shocks will frequently already have synthetic inside since the temperature range is more extreme than with forks.  The temp/expansion of the metal bits is probably equally important, so synthetic fluids might help, but probably won't maintain identical damping at temp extremes.

BK

Who can pick out the one synthetic fork oil in the graph below?

BK

[He Man]

brown one?

low viscocity = more fluid like.
High viscocity = less fluid like (more like gel)

I already have synthetic fork oil though and the temp is more like -12 to -27 celcius.  got a charge for that?

[BK_856er]

brown one?

Correct!  The red curve is some mystery yellow stuff that came with my expensive fork cartridges.  The pink curve is Castrol ATF transmision fluid.  Brown is Silkolene ProRSF full synthetic 5wt if I recall correctly.  Note how the curves ramp up at low temperatures - use your imagination to extrapolate the viscosity at -27C!  You sir, are screwed   

BK