[hatake]

I read through many posts on Judy, but the thing is, I'm not sure the exact model of my Judy… Can someone definitively tell what model this is? I believe 1999 Judy Race (no XL or SL or any suffix) with Hydracoil, 80mm travel, practically for free for my hard tail designed around 63mm fork (not too many options as you know).

Does anyone have a service manual for this one, or a link to one? I have a PDF 99 manual for XL/SL but something looks different. For example, it has single springs (not a stack) in both legs with bottom attachment (spacer?), where the manual says 2 stacked together (SL) or one with a spacer right below the pre-load body (XL). Also, I don't think this one has a dual adjuster. I can't tell what this "Adjuster +/-" does to be honest. The XL/SL manual says to pull up and adjust the compression - mmm, I don't think I can feel that.

In short of a manual, can someone tell me how much fork oil I'm supposed to put in from the bottom of the legs? XL/SL manual says 10cc, but a 01 Judy instruction in Enduro Fork Seals web site says 150cc, that's a lot more. Thanks in advance.

Alternatively, is 2002 Manitou Black Elite 80mm (TPC with grease port, compression, rebound adjustments, no bath) better than this Judy for XC riding for 160lb rider?

 

[mtnbiker72]

The adjuster is for Rebound dampening

Here is a 2000 Users manual, it should be the same as the 1999 models
http://www.birota.ru/manuals/rockshox/user-guide/00judy.pdf

 

[hatake]

Thank you for the rescue! Exactly what I was looking for. I still can't tell any rebound effect It's cool I can take it all the way down to 63mm tho.

 

[Squash]

The older Judy forks....

only had "high speed" rebound damping. This has to do with the compression and rebound speed of the fork rather than how fast you are going on the bike. The speed of the rebound stroke has to be a bit higher than you can achieve simply by pushing down on the fork to be noticeable. So simply adjusting and pushing down on the bars or whatever and realeasing doesn't really give a different feel. Also rebound speed is usually directly proportional to how far into the travel stroke a given bump compresses the fork. So the rebound damping will be most effective and noticeable on a hit that takes the fork 3/4 of the way into the compression stoke than it will be on say chatter bumps. And that's not to mention that the old RS dampers weren't the epitome of high end technology. They were quite simple, reasonably effective, but still not the greatest at the time. They work, but the adjustment range was fairly limited. The big plus with the old 99 and 00 Judy race forks was they were simple, easy to work on, reasonably durable and dependable. But the damping system wasn't their strong point. One of the most popular mods for the Race was a dual damper. It was very simple to purchase a second damper and put it in the other leg for a dual damper system. Quite a bit more effective. But doing that today would be tough as it's almost impossible to find the parts needed.

Anyway, a pretty good fork. Just not the stiffest or the most high tech for it's day. But still quite serviceable as long as everything is in good shape.

Good Dirt

 

[hatake]

Thanks Squash, for a detailed information on such an old clunker. Finding another Race is a tough one - but that's a good idea nonetheless as the non-damping side plunge shaft is just a shaft. It is "plush" for sure - too plush for an 80mm fork. Also I guess the nature of the open bath, the springs tend to make some clicking sound as they compress, since the coils are soked in the fluid. I'm going back and forth between Judy and Black - and haven't decided which works better for my 93 GT. Color-wise, it's Black as my bike is black... Thanks again.