[dwyooaj]

Well, i got on the trail yesterday with the thinner shim mod. I believe we have a winner, at least for my weight and the chunky trails around here. It feels about two thirds of the way between stock, and the entire midvalve removed. Absorbs the bumps a lot better, (not quite as good as entire stack removed) but still has a little support for flowy trails and steeps.
I mailed out the shims on fri to everyone who ordered. When you do the mod post on here and let me know what you think.

 

[06HokieMTB]

at least for my weight and the chunky trails around here.

Mind me asking your weight and location?

 

[dwyooaj]

I weigh 210 geared up. laguna beach, CA

 

[vko]

Hello, does anyone know where I can find xfusion oil volume charts?

 

[cstem]

Just wanted to thank everyone that has posted to this thread. I made a travel adustment on my Slide today and this along with the pdf and vid's from X-Fusion was very helpful. NOT helpful is the section here on the valving. Now I want to mess with mine! -LOL!

Notes: Mine is a late 2012/13 and the damper side had no oil at all in the lower so I did not add any. It has worked fine that way for almost 2 years so...
Somehow one of the springs at the dust seal top fell into the fork leg while cleaning the lower out. I have never ever seen this happen and when I was sliding the lowers back on, it hung up and scraped the lower two inches of the stanchion which won't affect the working part of the fork. Be careful with this-could have been really bad if I forced the lower all the way up.

Once again thanks and I will be doing my test on my new Vassago Verhauen (coming off a Jabberwocky) tomorrow. If I notice anything weird I will let you know.

 

[Ramjm_2000]

I'd definitely add oil....

 

[cstem]

Ram-I thought about it, but it has never leaked. I have washed my bike once ever, and there would be a snail trail if it did. Also, on the Slant there is nothing to lube there. Looking at the pics on this thread, the damper rod is lubed by the oil in the valving area. I am going to run it as is and has been for the last couple thousand miles. Like I wrote, this thing will probably come apart again soon to do some valving work to take out the small chatter spikes.

 

[cobym2]

Just an update after a few weeks toying with the midvalve: shim stack rearrangement v. mid valve removed.

As a background, I first removed the shimstack and refilled with Golden Spectro cartridge fork fluid (which is supposed to be the right viscosity, I think) 5wt. Im 175lbs and the Sweep goes on my Turner Burner 650b enduro rig. I initially dove into these mods to get some small bump compliance from the Sweep, which I felt was a bit harsh new. But I quite loved the midvalve support which translated to better control for me on the steeps and braking.

With the midvalve removed, the fork is buttery and smoother over the small bumps. Very nice and "SUV-like". Rode it a few times like that and was actually quite happy. But I had the nagging feeling to see how the fork would perform with the shim stack rearrangement.

The shim stack rearrangement I am talking about is the same as described by dwyooaj above (switch smaller and medium shims, leave large shim in place). These are the stock shims and not the thinner shims from dwyooaj.
Riding, it felt closer to stock, with slightly better small bump performance. It was smoother on chattery stuff, but still had good support against diving. I would say its quite closer to the firmer (stock) midvalve than it is to the fork with the midvalve completely removed.

Between the two, I prefer the 2nd mod (shimstack rearranged). Less plush on little bumps but better control.

Now I'm wondering how the thinner shims from dwyooaj would do. I suppose they would split the difference between 1 and 2 again. (Now where are those extra shims I saw laying around?...... = the tinkerer's curse)

This fork is quite an amazing performer, especially for a tinkerer like me, and for the price, it dethrones my Marz 55 RC3ti as my favorite. Durability is yet untested though.

 

[Ramjm_2000]

Ram-I thought about it, but it has never leaked. I have washed my bike once ever, and there would be a snail trail if it did. Also, on the Slant there is nothing to lube there. Looking at the pics on this thread, the damper rod is lubed by the oil in the valving area. I am going to run it as is and has been for the last couple thousand miles. Like I wrote, this thing will probably come apart again soon to do some valving work to take out the small chatter spikes.

Not sure i follow when you say there is nothing to lube. The slide is basically a 29" Velvet no? Enix? They should all have stanchion lubrication oil in the lowers. I can't imagine a bone dry fork is very smooth not to mention killing the seals, etc...

 

[dwyooaj]

cstem, you crazy. the fork absolutely needs bath oil in the lower to lube the bushings,stanchion, and oil seal. Just because it was bone dry when you disassembled doesnt mean you shouldnt put it in. Eitehr you have a leak or the factory forgot to put it in.

 

[blaklabl]

Have a question;
I sent my Slide 29 RL2 fork in for a leak 2x in a space of 3 weeks (was told it was a torn o-ring at the foot nut they missed the first time they fixed my damper rod), and this time when I got it back they had replaced the uppers. When I called them to find out why, I was told they upgraded the damper to the one they use in the 34mm forks. My Slide was an RL2, is there an upgraded damper in the larger forks? And how possible is it that the same one is used between the different diameter forks. I don't doubt they upgraded it because they have been absolutely wonderful throughout this process and exceeded my expectations, I just don't know how the damper is supposed to be different/better. Just curious if someone here knows. It "looks" the same from the outside, but that doesn't mean anything.

Thanks!

 

[chize]

3. Use a 4 mm socket placed on the end of the rebound shaft where tehre are hex flats. carefully pound on this with a hammer to unseat the shaft from the lowers. Nice and straight so that rod doesnt bend.
View attachment 889707 DO NOt use the footnuts to drive out the shafts like on other forks, the nuts are too soft teh threads will strip.

does this get around needing the special damper removal tool that they show in the video on their website (X Fusion Shox - RL2 Fork Travel Adjust) or have they changed something for the 2014 forks?

I just got off the phone with them and they don't sell the tool to end users only service centers have it, but i'm hoping that i don't actually need it. Anyone know?
thanks

 

[dwyooaj]

In a word, yes. Thats how you get around the special tool. However, I read somewhere that theyre working on an affordable tool to sell, available somrtime soon.

 

[babyz]

Has anyone experimented with any other shim configurations? Additionally, I am assuming the bottom out bumpers are the black rubber pieces situated in the bottom of the fork legs - are there supposed to be 2 bumpers in the air spring side, or one in each side?

 

[KRob]

In a word, yes. Thats how you get around the special tool. However, I read somewhere that theyre working on an affordable tool to sell, available somrtime soon.

That unseats it, right? But he'll need a different home tool to reseat it. PVC pipe or deep socket that is bigger than the end of the damper to pound the lowers back on.

 

[dwyooaj]

That unseats it, right? But he'll need a different home tool to reseat it. PVC pipe or deep socket that is bigger than the end of the damper to pound the lowers back on.

yep, just like the pic I posted in post #4, step 17.

 

[bkmad]

I'm going to be pulling my sweep apart in a few weeks to address a few niggles I have with the fork. Like others, I find the fork a bit harsh on the small stuff but love the mid stroke support. Also I've struggled to get the spring rate to my liking. If I have the air pressure low enough to make it plush (5psi below the recommendation for my weight) it bottoms too easily, but if I increase the pressure even by 5psi, it becomes too harsh.
Here's what I'm thinking of trying:
- swap the shims in the midvalve to: 5mm, 10mm, 8mm, 2x 5mm.
- add a little float fluid to the air chamber to reduce air volume a little.

The idea of putting the 5mm shim at the face of the cup is to provide a small gap to allow some free bleed before the shims engage. My thinking is that a traditional shimmed damper has an orifice to allow some oil to flow before the flow becomes great enough to engage the shims so I'm trying to achieve something similar. Am I on the right track or way off?

 

[06HokieMTB]

Cross post from the XF Sweep thread, but it is relevant here as well:

Also, I had my first warranty experience with XFusion and it was favorable. It was a defect in workmanship from when they tuned my fork. Instead of having me ship it back, they were willing to have me drop it off at DirtLabs in Boulder, CO. Quite pleased.

As I follow up, I want to give credit where credit is due. DirtLabs in Boulder did my warranty work for my custom (factory) tuned Sweep. They did a Schlube 'n Lube as well as a 'Pro-Tune' and the fork now feels wonderful.

This time around they put in Maxima 3W oil in the damper and made sure everything was very nicely Schlube 'n Lubed up.

If you ever want fork work done, give Luby a call at DirtLabs, great guy and great service!

dirtlabs.com

SERVICE@DIRTLABS.COM
720.213.4742
3046 Valmont Road, Boulder, Colorado 80301
Hours: Mon-Fri 10-6.

 

[06HokieMTB]

I mailed out the shims on fri to everyone who ordered. When you do the mod post on here and let me know what you think.

Thanks again for getting those made and sent out. I have not ridden mine yet for quite a few reasons (wheel rim failure, bike frame swap, warranty work on the Sweep... Oh yeah, also got married, took a honey moon in Costa Rica... ya know, normal stuff).

Next time I have the fork open for service (or if I decide to try it at 160mm on the newer frame), I'll give the shim a whirl and post up my results.

I too, love the DIY tinkerability of this Sweep!

does this get around needing the special damper removal tool that they show in the video on their website (X Fusion Shox - RL2 Fork Travel Adjust) or have they changed something for the 2014 forks?

I just got off the phone with them and they don't sell the tool to end users only service centers have it, but i'm hoping that i don't actually need it. Anyone know?
thanks

It was me that posted up saying XF plans on making a consumer level damper removal tool (maybe not in this thread, the Sweep thread on MTBR). A few months ago, there was no ETA and pricing.

But, it seems its not necessary... As people here are figuring out how to do it without the tool.

 

[zephxiii]

Cross post from the XF Sweep thread, but it is relevant here as well:

As I follow up, I want to give credit where credit is due. DirtLabs in Boulder did my warranty work for my custom (factory) tuned Sweep. They rebuilt to stock spec's and the fork lost quite a bit of small bump and high speed chatter stability...

Took the fork back and DirtLabs (on their dime, not XF's) opened it back up, did a Schlube 'n Lube as well as a 'Pro-Tune' and the fork now feels wonderful. Apparently the stock weight oil did not play well with whatever XF did on the original factory tune I had done (which modified the RL2 to be more like a Open/Trail instead of Open/Lock... they changed the lock to a medium compression setting).

This time around DirtLabs put in Maxima 3W oil in the damper and made sure everything was very nicely Schlube 'n Lubed up.

If you ever want fork work done, give Luby a call at DirtLabs, great guy and great service!

dirtlabs.com

SERVICE@DIRTLABS.COM
720.213.4742
3046 Valmont Road, Boulder, Colorado 80301
Hours: Mon-Fri 10-6.

So all they did was change the oil to Maxima 3W to get your fork feeling good again? hmm maybe I should try that oil in mine.