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Adjusting
Compression Has Never Been So Easy!
 Life
can be harsh at times...but that doesn't mean your
forks have to be. Just change your forks compression
settings...it's easy. Yeah, right. It's easy if you
can get a screw driver to them. With fat bars and
adjustable bar clamps getting to the adjusters IS
the hard part. Ride Engineering
has created a product to make adjusting your suspension
simple with no external tools required. I'm serious!
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Quick
Facts |
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Manufacturer:
Ride Engineering http://www.ride-engineering.com
Price:
$89.95
Includes: Two adjusters, 8 set-screws,
and an allen wrench for installation
Weight:
20 grams (0.7 oz.)
Instructions:
Included (see Installation Notes below
for tips and tricks that will make installation
easier) |
 Imagine
being able to pull off the track, adjust your forks
compression settings to match the current track conditions
and then pull back on the track and continue your
practice session! No, you won't have to have a screw
driver up your sleeve to pull off this trick. All
you need is Ride Engineering's
Bolt-on Compression Adjusters for Showa Forks.
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The Podium |
- Once
installed, adjusting fork compression couldn't
be any easier. No tools required
- Air
bleeder screw is still accessible if you follow
our installation tips
- Red
anodized adjusters look really trick
- Excellent
fit and finish
- Lightweight
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 The
first thing you notice about these trick little parts
is the excellent quality and finish. The Showa version
are red anodized which looks sweet on the Honda CRF450.
The second thing that comes to mind is these babies
should be really easy to install. Well, it was very
easy once I learned a trick or two. If you follow
these tips and tricks in the installation notes below
you'll have these installed in a matter of minutes.
The
important question is do they work? Absolutely! Once
installed they perform as promised and make adjusting
your fork compression quick and easy. Best of all,
no tools necessary! Not only do they work but they
look pretty sweet atop the gold Showa fork tubes.
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The Pits |
- Installation
initially was frustrating, but the installation
notes in this review will make installing
these quick and easy
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Installation
Notes
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The provided installation instructions suggest
the best way to install the adjusters is to loosen
the upper and lower triple clamps to rotate the
forks to get the necessary access to the set-screws.
This certainly will work but I decided to just
remove the bar clamps to get access. The pictures
appear to show the final position of the adjusters
parallel to the bars. However, the correct position
would be about 60 degrees from the stock position.
This will rotat the adjuster wheel to the outside
for better access while still leaving access to
the air bleed screw.
- There
needs to be space between the Adjuster Base and
the Adjuster Wheel or the Adjuster Wheel will
bind when turned.
  This
was the source of all my installation woes. Essentially
when you get the correct spacing and then tighten
the set-screws the Adjuster Base shifts causing
the Adjuster Wheel to bind. So, here's what I
did to make the installation a "no brainer".
I took an ordinary file folder (it was the thickest
paper i could find) and cut out a circle just
smaller than the Adjuster Wheel. With a center
hole cut out I placed it over the Adjuster Wheel
(see photo left). This allowed me to press down
on the Adjuster Base while tightening. Once tightened
I simply removed the file folder "donut"
paper (I had cut from the outer edge to the center
to allow for easy removal). Using this technique
made installation quick and easy.
- The
included Allen wrench can be used successfully.
However, since the screws are lower than the outer
rim of the top of the fork using a ball-end Allen
wrench makes tightening the set-screws easier.
Ride Engineering agrees and will be providing
a ball-end Allen wrench in the future!
CRF's
Only Staff Review - November 2004
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