Timbersled Riot page 6

[cbc76am]

My RIOT LE arrived at the dealer today. In chatting with him, he said the folks that work for Polaris that have ridden the riot preferred the fixed strut over the TSS. I'm struggling with this concept, regardless of the transfer that the riot has, having now read this thread, still.... the travel the TSS adds seems like it would be missed when dropping off anything. I'm perplexed as to what to do. Since I have an ARO with TSS still I might have to experiment with it and order the fixed for now. Now do i put the Riot on the cr500 or the yz450..?

 

[M5-]

On the 500 you will be building a fit kit for sure, it will likely overpower the Riot on anything set up but it would be fun in the spring. The 500 will make the track speed but I think I would start with it on the YZ.

 

[cbc76am]

On the 500 you will be building a fit kit for sure, it will likely overpower the Riot on anything set up but it would be fun in the spring. The 500 will make the track speed but I think I would start with it on the YZ.

the 500 already has the ARO120LE on it, same fit kit - but yeah machining spacers is part of life these days.

 

[teal_210]

My RIOT LE arrived at the dealer today. In chatting with him, he said the folks that work for Polaris that have ridden the riot preferred the fixed strut over the TSS. I'm struggling with this concept, regardless of the transfer that the riot has, having now read this thread, still.... the travel the TSS adds seems like it would be missed when dropping off anything. I'm perplexed as to what to do. Since I have an ARO with TSS still I might have to experiment with it and order the fixed for now. Now do i put the Riot on the cr500 or the yz450..?

The Riot has a rising rate suspension design. The curve seems to ramp up nicely which gives you a very bottomless feel. The Riot with fixed strut "feels" like it has more suspension than an ARO with TSS.

The ARO is a falling rate design and is sprung pretty soft for most people. It bottoms easily which makes TSS seem almost mandatory.

In the past I was a huge fan of TSS. It gave you more travel, makes snowbikes feel like they have less of a "stinkbug" stance, and gives you a little extra leverage to lift the ski when you need to. The Riot has a totally different feel than most snowbikes - and IMO does not need TSS.

 

[cbc76am]

The Riot has a rising rate suspension design. The curve seems to ramp up nicely which gives you a very bottomless feel. The Riot with fixed strut "feels" like it has more suspension than an ARO with TSS.

The ARO is a falling rate design and is sprung pretty soft for most people. It bottoms easily which makes TSS seem almost mandatory.

In the past I was a huge fan of TSS. It gave you more travel, makes snowbikes feel like they have less of a "stinkbug" stance, and gives you a little extra leverage to lift the ski when you need to. The Riot has a totally different feel than most snowbikes - and IMO does not need TSS.

Having no experience, and not having been previously educated on the dampening curve I was shooting blind. Thank you for the input. I've also been informed that there is a revalve that the dealers can send the TSS to fox for, it's called "X Tune" and was developed for the riot. But saving 1000 dollars sounds like a win upon receiving your input. Thank you sir.

 

[needpowder]

“X” tune for the riot huh? Hmmm. I was going to sell my TSS with my old kit but now I might wait to hear a bit more…
Dealer just called. My kit has arrived!

 

[cbc76am]

 

[CATSLEDMAN1]

since my first TS kit I have stiffened springs and increased shock compression and rebound rates to get better handling trail manners, better bump performance , stiffer springs and shock rates definitely go through snow conditions much better.

I would have to assume the TS / Fox shock kits are parts to head in this direction......stiffer shock springs / stiffer dampening. In past posts I put up the numbers/prices/springs needed to go there for not much money. The issue with these kits: DO YOU GET STIFFER SPRINGS ? Thats the first shock mod that really show seat of the pants improvements. You likely can't go wrong with this mod on any couple of year older TS kit because the shocks need new oil in them by now anyway.

I have had good reports back from 120 lb. female TS riders that were impressed with their stiffer springs and more dampening............so I think regular to aggressive riders of any size will benefit

 

[cbc76am]

I've rebuilt many a dirt bike rear shock. Have nitrogen and a bleeding setup. I understand valving stacks enough to know where and what size shims. I guess I'll just have to give it a shot and tune my own.

 

[eric82930]

If you do any valving keep us in the loop, I do my own as well but mine is base model and wont even attempt it until I can test in hard snow (april). I don't think the riot is totally rising rate but it is for sure the least falling rate of all the ts designs and why the tss is probably not needed for anything but the most extreme hits.

 

[cbc76am]

I bottomed out a lot on the Riot last year, even after adding the TSS. I bent the front shock carrier from bottoming. I'm following Catsledman's advise and moving spring rates first... then evaluate rebound valving if needed. Went 250>275 up front and 80>90 in the rear. Also did as catsledman and went from 9 to 10 inch springs with less pre-load. Finally replaced the TSS with a zBros coil over. Will be reporting in a few months when the snow flies.

 

[leadfoot310]

I bottomed out a lot on the Riot last year, even after adding the TSS. I bent the front shock carrier from bottoming. I'm following Catsledman's advise and moving spring rates first... then evaluate rebound valving if needed. Went 250>275 up front and 80>90 in the rear. Also did as catsledman and went from 9 to 10 inch springs with less pre-load. Finally replaced the TSS with a zBros coil over. Will be reporting in a few months when the snow flies.

How do you like the ZBROZ coil over strut compared to the TSS?

 

[cbc76am]

so far I hate it - all problems.

it's too long at 12.25 for the Yamaha, so I cut it down 3/5 inch with a deep cut bandsaw and removed the locking nuts on the threaded posts.
The spring is way too soft as installed for the riot... it would be fine on an aro but the riot has a further back leverage point on the shock.

I've tried to tighten the preload to compensate - I've got 2 special order spanner wrenches to accommodate that and I can't get it to tighten down. the body of the shock spins on the piston if you hold the bottom of the shock and turn the preload ring. If you use the other spanner holes on top it slips the hex locking nut and breaks the locktite on the upper collar and that starts to thread off. So I've got a turn and a half of extra preload and now I'm stuck unless I pull the shock and hold the body of it in an aluminum fork tube vice clamp. I can make it compress several mm with one foot on the peg. Sitting on the bike with no gear on uses .5 inches of the 1 inch of travel on the shock. I generally like to have 3-5mm of sag with all my gear on with a TSS.

I emailed zBros about this - it's been 9 days, no reply.