It truly is. I don’t know of anyone else working on, riding the heck out of and then making content like Highland. It’s such a great resource for entertainment AND information.
I talked to a couple "suspension shops" and their arrogance, trash talking and 10-week lead times convinced me to buy not only a closed-cartridge setup but also buy the tooling and learn the suspension myself. I have 4 bikes and I've learned a lot.
@@Jrod_FPV Lots of useful internet resources these days. Highland Cycles, Tokyo Offroad, IRC, Rocky Mountain ATV, Dirt Bike Channel and Slavens. Fork mfr's like MX Tech and Dal Soggio are starting to publish how-to's. Buy stuff you want, take it apart and put it back together. It's not easy but it's not impossible, either. Best part is now you'll know what you have.
If you know enough about suspension and I do, you can tell if someone knows what they're doing. For what it's worth, this guy is a straight shooter. Lot's of smoke and mirrors out there. Most people don't understand how it all works so they are at the mercy of the tuners. The BS guys try to keep it like some "dark art" and only they have the answer, make it like a cult following. I don't care who the tuner is. Don't tell me what kind of food I like and what beauty is or what kind of art looks good. Testing is the key, period!
I put 60+ hours on my Xplor Forks with stiffer springs put in by the dealer at 0 hours (2023 TE300). I found the forks to work pretty good at slow technical terrain. But like most riders say they just can't handle aggressive high speed riding especially once they get hot deep into a ride. To be fair I've also heard some smaller C level guys say that they really like the Xplor fork so it really depends on the rider. I've looked into many upgrade options for the Xplor fork but I've ultimately decided to go with the WP 6500 cartridge kit as it's the best bang for your buck.
Did you install the 6500 kit yourself? Did you have it revalved for your riding preferences? Would You mind sharing how much you paid for it and exactly what you paid for if it was more than just the kit itself? I'm considering doing this myself and the first quote I got was $2,000 just for the forks to get the 6500 kit revolved and installed.
I just got the Open Chamber conversion done on my 17 300xcw as well as rear shock tuned and it’s a game changer. It’s a completely different bike and very comfortable to ride and you can just blast through the chop!
@@Jrod_FPV The work was done by our local suspension shop here in BC Canadas Rider Edge Suspension, they’re considered one of the best suspension shops in western Canada. Im not sure what exact parts they used, but they convert the xplor forks to a closed chamber fork. They also resprung front and rear and revalved the rear. The shop owner is a successful racer that competed in 6 days events, his son is also a top tier racer that competes in the 6 days events as well our British Columbia Off Road Championship Series. They know their stuff, all I can say is it is 100% worth the cost.
on the right fork take the triangle rebound shims out and replace them with round shims about the same thickness, I add one extra shims also. I then added one shim to the mid valve to tighten up the float to 28 thousandths from 40. I add one large shim to the base compression valve at the bottom of the fork.also. to start with I went 2 shims in the compression and 2 in the mid valve to make 16 thousandths float but that was a little stiff so I settled on the above setting. I went from having both clickers on top all the way in to the one on the left all the way out and the rebound on the right 10 clicks out. this is pretty good setting for just a few shims and fresh oil.
the explorer forks can work really well, you will notice in about 2 minutes how bad they really are in stock form compared to this set up. the front tire sticks to the ground like glue. stock setup is way to fast compression and rebound in the first 6 inches it's hard to push it on Enduro trails in Alabama, the triangle Delta shims really screws them up.
1200 - 1300 $ 😜 .. In April I ordered (for KTM 300 '21) an OHLINS STX22 CARTRIDGES KIT for my weight (enduro settings) and I paid €1250 I replaced everything myself ....amazing what a difference it makes. Morgan tnx for review TSP Power Kit 👍👍
Hi buddy what’s happen if you change the spring in wp forks that only have spring in one leg? The ktm 1290 Super adventure R 2021+ have preload adjustment in both legs but only one visible spring in one leg, I it is 6.5nm I’m looking to put 7.0nm, but I don’t know if that will cause problem as the other leg don’t have spring. Thanks
thanks! This is very clear and helpful, you hear a lot of bad things about xplor but no explanation as to why. have you got experience with the wp 6500 inserts, would they be preferable to a conversion like yours, or race tech or k-tech where I am, and why yes why no. Cheers.
I think the left adjuster is a mid valve adjuster and does not help at the top of the stroke where they are way too soft and fast. I have a setting that really helps the 2021 explorer forks and it's very economical, I would like to share if it's ok to put it on here.
Sure man. The left adjuster isn't really a mid valve since there isn't a mid valve there. It really is a high speed adjuster but it doesn't even do that well.
On my 2020 te250i on the forks it has the preload settings on it would it change how you did this set up or the cost cause I’ve been wanting to do my suspension and bladder kit my shock and
Hey Morgan can u help me out?? I'm looking for a fork damper tool for my xr650r and I can't find one, anywhere u know of that I can find one? Thank u Erik
great vid as usual on your channel - and that pricing honestly i was suprised - i am from europe (czechy) - doing suspention by myself for friends and theirs friends and so on... - not all time job but like 7-9 sets/month - i am installing dal soggio xp one kit to front and RS kit to rear + revalve + full service and my pricing is almost the same as yours - around 1300 and in my opinion it is fair
Forgive my ignorance, but 1200 to revalve the suspension seems like a lot. Im not saying it is, i just have no idea. Is that the cost for the forks and the shock? And does that include the cost of disassembling and reassembling the motorcycle? And would it be cheaper if someone drops off the forks and shock alone?
Great question. That includes Forks, Shock, springs front and rear, oil, seals, a bladder kit for the shock, and labor. You do save some bringing in the components off of the bike.
Morgan, do you know the requirements to be a TBT "service center"? I have no one in Iowa to do suspension work so I've been doing my own. I'm interested to know if I could become a TBT rep here and start helping others in my area out.
For what it's worth...having your suspension done by Highland Cycles is worth every penny. I've had two complete suspensions done by them and both work flawlessly. Normally you might think yeah, whatever. Let me elaborate...I'm 6' 5" and not slender. Getting that right, is no small feat. For me, they're 2 for 2. It was worth my time and money to make a 700 mile round trip for the second bike. My 2 cents.
For less than 300 bucks you can fully change to double adjustable base valves and 2 proper mid valves. Then its a breeze to tune as a true open chamber setp.
@@LCARSADV genuine parts. Plenty of discussion on ktm talk with the required parts lists to make it True open cartridge. Few good stacks developed as well
Xplor gave ktm bad name in suspension. Happy they are slowly fading away. I put ktech orvs and bladder in mine was 1200. Put in by aa rider who has done suspension for years. No complaints love mine. They can be redone for limited $
@@jonathoncatterson8901 I had the KTech kit put it in GasGas EC300 forks. It makes the bike much more controlled in all conditions. So it was a safety as well as a comfort upgrade. Worth it.
Dude, bladders are not superior. If you don’t agree with me, explain to everybody why OHLINS DO NOT USE a bladder. Ohlins makes the best dirtbike Suspension on the planet.
I didn’t make it clear that the 1200-1300 price is for front and rear revalve
This is the best dirt bike channel on TH-cam period.
Thank you
@@highlandcycles You’re welcome but thanks for the quality Content
It truly is. I don’t know of anyone else working on, riding the heck out of and then making content like Highland. It’s such a great resource for entertainment AND information.
@@MikeRay1978 Thanks so much
I talked to a couple "suspension shops" and their arrogance, trash talking and 10-week lead times convinced me to buy not only a closed-cartridge setup but also buy the tooling and learn the suspension myself. I have 4 bikes and I've learned a lot.
What resources could you recommend for someone else trying to learn the ins and outs of suspension?
@@Jrod_FPV Lots of useful internet resources these days. Highland Cycles, Tokyo Offroad, IRC, Rocky Mountain ATV, Dirt Bike Channel and Slavens. Fork mfr's like MX Tech and Dal Soggio are starting to publish how-to's. Buy stuff you want, take it apart and put it back together. It's not easy but it's not impossible, either. Best part is now you'll know what you have.
You are a good dude Morgan. No arrogance at all, love the channel as always. Learn, wrench, ride.
I appreciate that!
If you know enough about suspension and I do, you can tell if someone knows what they're doing. For what it's worth, this guy is a straight shooter. Lot's of smoke and mirrors out there. Most people don't understand how it all works so they are at the mercy of the tuners. The BS guys try to keep it like some "dark art" and only they have the answer, make it like a cult following. I don't care who the tuner is. Don't tell me what kind of food I like and what beauty is or what kind of art looks good. Testing is the key, period!
The translation for xplor is "manufacturing cost saving thing" or "always same no matter what you adjust thing"
I put 60+ hours on my Xplor Forks with stiffer springs put in by the dealer at 0 hours (2023 TE300). I found the forks to work pretty good at slow technical terrain. But like most riders say they just can't handle aggressive high speed riding especially once they get hot deep into a ride. To be fair I've also heard some smaller C level guys say that they really like the Xplor fork so it really depends on the rider. I've looked into many upgrade options for the Xplor fork but I've ultimately decided to go with the WP 6500 cartridge kit as it's the best bang for your buck.
Did you install the 6500 kit yourself? Did you have it revalved for your riding preferences? Would You mind sharing how much you paid for it and exactly what you paid for if it was more than just the kit itself?
I'm considering doing this myself and the first quote I got was $2,000 just for the forks to get the 6500 kit revolved and installed.
I just got the Open Chamber conversion done on my 17 300xcw as well as rear shock tuned and it’s a game changer. It’s a completely different bike and very comfortable to ride and you can just blast through the chop!
What did you buy exactly?
@@Jrod_FPV The work was done by our local suspension shop here in BC Canadas Rider Edge Suspension, they’re considered one of the best suspension shops in western Canada. Im not sure what exact parts they used, but they convert the xplor forks to a closed chamber fork. They also resprung front and rear and revalved the rear. The shop owner is a successful racer that competed in 6 days events, his son is also a top tier racer that competes in the 6 days events as well our British Columbia Off Road Championship Series.
They know their stuff, all I can say is it is 100% worth the cost.
on the right fork take the triangle rebound shims out and replace them with round shims about the same thickness, I add one extra shims also. I then added one shim to the mid valve to tighten up the float to 28 thousandths from 40. I add one large shim to the base compression valve at the bottom of the fork.also.
to start with I went 2 shims in the compression and 2 in the mid valve to make 16 thousandths float but that was a little stiff so I settled on the above setting.
I went from having both clickers on top all the way in to the one on the left all the way out and the rebound on the right 10 clicks out. this is pretty good setting for just a few shims and fresh oil.
the explorer forks can work really well, you will notice in about 2 minutes how bad they really are in stock form compared to this set up. the front tire sticks to the
ground like glue. stock setup is way to fast compression and rebound in the first 6 inches it's hard to push it on Enduro trails in Alabama, the triangle Delta shims really screws them up.
You lost me at tightening up the float, I ride in rocky areas and that makes them harsh and noncompliant. If anything I add .2mm
the main thing is in stock form they are so soft and bounce in the first 6 inches they are hard to ride.
So much can be done to suspension it's crazy.
Yep
Will you be doing a video on the aer 48 fork? Nice vids man. I enjoy watching the mechanics and the riding clips combined.
I have quite a few vids on the AER.
1200 - 1300 $ 😜 .. In April I ordered (for KTM 300 '21) an OHLINS STX22 CARTRIDGES KIT for my weight (enduro settings) and I paid €1250
I replaced everything myself ....amazing what a difference it makes. Morgan tnx for review TSP Power Kit 👍👍
1200 is for front and rear suspension
Hi buddy what’s happen if you change the spring in wp forks that only have spring in one leg?
The ktm 1290 Super adventure R 2021+ have preload adjustment in both legs but only one visible spring in one leg, I it is 6.5nm I’m looking to put 7.0nm, but I don’t know if that will cause problem as the other leg don’t have spring. Thanks
It will be fine.
Do you know how this would this compare to the Race Tech Gold Valve open cartridge conversion?
Much better in my opinion
thanks! This is very clear and helpful, you hear a lot of bad things about xplor but no explanation as to why. have you got experience with the wp 6500 inserts, would they be preferable to a conversion like yours, or race tech or k-tech where I am, and why yes why no. Cheers.
I love the 6500’s.
Hey Morgan, if I drove up from Az could you do it same day if I gave you enough notice?
Yes
I think the left adjuster is a mid valve adjuster and does not help at the top of the stroke where they are way too soft and fast. I have a setting that really helps the 2021 explorer forks and it's very economical, I would like to share if it's ok to put it on here.
Sure man. The left adjuster isn't really a mid valve since there isn't a mid valve there. It really is a high speed adjuster but it doesn't even do that well.
On my 2020 te250i on the forks it has the preload settings on it would it change how you did this set up or the cost cause I’ve been wanting to do my suspension and bladder kit my shock and
No change. You just have a little more adjustment.
Do you sell the components to do this in a kit for the DIY guys?
I can sell the raw parts. We don't sell shim stacks
Hey Morgan can u help me out?? I'm looking for a fork damper tool for my xr650r and I can't find one, anywhere u know of that I can find one? Thank u Erik
Not sure. Maybe motion pro?
@@highlandcycles can't find one? U know anyone??
Would snap-on?? Or??
@@Doublee2020 not snap on. Maybe the Honda dealer.
great vid as usual on your channel - and that pricing honestly i was suprised - i am from europe (czechy) - doing suspention by myself for friends and theirs friends and so on... - not all time job but like 7-9 sets/month - i am installing dal soggio xp one kit to front and RS kit to rear + revalve + full service and my pricing is almost the same as yours - around 1300 and in my opinion it is fair
Very fair
Forgive my ignorance, but 1200 to revalve the suspension seems like a lot. Im not saying it is, i just have no idea.
Is that the cost for the forks and the shock? And does that include the cost of disassembling and reassembling the motorcycle? And would it be cheaper if someone drops off the forks and shock alone?
Great question. That includes Forks, Shock, springs front and rear, oil, seals, a bladder kit for the shock, and labor. You do save some bringing in the components off of the bike.
Can i send you a set? Bike was like riding a washboard on a boulderfield on easy st.
Yep. We can help.
Transparency in the suspension world is so strange , i have gone to a few different shops for my suspension only been satisfied with the outcome once
Ive learned that Most not all suspension guys are full of shit
@@jamesking4225 agreed !!
Morgan, do you know the requirements to be a TBT "service center"? I have no one in Iowa to do suspension work so I've been doing my own. I'm interested to know if I could become a TBT rep here and start helping others in my area out.
I do. You need to contact Travis. Email me at morgan@highland-cycles.com and I will get you in touch
For what it's worth...having your suspension done by Highland Cycles is worth every penny. I've had two complete suspensions done by them and both work flawlessly. Normally you might think yeah, whatever. Let me elaborate...I'm 6' 5" and not slender. Getting that right, is no small feat. For me, they're 2 for 2. It was worth my time and money to make a 700 mile round trip for the second bike. My 2 cents.
❤️❤️🤘🏻🤘🏻
For less than 300 bucks you can fully change to double adjustable base valves and 2 proper mid valves. Then its a breeze to tune as a true open chamber setp.
For sure. If you know how to do it yourself
Sorry, my comment wasn't really aimed at the DIY person or yourself. Actually it was pointless really. My bad...@@highlandcycles
@@MrKPIER no worries.
Which kit is that?
@@LCARSADV genuine parts. Plenty of discussion on ktm talk with the required parts lists to make it True open cartridge. Few good stacks developed as well
Does anybody have a xr damper fork tool that wants to sell it, that no longer has an xr?? Would like to buy it??
Google
Dude!! www.google.com/search?q=xr650r+fork+tool&sca_esv=560380137&source=hp&ei=a23qZNeqKuasqtsPg5uo2Ak&oq=xr650r+fork+tool&gs_lp=EhFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocCIQeHI2NTByIGZvcmsgdG9vbDIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAFItakBUOtgWKufAXABeACQAQCYAdkCoAGYFqoBCDAuMTQuMS4yuAEDyAEA-AEBqAIPwgIQEAAYAxiPARjqAhiMAxjlAsICEBAuGAMYjwEY6gIYjAMY5QLCAhEQLhiABBixAxiDARjHARjRA8ICDhAuGMcBGLEDGNEDGIAEwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICDhAuGIAEGLEDGIMBGOUEwgIFEAAYgATCAggQABiABBjJA8ICCBAAGIoFGJIDwgIIEAAYgAQYkgPCAgYQABgWGB7CAggQABgWGB4YD8ICBRAhGKsC&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp
🤘
Xplor gave ktm bad name in suspension. Happy they are slowly fading away. I put ktech orvs and bladder in mine was 1200. Put in by aa rider who has done suspension for years. No complaints love mine. They can be redone for limited $
For sure. Everyone who has used our setup really likes them too.
aer48 air forks entered chat 😅
Guy in my area foes ktech valves in as wellm havent decided if i wanted to pay the money yet. Do you like it a lot more over stock?
@@jonathoncatterson8901 I had the KTech kit put it in GasGas EC300 forks. It makes the bike much more controlled in all conditions. So it was a safety as well as a comfort upgrade. Worth it.
Suspension Web Gurus are just as bad as Web Gun Smiths
I bet
Dude, bladders are not superior. If you don’t agree with me, explain to everybody why OHLINS DO NOT USE a bladder. Ohlins makes the best dirtbike Suspension on the planet.