2023 gasgas mc 450 thoughts / XACT suspension

[Pokey]

Well,  I should not be doing this but looking into possible options of either the Gas
gas 450,  Honda 450R or possibly another KTM.  I like the price of the gasgas,  I can get a new one for 7k   Anyone one of them would need suspension work.   Has anyone ridden one or owns one?  Also for the WP XACT suspension,  Who does good work for riding tracks.  I really don't want to drop the money for a kyb conversion kit.


Thanks

[kb]

Well,  I should not be doing this but looking into possible options of either the Gas
gas 450,  Honda 450R or possibly another KTM.  I like the price of the gasgas,  I can get a new one for 7k   Anyone one of them would need suspension work.   Has anyone ridden one or owns one?  Also for the WP XACT suspension,  Who does good work for riding tracks.  I really don't want to drop the money for a kyb conversion kit.


Thanks

You don't need a spring conversion kit. (Unless you're too lazy to check air pressure in one fork leg before you ride...) Rick Johnson of Too Tech
knows what to do with them.

[Pokey]

Well,  I should not be doing this but looking into possible options of either the Gas
gas 450,  Honda 450R or possibly another KTM.  I like the price of the gasgas,  I can get a new one for 7k   Anyone one of them would need suspension work.   Has anyone ridden one or owns one?  Also for the WP XACT suspension,  Who does good work for riding tracks.  I really don't want to drop the money for a kyb conversion kit.


Thanks

You don't need a spring conversion kit. (Unless you're too lazy to check air pressure in one fork leg before you ride...) Rick Johnson of Too Tech
knows what to do with them.

Good to hear, thanks.  Ill find out mid next week if I am getting it.  I got a car from my Mom, I am flipping for it

[proride phil]

Ron Shuler also does great suspension work on the WP suspension. He's at Glen Helen just about every Thursday and also most "Sat MX at the Glen races". He's has handled the suspension on my Huskys since I got my '15 back in 2016.

I just got my suspension back yesterday for my '22 FC450 after he refreshed it. He did the original valving on it also. Been really happy with his work. I was also happy with Rick's work when I had my CRF450.

[Pokey]

Ron Shuler also does great suspension work on the WP suspension. He's at Glen Helen just about every Thursday and also most "Sat MX at the Glen races". He's has handled the suspension on my Huskys since I got my '15 back in 2016.

I just got my suspension back yesterday for my '22 FC450 after he refreshed it. He did the original valving on it also. Been really happy with his work. I was also happy with Rick's work when I had my CRF450.

Thanks Phil.  I hope I get this. I

[jAkE48]

I have had suspension or ridden bikes with suspension by, Pro Circuit, MB1, Factory Connection, Too Tech, N2Dirt, Stilwell, Race Tech WP in Murrieta, MX Tech and Pro Tune.  I am on my third bike with XACT / AER suspension.  I did the inset thing with Del Saggio in one them and yes, inserts are one of the best mods you can make, but in all honesty hard to justify for the price.

Right now I am on a '23 GasGas Factory Edition 450.  After scouring the net and asking around, the least expensive for the best result came down to a revalve by Corey at ProTune or JB at JBI.

Protune wanted $120.00 and JBI charges $400.00. My plan was to give a revalve a shot, and if it didn't work out go with a Raven spring conversion from Jeremy at MX-Tech ($1,600.00)

I went with Corey because the price was right and he had done work for me before.  ProTune is in Ohio and it may seem like a hassle to ship your forks, but it's actually super easy.  You contact Corey, discuss what you want and he will email you a UPS link for a prepaid shipping label bar code. You go to UPS and they will print out the label and you are good to go.  The best thing to ship your suspension in is a plastic foam lined rifle case that you can pick up at Walmart for around $30.00.

Because the WP XACT only has valving in one side, as long as your suspension is new or near new condition you only have to ship one side.

The stock valving on the new WP XACT is absolutely garbage. You have to run higher pressures around 150 to get it to ride in the top of the valving stroke and then it wants to dance and skip in small bumps and entering turns.  When you drop the pressure (140's)  to soften the forks you will get less skipping of the front wheel, but it dives into the turns and blows right into the mid stroke becoming harsh.

For $120,00 on the revalve I really didn't expect a lot, I really just hoped to make the bike rideable until I could scrape together the $1,600.00 for inserts...  I got the fork back from Corey and his recomended settings were both clickers at 18 out, 145-149 lbs of pressure for a plusher type of Vet intermediate ride.  First lap was a holy shiat lap!  Huge difference and 100% in the right direction.  Not a spring insert KYB type of ride, but night and day difference and all for the better. Super stoked and as I get a few more rides in I think I will just keep the revalve and forget about the inserts.  It really is that good.

[jAkE48]

With regards to the air pressure - The pressure in the forks is nothing but your spring.  It is either stiffer or softer. The valving handles the "plushness" of the ride.  With that said, because of the limited linear nature of the air fork volume, tiny changes in pressure can make a big difference in being stiff or too soft. You 100% have to stay on top of the air pressure.  Just 2-3 lbs can make a noticeable difference and 4-5 lbs is huge.

Always bleed then set your pressure before you ride.  I started the day and first moto at 50 degrees temps and 146 lbs of pressure.  After my first moto and right before my second moto the temp was 70 degrees and the fork had increased to 149lbs of pressure!  Huge difference in the feel of the fork

Anyways the new KTM, Husky GasGas WP stuff can work. You may want to think about revalve for the rear too as all the suspension tuners I talked to said it can make a big difference in the balance of these bikes. I decide to have Corey do a revalve, install a new anodized reservoir tank and change from a piston to a bladder in the tank.  He only charged $300.00 for this mod

[yzernie]

Ron Shuler of ESR Suspension.  He's made my air forks 90-95% as good as a KYB kit for a fraction of the cost.

[Pokey]

With regards to the air pressure - The pressure in the forks is nothing but your spring.  It is either stiffer or softer. The valving handles the "plushness" of the ride.  With that said, because of the limited linear nature of the air fork volume, tiny changes in pressure can make a big difference in being stiff or too soft. You 100% have to stay on top of the air pressure.  Just 2-3 lbs can make a noticeable difference and 4-5 lbs is huge.

Always bleed then set your pressure before you ride.  I started the day and first moto at 50 degrees temps and 146 lbs of pressure.  After my first moto and right before my second moto the temp was 70 degrees and the fork had increased to 149lbs of pressure!  Huge difference in the feel of the fork

Anyways the new KTM, Husky GasGas WP stuff can work. You may want to think about revalve for the rear too as all the suspension tuners I talked to said it can make a big difference in the balance of these bikes. I decide to have Corey do a revalve, install a new anodized reservoir tank and change from a piston to a bladder in the tank.  He only charged $300.00 for this mod

Good info Jake. Thank you

[Pokey]

Ron Shuler of ESR Suspension.  He's made my air forks 90-95% as good as a KYB kit for a fraction of the cost.

I will look into this as well.  Thanks for the info

[freds4]

Ya'll are crazy for paying so much for bikes that need this much work. 

I said what I said. 

[proride phil]

Ya'll are crazy for paying so much for bikes that need this much work. 

I said what I said. 

You have to pay to play. Besides, when you are an up and coming pro like myself, you have to have that edge on your competition. I know what happens when your suspension is not right, as I can still remember when my bike, due to the suspension and of course not rider error, darted off and center punched a fellow racers bike, which left a hole on the side of the engine and the oil leaked out. Poor guy could not race the rest of the day.

On the plus side, one of my competitors was no longer a competitor for that day!! 

[jAkE48]

Ya'll are crazy for paying so much for bikes that need this much work. 

I said what I said. 

I can't disagree with that, but to me be honest, my MTB cost more than my GasGas 450.

So in light of that the 450 + suspension mods is still a deal! Hahaha ...

[mxdad91]

Ya'll are crazy for paying so much for bikes that need this much work. 

I said what I said. 

You have to pay to play. Besides, when you are an up and coming pro like myself, you have to have that edge on your competition. I know what happens when your suspension is not right, as I can still remember when my bike, due to the suspension and of course not rider error, darted off and center punched a fellow racers bike, which left a hole on the side of the engine and the oil leaked out. Poor guy could not race the rest of the day.

On the plus side, one of my competitors was no longer a competitor for that day!! 
   I remember that race!

[freds4]

Ya'll are crazy for paying so much for bikes that need this much work. 

I said what I said. 

You have to pay to play. Besides, when you are an up and coming pro like myself, you have to have that edge on your competition. I know what happens when your suspension is not right, as I can still remember when my bike, due to the suspension and of course not rider error, darted off and center punched a fellow racers bike, which left a hole on the side of the engine and the oil leaked out. Poor guy could not race the rest of the day.

On the plus side, one of my competitors was no longer a competitor for that day!! 

  Actually it was a hole in the radiator and all the coolant leaked out, but the results were the same. 
(I have the video somewhere)