[Riley]

I've redone my springs in the early summer.

I put .48 fork springs in and 5.7 shock spring. Standard tank, and with a Kouba link, about 3/4" raised forks. I've since lost about 25lbs, I'm now 215 minus gear. I wear boots, knee pads, Flak Jacket in addition to the helmet and a Camelbak with 3L water bladder and some snacks etc.

From center, I softened the forks compression 4 clicks and like it a lot. Maybe one or two clicks either way for fine tuning. Rebound stock.

Now, for the shock. When I hit a good bump while standing 3rd gear, the back end kicks up. I had softened it 4 clicks on the low speed compression and it rides smoother.

So, I'm thinking to keep it from bucking up I need to reduce the high speed compression?

What about rebound on front and rear?

[Asmith]

Slow the rebound on the rear slightly.

One issue that you won't be able to tune around is the fact that the Kouba puts the shock in a different progressive zone.

Normally when the sag is properly set, the mechanical advantage of the linkage has you in a fairly plush zone of the shock. The Kouba changes that advantage and has you in a less plush zone from the get go.

Going back to your stock linkage and having your shock internally lowered keeps that mechanical advantage where it should be.

[Riley]

Thanks! Some reason it just dawned on me, that by not having the tire forced down as fast by the rebound, it has less up force on the seat. That is if I'm thinking correctly. Tired.

If I want to soften the rear slightly more, should I go low or high speed? I think that the l/h refers to shaft speed rather than forward bike speed.

I'm thinking I may have enough clearance with my Durell seat now that I can take out the link and put the forks back to stock position.

I was going to try it this weekend, but my buddy has my bike in his truck still for tomorrows ride.

[Riley]

Bike is still kicking a little, but is much better with the stock suspension setup without the Kouba. Much better, enough that I won't recommend to anyone wanting to go fast to use a Kouba.

I bought a Durell seat and removed the Kouba.

Anyway, I'll try the rebound, should I mess with the compression? I'm pretty happy with how my suspension works other than the rear which isn't real bad.