question about front fork damper setting

james_uk

i have a used gt avalanche 1.0 which uses RockShox Tora 302 coil 100mm forks.
i have not been able to ride it yet due to recently having an op, the bike seems great and isnt old (2011) model.

i have looked at videos online regarding setting up the preload and damper settings, on videos ive seen it has looked obvious the difference in settings between the turtle and the hare, on the turtle the bike seems to come up fairly slow, and fast on the hare.

not sure if they are just much better forks in them videos but when i press my bike in on either setting turned all the way in either direction i dont see any noticible difference in how fast the spring makes the bike jump back up (or looking at the suspension how quick it springs back).
if i change the preload i do notice a difference in how easy i can press the bike down.

could something be up with the damper settings or is this normal?

i have just left the damper setting half way for now as a middle ground before i do go out on it. (will still be another 2 or 3 weeks time)

if this sounds pretty normal then thats fine, if it doesn't could the bike be dangerous to ride or would the spring just be locked in one setting till it gets looked at?

i'm new to suspension bikes so not sure if its ok, im just going by videos of other bikes that have been showing tutorials on hot to set the damper / preload on a bike.

thanks for any advice,

james

benpinnick

It should make abig difference. You might find its lost some oil so the circuits aren't working well. I would start with trying to find online how you check the oil levels.

bartimaeus

There was an excellent Youtube video on this - but I see it has just been taken down (or rather the guys account has been removed). I posted a thread on issues with the Toras (302 TK) on my Avalanche and sonic pointed me at the correct service guide.

The damper itself needs 145cc of 5wt oil - it says +/- 5cc, and it really is that sensitive... when I first tried to sort the damper I did not have a proper measure, so I used 'about 150cc' and it did not work properly! Now I have a syringe. The damper is very easy to sort... just remove the top (you will need circlip pliers to remove/replace the metal clip on the lockout ring), poor out the oil, remove and clean the damper unit (its a blue plastic unit with a couple of holes which control the oil flow), then replace and top up with the correct oil.

I've not actually had much issue with the damping... though I have not really checked how much effect the damper has. In my fork the loss of oil in the damper was causing a lack of travel.