Tekniks HUGE suspension weekend in Wauchope

[GregMember]

I will start by saying I am worn out and yet by comparison haven’t done anything compared to the effort Nick and Brad have put into. The guys didn’t arrive up until midnight last night after a days work and then the drive up from Sydney. They then got straight to work on Tom Pollards new RMZ250 (son of an old bull Rick) finishing that at 3am this morning. Tom needed the bike to race today, so the boys got in done and went to bed only to start again today about half seven.

We arrived out the and milled around waiting for the guys to get up

I even rode Mick’s pig out kick starting it with no problem at all (the knee is all good)

14 bikes to do, how much money’s worth of parts here you reckon

They then stripped George’s YZ125 and went through it Nick making the magic happen.

Brad went over to the test area with Tom and made a couple of clicker style adjustments and Tom gave it the thumbs up. (Tom also got his first podium in A grade today with his new suspension) They stripped Rider X’s WR250 and gave it the full treatment X got in trouble for lack of grease in his linkages which wasn’t his fault but it was funny just the same.

I got to spend some time in the van with Dr Nick

Very interesting and much to learn, shims, shim stacks, bladders, springs, flux capacitors it was all happening

We had bacon and eggs, it was all going on, and these guys just kept working.

Nick still in the van

Brad

I got in and help stripped bikes, Kram’s husky was next.

When stripping we found the rear linkages were dry and seized, this alone ruins the whole suspension and Nick explained that even the best shock / suspension work in the world isn’t worth a knob of goats shit if you have dry seized linkages.
Kram’s bike is only 2000kms old and this is the result

I stripped and greased them for Kram and he went to town to get rums (cheers mate)

I stripped Gassits Gas Gas and Conner’s KX85, the guys had a break for about 15mins, a couple of rissole sandwiches and got back into it, they expect to go through until about 10 tonight doing Gassits daughters 125 Gas Gas and finishing Gassits 300 and who knows what else tonight. They reckon they will go till about 10 tonight and about 8 tomorrow night before they drive home to Sydney!!

Everybody that had there suspension done today was happy, real happy George was amazed by the difference, he kept saying it turns and you dont have to panic when you over jump (flat land) or case it out.

Thanks to Moose and Kathy making their place available and for their endless help. Thanks to Brad and Nick, I know they charge for it but its a huge effort just the same.

Will update more tomorrow, will be seeing STM and Nickj in the morning.

[corey heatherMember]

Looks like a good weekend to at least learn abit about stripping them down.

[Aaron WildeMember]

The manufacturers put stuff all grease in any of the bearings. I learned the hard way like Kram on the wr. I had to replace all the lower bearings. But i greased the new ones and really packed heaps in and they are going great. Those blokes sound like legends and the quality work seems to pay off with results. How they even built a flux capacitor is beyond me :laugh: Did they back the van in to keep prying eyes out?

[alanMember]

my ktm had heaps of grease think the dealer done it predelivery the wr400 was not to bad but my xr400 was dry as but spose it was a lemon liked honda s untill i got that bike

[GregMember]

Aaron wrote:

Quote:

Did they back the van in to keep prying eyes out?

No the guys were pretty open about everything they were doing, just that I guess they are very busy and when setting shim stacks and counting shims, clicks etc you dont want to be answering questions or talking to much :laugh:

But no secrets for sure I really enjoyed it and found it super interesting

Will be interested to see / hear peoples comments about their suspension

TB

[scott bockingMember]

Nickj and I can’t wait to get down for the full service. We will give a report after the work is done.

STM

[alanMember]

reackon the warchope lads were lucky to have there own suspension service home delivered good stuff

[corey heatherMember]

So big show up there for a OBT gas bag tomorrow hey LOL

[GregMember]

I just got home from a massive weekend, cheers to Moose and Kathy for letting their shed and farm be over run. Mick and Lesa for the accommodation and Brad and Nick for their hard work. I just spoke with them and they will be finished and leaving for the 5 hour drive home in an hour.

Everyone seemed happy with the results and I know the guys have been encouraged to call and ask questions should they need to fine tune

I learned a lot this weekend it was for me very interesting and educational

TB

[Mick DMember]

I have had a ripper weekend!! The opportunity to participate in a weekend like this was great. Just listening and watching what goes on, with removing and replacing suspensions in a few bikes, as well as being able to pick up pointers from Brad and Rick has given me a lesson in what I didn’t know. The main think I learnt, was you gotta look after your linkages!! On bikes that appeared to be well cared for, I saw some dodgy rusted bearings (mine included) that were well on their way out.

Another thing that made a top weekend was the general banter and bullshitting that goes on over beers when mates get together.

[scott bockingMember]

Nickj and I awoke at 5.15am to be in Wauchope by 8am for our turn to get the Tekniks treatment. We weren’t sure if we were on the right dirt road so I called TB and he said he did not know the name of then road but we should turn our lights off as it wasn’t dark anymore. :huh: I realised that we were just down the road and he was looking at us form Mooses yard. :laugh: We arrived at Mooses and were created by him, Mick and a grinning TB.
Nick and Brad from Tekniks had been flooded with work so we sat around and chatted with the crew that came and went whilst they worked hard. It was good to catch up with some crew and a great way to spend a Sunday morning. With the help of TB we stripped out our forks and shocks and handed them over to the boys. They would work on one bike at a time so as to be able to get the balance right. Nick was doing forks and Brad was on shock duty. Even though they had a lot of work and had been at it since Friday night they took the time to ask what you wanted from the work. They then worked together to make it happen.
They took their time with each fork and shock and treated us as if we were factory riders. Once they were done they handed back the springers and it was time to rebuild the bikes. Nickj, Kram, Connor (Mick’s son) and I got geared up and Brad took us out to Mooses track to fine tune. Static sag and race sag were dialled in and it was time to do some laps. We stared on the flat track then headed to the mini moto track to get a feel for the work.
Brad then watched how the bikes handled and pulled us in to ask our opinion and to give his feedback. I had asked that the fork had the same bottoming resistance but that I wanted it more supple in the first 1/4 of its travel. Nick played with the shim stack and gave it a full service and it was close to perfect. After a chat with Brad we increased compression by two clicks and it felt perfect. I had the initial compliance I wanted yet it did not dive under braking and it did not bottom on flat landings :woohoo: When Brad asked how the rear felt I could not even tell him as it simply disappeared beneath me which is exactly what is should do. It tracked so well and rode so damp that I had not even thought about it so we left it as is.
When Brad pulled Nickj over he could not even get a word out of him as he was frothing with joy. Teknik had turned his DRZ into an enduro weapon. We rode the track together for a few more laps then headed back to the shed to load up.
Thanks so much to Moose for lending us his place. He went out of his way as always to make us welcome and loaned us everything we needed. Thanks Mate
Props to the Tekniks boys for weaving their magic and a big shout out to TB for making the whole day happen.

STM

[Mark BuntingMember]

Ahhhhh the Husky is back in the house

Thanks to all that helped host, organise and work on the bikes.

From my perspective it was really interesting to see the work that goes into the fine tuning of our bikes. There isn’t a one fit suits all.

I think the boys at Teknics did a fantasic job of setting up so many different bikes to different riders. There where certainly lots of happy faces loading bikes.

My wrist is still a bit dodgey so I couldn’t give the bike the workout I’d hope to test the changes but the guys said they’ll make adjustments for me if I need them. Service with a capital S I say.

Bring on Nundle

Kram

[Nick JacksonMember]

Well I think STM summed up the day perfectly

I now have a completely different bike thanks to Nick and Brad, I had no idea the Drz could end up feeling so good to ride, I was putting up with front end washouts and a bike that was unpredictable on jump landings.
After riding Mooses flat track the first thing I noticed was how hard you could drop into the corner and the bike would keep it’s line. The rear end surprised me most I think because I knew the front could be improved but didn’t realize what I had been putting up with at the back, now it’s very stable and tracks perfectly.

Next Brad wanted us to go over some jumps and this is where normally the Drz would bottom out become hard to control on landing , I was cautious on the first jump but noticed an instant improvement , the landing was smooth and controlled.

Although it was only a short test ride I was ear to ear grinning and can’t wait to try it on my local loops to really see the differance. I will post an updated report as soon as this happens.

[Mick DMember]

By the time we got everyones bikes pulled apart and back together again, my XR was one of the last bikes to get done and it was way after dark when it was finished, so I might knock off early from work this arvo and go for a quick blast after work to see how it feels. Not only did Brad and Nick help me with the suspension they did an airbox mod for me, as well as point me in the right direction with some jetting changes that will see the XR rip my arms off from all reports. (I think they may have a soft spot for XR’s).
Both Brad and Nick have encouraged me to stay in contact with them in order to get the XR more finely tuned, Brad has indicated that he wants to come up here with his XR in a fortnight to come for a ride with me, so as he can dial in my suspension perfectly. Sounds like great after sales service if you ask me.
On thing I did notice however is that the XR now stands much taller and I near kicked the tail light off trying to throw my leg over it, I did take it for a quick run up the road in the dark at Mooses place and noticed it wanted to wheelstand much more, which I have attributed to the fact that the arse end no longer sags and bogs down under excelleration.
I also got my sons KX85 resprung as I had converted it to a big wheel and the front tyre was scuffing the guard on bigger jumps. On the first test ride after the work was done, it was still scuffing occasionally, so the forks came back out of it and the boys did some more fine tuning and the scuffing was stopped, no matter how hard Connor tried to make it do it by flat landing and nose diving. His bike also stands a heap taller than before which is exactly what I was wanting from Tekniks service.

Money well spent in my book.

[Mick DMember]

No it isnt a mini Bike That is an XR650R at Finke with Brad aboard!!! Brad is one big lump of a lad that knows a ton of stuff about the mighty Big Red Pigs!!!

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