Husqvarna Forks

[bruce690]

I have read through a number of fourms about the husky forks being outdated and no good for motocross. First - what is the difference between the husky 45mm marzocchi's and all up side down KYB's before 2005. All KYB's fitted to yamaha, kawasaki, and honda motocross bikes have the oil and the air mixed together just like the marzocchi's. When you pull them apart they even look the same inside. The only forks which are better than these are the twin chamber forks used on the CR/CRFs and the RM's. Even ohlins and WP forks are the same design as the KYB and marzocchi's.

If all these type of forks have the oil and air mixed together, why are the marzocchi's the only ones called outdated. Can someone explain to me why these forks are not as good as the others.

[Ride]

Because whomever is saying this does not know what they are talking about. They are very much like any other non cartige fork out there only better quality than most. I had mine revalved by LTR in Washington and they work as good as any fork i have used for off road including Factory Connection revalved CRF forks which are great. There is nothing wrong with these forks. They were good stock, now they are great.

[bruce690]

The stock husky forks are a cartridge fork aren't they?

[Ride]

The stock husky forks are a cartridge fork aren't they?

No.

[KTM-Lew]

The stock husky forks are a cartridge fork aren't they?

No.

Guess you don't KNOW either. ? The Marzocchi are cartridge, as mentioned in the first post. The Showa is a twin-chamber cartridge design. The 05 Yamaha's have a KYB version of twin-chambers and KTM makes a twin-chamber that can be bought thru the Hardparts division. Marzocchi makes a Twin-Chamber also just not sure it can be bought in the states. ?

[Ride]

I'm a little confused about your post but I know for sure all the Zoks I have had apart are non-cartridge and very similar to the pre 05 KYB's. The first post states that they are NOT cartridge. I have revalved several sets (99WR250, (3) 02 WR250's, TE450) and all are non cartridge

[YZFE]

All forks in competion bikes are cartridge forks, and have been for almost twenty years. Not all forks are twin chamber forks and neither is the Husky fork.

[eurodave]

well lets put this to an end right now.

according to marzocchi themselves state that there fork is " a single cartridge, multivalved dampend fork" any questions? go to the people that know. ?

[KTM-Lew]

Ride?

What make a fork a "cartridge" type and what "other" type is there? ?

[XR650_DIrtman]

Nice detailed description including design drawings:

Cartridge Forks technical

[XR650_DIrtman]

More discussion regarding different fork types:

From MXoffroad.com:

"Older type forks were known as damper rod forks. These relied on pumping oil through a fixed orifice to provide the resistance to movement. These were used into the mid to late '80's depending on model and manufacturer. Then came cartridge forks. These had a tube, or cartridge, inside the fork that was basically sealed off and filled with oil. There is a rod that screws into the fork cap, with a piston attached to the other end, inside the cartridge. As the forks compress, the oil is forced out of the cartridge by the volume of the shaft. The increased volume displaces the oil in the cartridge and forces it past a set of spring steel shims that create the hydraulic restriction.

Bladder forks (KYB design) used a rubber bladder on the outside of the cartridge in an attempt to aide in altering the air/oil volume outside the cartridge. The oil volume is normally measured in height. This is actually the amount of air on top of the oil in a fully compressed cartridge fork without the spring installed. What this controls is the amount of air on top of the oil. This air space is under a variable amount of pressure as the forks compress. The farther they compress, the higher the air pressure created. This has a huge affect on bottoming resistance. In other words, raising the oil level will help give better resistance to bottoming without making the fork action harsher on sharp edged bumps. Bladder forks were only used on some full sized KX's for a few years. They have quit using them.

Bumper forks (KYB design) have a rubber elastomer bumper (similar to an external shock bumper) mounted directly under the fork cap. This prevents a harsh metal to metal bottoming on big jumps.

Twin Chamber forks are a Showa design. This is a sealed cartridge design that has the compression workings at the top of the fork, along with the rest of the cartridge. The oil does not mix with the oil outside the cartridge, as in a conventional cartridge design. The fork spring is located below the cartridge, so measuring the oil height is, depending on model, difficult if not impossible. The oil quantity is given in a volume for this reason.

When suspension is modified, or "re-valved", basically the shims that control the resistance creating orifices are changed. There are a number of other mods that can be done but some of those are for different reasons. You might try each company's website to see if you can get some info on their particular mods. Be careful, though. There are some gimmicks some companies are trying to pawn off as actual working mods."

[Ride]

My bad, I was assuming “cartridge” and “twin chamber” were designating the same design. Basically that the damping oil is in a separate cartridge from the oil that is used in the fork for lubing the bushings. In the zoks there is no separation from the lubricating oil and the damping oil which I assumed what was meant by cartridge. Thanks for the edumication of the wording. ?

[RedRida110]

My bad, I was assuming “cartridge” and “twin chamber” were designating the same design.

I can see where you can be mis-led. "Closed Cartridge" is also a designation for twin chamber forks. When you see the word "cartridge" in there, it can lead you to believe they're the same thing.

[Guest dsornot2ds]

Excellent write up, Dirtman ?

Its too bad experimenting with the vavlving is such a pain in the ?...it makes you either want to live with what you've changed, or be extra careful on what you decide to go with. Not only the diameters of the shims are to be considered, but also the thickness of the shim material.... the possibilities are endless ?

[huskynw]

You can buy the twin chamber marzocchi forks in the US in 45 or 50 mm diameter units.