A while back I put into my forks some Ricor Intiminator's, Traxxion springs, amsoil shock oil, and preload adjusters.

I didn't realize how much brake dive I had had and liked the more firm feel of the forks. But I also thought they were maybe a touch too stiff. I removed about 5mm of oil depth from each fork. The feel is much softer and the ride feels pretty good maybe a touch too soft, but the brake dive is almost back to stock levels. I never realized how annoying the feel of the dive was until it was gone and then back. I'm thinking of putting some oil back in each shock and splitting the difference to see if I can get the best of both worlds. I guess my question is whether the fork dive under hard braking is actually a bad thing, does it compromise performance or safety or is just a bad feeling?

 

Excessive brake dive transfers too much weight to the front wheel and unloads the rear, leading to loss of total braking power.

 

What Greg said above.

You should have some weight on the rear to help with rear wheel braking. Personally, I like a little less brake dive so setting the oil level height is important for me. You could try just a little longer spacer on your springs to help with that dive. Maybe add 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch. Go get a stick of schedule 80 PVC and find the perfect spacer length.

 

Thanks! I had practically no dive with my oil depth set at 125mm from top so I think I'll just add a couple of mm before I change spacers (I worked so hard to get them to the right length initially )

 

I know we are on two different bikes but as an example, the shop manual for my bike calls for 140mm but I have mine at 135. I like a little stiffer suspension (blame my sport bike days).

 

I can add some preload which would be about the same as adding spacer length though couldn't i? When I first installed everything I went 125mm from top then took out 5mm which brought me back to more dive. Going to add some tomorrow

 

You can add preload but be warned it can make it harsh on the initial bump.

 

Gotcha, I'll hold off on that then

Thanks!

 

Try using different weight oil in the forks. Using lighter weight oil might help instead of removing oil

 

What he says is true. Some use Amsoil 5 but there is 10 weight as well. Some mix equal amounts of the two. Typically, heavier weight oil will slow the rebound down a bit.