VOL. 55 ISSUE 48 DECEMBER 4, 2017 P73
out sacrificing good hold-up on the front end.
In this test we also learned how sensitive this
bike is to triple-clamp torque specs. It's tricky
finding the sweet spot on this fork and once
you're there, it's easy to throw it off balance
again by simply over-torqueing one bolt.
We had Precision Concepts dial in the shock,
as well (even though we didn't have any specific
gripes about it in stock form), and the result
was a polished and well-balanced suspension
package. As we mentioned before, the fork fix
wasn't a cure-all, but a satisfying improvement.
My hands/wrists are always my weakest link,
so a harsh fork will spell an early end to my day
on the bike, and that was often the case on the
stock RM-Z. Flat landings or slap-downs were
particularly punishing, sending a spike to my
wrists that I could only endure for so long. After
the Precision Concepts re-valve, that harshness
in the initial stroke was largely worked out. It was
particularly noticeable on bigger hits—the kind
where you have time in the air to think, "This is
going to sting." A few times I braced myself for
the harsh re-entry, but was very pleased to find a
much smoother landing.
TEST RESULTS
While the suspension spec was dialed in specifi-
cally for me, we still had some of our heavier and
more advanced test riders put in some laps aboard
our "project" RM-Z to get more feedback on our
upgrades. The results were unanimous. The power
is a stunning improvement, and the suspension
is a very positive change, but not what we'd call a
miracle fix. The KYB PSF2 air fork has its limits,
but a good re-valve, like the one we got
from Precision Concepts, can go a long
way in creating a good balance between
the top-of-the-stroke plushness and
the bottom-of-the-stroke support. This
was a point of contention in our original
tests, but the Precision Concepts re-
valve allowed a greater level of rider
comfort on the small chatter with-
