Haggis said:
Surely we can work out what is too 'hard' on these dear old Marzo's and fix it? <snip> What is it, learned guys? Spring rate, compression damping, rebound damping, internal friction, some or all of the above?
For me, Paul, the problem starts with resolving what people mean when they say their shocks are 'too hard'.
I?m kinda guessing here, but I suspect it's when they get a boot up the backside whenever they hit a bump. Dunno ... But if it is, that points to springs with too strong a rate, possibly/probably coupled with a shock giving too much compression damping.
But it might also suggest that the rider
may - note: I said ?
may?
- be ?sat in the seat? too much. If you tend to ride ?deep in the saddle? rather than supporting your weight on the pegs, you?re going to feel those bumps. It?s one reason why Cruisers have such soft suspension, of course.
As to the longevity of these things, well, I suspect Piet?s got it right (as normal) - poor quality control especially with reference to the rods. We?re talking relatively small dimensional tolerances in something which I imagine was always built down to a price ?
Btw, I get the impression that the Marzocchi AG range is much less 'rubbished' than the Stradas, even tho', as standard equipment on off-roaders like KTMs, Fantics and SWMs, you'd think they get/got a much harder life. Which raises the suspicion that Stradas were, in fact, a down-grade. Perhaps the clue is in the name ...
No knowledge - just idle speculation ...
