[FactoryCostcoDH]

I have an 02 monster t which I am currently quite unhappy with because of how easy it bottoms and the lack of adjustment. I put in a super heavy oil in hope that it would fix my bottoming problem but to my surprise it did absolutely nothing! I put as much oil in as I could without creating hydraulic lock but all it did was make a little more noise.

As of right now I am a little unsure of what I want to do and my budget is a little tight. I have the options to send it to marzocchi where they could put in much heavier springs and see what is wrong with the dampening, possibly even see if they could install a compression adjustment (anyone know how much this would cost?), buy a used 05 888rc for around $400, or buy a used 06 66rc2x for around $400. What are your thought's on this? I like my suspension on the stiff side and the thought of being able to pedal well and having a lighter weight bike is pretty tempting... Thanks for your time.

 

[downhillracer]

new fork. 888 is better for dh. 66 for freeride

 

[SteezyWeezy]

yea, get the 888

 

[Netguy]

When I read the title of your post, I already had an answer.

I really cant think of one reason to keep a Monster (especially that you are not happy with) over a 888.

My only advice, would be to try and find a 888 with low crowns. So either a 04 or 05 with custom crowns, or a stock 06.

888's are so easy to maintain, and usually dont require much maintainance.

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

Well after doing a little research I found that grimeca doesn't make a post mount adapter for their system 17 brakes, which I have no intent on getting rid of, so I am currently wondering if I could get an 05 shiver to work as well as an 05 888rc. I know that the shiver's don't have a compression adjustment but I'm sure I could get it where I want with heavier oil and springs. Anyone have any experienece with these forks or can compare them to an 888? Also, is there an alternative route to getting my system 17's to work on a post mount setup?

 

[keen]

Both the Shiver and Monster share the same style dampers so you would be making a lateral change in performance. I am going to have to say you probably don't have the monster set-up correctly. If your primary concern is bottomout control 06' 888's have this control. The 05' 888 only has a low speed compression adj. that really needs to be modified (compression sleeve) to become effective.

 

[rockwool]

I would start with calling Marzocchi and Grimeca about advice and decide from there.


Don't the 06 66rc2x have the same internals, including bottomout control, as the 06 888?

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

I think I'll be giving marzocchi a call soon, thanks for the help. One more question: durability wise which fork should hold up better to a good thrashing, the shiver or the 888? I do about 60% freeride and 40% DH so I usually tend to lean towards a stronger stiffer fork rather than a weaker and plusher fork regardless of the weight difference.

 

[trailhacker]

The Shiver will feel like a noodle coming from a Monster.

Seems the cheapest option should be to get the Monster set up properly. This would probably invlolve new springs even if they aren't heavier. They start losing their "spring" after a few years of use.

 

[SteezyWeezy]

yea, shivers are super flexy because they have no tire arch, go with the 888

 

[Spitfired]

I guess I'm the only one who thinks you should overhaul the Monster.
the '02 monsters were their best year. I sold me '01 for an 888 and sort of regretted it. Don't get me wrong, the 888 is great, but I liked the older monster T design a lot more.

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

I've heard somewhere that you can get marzocchi to put high and low speed compression adjustments into monsters or shivers. Anyone have any idea how much this costs? I am actually pretty happy with the performance of my friend's 03 monsters, it's just that the dampening in mine doesn't seem to be working right and it's way undersprung for my liking. Doesn't the high/low compression mod actually use the 888 cartirdges anyways?

 

[Zark]

The 888 is a good bit lighter than the Monster, has more travel and is really stiff still. Its a great fork.

That said your Monster could be fixed quite easily. heavier springs and the right oil level and you would be good. A compression cartridge isn't really an option for the Monster, they had one for one year (01) and it had problems.


The shiver is plush, but pretty "pliable" The flex is really noticable in slow speed tech sections, not really at speed.

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

Well I just got a really good offer for an 05 888 with factory internals from a friend so I am going to end up going that route. Thanks again for the input.

 

[InsideMan]

sell the Monster to a Canadian. Or put it on your Dirt Bike.

 

[SteezyWeezy]

sell the Monster to a Canadian. Or put it on your Dirt Bike.

haha

 

[cheetaprowlerDH]

haha, he's already got a Zokie fork on his dirtbike... and its pretty much a Super Monster with 47mm? stanchions, am i correct Cory???

KTM POWER!!!

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

If I didn't need the money from selling them I would probably have used the monsters on the ski bike I hope to build soon. That would be so nice, I would probably only go through 5" of travel on the hardest of hits because the landings are so steep. Too bad I can't keep them...

 

[cheetaprowlerDH]

aww, now hes bummed he cant keep the fork that he screams at on rides...

Henrys fork is nice... very nice.
you also cant beat the deal he's giving you on it. especially because he will hold it for you until you have all the money!

and then you get me pitching in $100 for your new Romic to relace that P.O.S. R.C. that you have running with 40wt. Transmission oil in it.

(is this kid stoked or what???)...(on his friends, not his present Suspension)

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

Haha yeah it's basically like a '99 super monster with 45mm stanchions, rubber stanchion guards, oversize clamps, and compression and rebound adjustments.

Not bad for its time, but far behind the newer showa stuff honda is running... now the smaller showas they put on their crf150r would work great on a MTB if you could machine yourself a 40mm(?) hub. It's way ahead of freaking manitou dorados at around the same price new for the factory showa or WP stuff, so if you have the resources why not try it, just add much lighter springs and you'd be set . Just can't be too picky about weight...

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

Haha I'm surprised bender hasn't already taken factory dirtbike suspension and slapped it on a karpiel with as much duct tape as possible. I can see it now, Bender does the jaw drop again and still eats it even with 12" of travel in front and 15" in the back of fully adjustable factory suspension. I'm sure he'd try it too if someone gave him the idea.

 

[cheetaprowlerDH]

as you say on every ride, he's all balls, no finesse.

 

[Whoops]

meh. Monster's or 888...

I'm still riding my '99 monsters, all 9.5lbs of buttery lovin. They weigh too much, have only 175mm of travel, there's too much trail, they dive under brakes....

BUT.. in 6 years they've never needed ANYTHING more than a 6 monthly oil change. Unbeatable reliability. I much prefer riding to fixing and paying for replacement parts.

I am soreley tempted by the '07 888 ATA's though... what a change that would be. But nah, think I'll spend the money on a flight to Whistler or Morzine instead.

Whoops

 

[seismic]

Keep the Monster...one of the coolest forks ever made !

 

[Netguy]

Well after doing a little research I found that grimeca doesn't make a post mount adapter for their system 17 brakes, which I have no intent on getting rid of, so I am currently wondering if I could get an 05 shiver to work as well as an 05 888rc. I know that the shiver's don't have a compression adjustment but I'm sure I could get it where I want with heavier oil and springs. Anyone have any experienece with these forks or can compare them to an 888? Also, is there an alternative route to getting my system 17's to work on a post mount setup?

Shivers were one fork, that I thought soaked up small bumps at high speeds, better than 888's. Dont get me wrong, I love 888's and have one now, and cant ever see myself changing, until its replaced with a new model, however I remember the first time I rode a shiver, down a gravel road, with small braking bumps, and I was very impressed. When you ride a Shiver, the front wheel seems to feel glued to the ground. Absolutely no spiking. It felt awesome.

However on the negative side, it was flexy, and I would never feel comfortable hucking them off anything bigger than 10 foot drops. Thats just my personal preference.

You cant go wrong with a 888. Its the perfect all around fork, for DH and FR, and they are as tough as nails.

 

[Udi]

It's nice to see no one politely pointed out that the 888 and Shiver (all models) share the same brake mount - ISTD 6".

Not sure why you would want to keep the monstrosity of a brake that is the grimeca sys17, but I have one at home, and if I remember right it runs on a 200mm rotor after direct mounting to ISTD 6" mounts (so no adaptor needed for a normal 888/shiver brake mount).

Is yours the same as that? I'm fairly sure they didn't have different versions of the sys17 but could be wrong. If yours is the same as mine (and you run a 200mm rotor) then it will work fine on an 888. I'd reccomend the 888 over a shiver as it is much lighter and stiffer.

I'd also suggest the 06 888RC2X well over the 05 model as it has a much better compression damper (that will let you set it up as stiff as you want) and comes with flat crowns stock.

 

[FactoryCostcoDH]

Now that's the kind of reply I was looking for, thanks a lot Udi. I thought I had read somewhere that the 888's and 66's were post mounts but I guess I was wrong...

And about the system 17, I would never settle for anything less. I ride MX as well, and when switching between bikes I am less disappointed with the braking power of the sys 17 than on any of the other brakes I've ridden (including gustavs). The brakes on those MX bikes have spoiled me... and yes, I believe they do mount to 6" ISTD.

As I posted a little earlier in this thread I have a great offer from a friend of mine for his 05 888rc with the compression sleeve mod done to it, so I am 99% sure I am going in that direction... too bad it isn't an 888rc2x though, i'm not sure I could afford one anyways

 

[cheetaprowlerDH]

yeah, your brake will work on it.
Henry's Gustav mounts on there directly and runs an 8in. rotor, so it will work.

 

[Udi]

Now that's the kind of reply I was looking for, thanks a lot Udi. I thought I had read somewhere that the 888's and 66's were post mounts but I guess I was wrong...

The 888's are all normal 6" ISTD (04/05/06/07)
The 05 66 is too.
The 06 66 went to a post mount, so you would have had trouble if you went that way.

But yeah the 888 is fine. Try to get some flat crowns if it doesn't have them already and you should be set.

 

[frznnomad]

no brainer. 888

lthumbsdown: monster t.