"Da Blue bomber"

Voodoo Tom

Voodoo Tom

MTB Addict
So I've been on a roll the last couple of years buying used bikes & saved lots of dough in the process. Figured I'd keep the streak going till it bites me in the ass. Wife has told me numerous times I deserve a brand new bike but stupid me I keep shopping used stuff and being frugal.

After a demo a few months back I seriously wanted a Yeti S4.5 as it was light, fast and handled like a sports car and was pretty much what I was used to. Thats what I was till a few weeks ago when I ran out of talent on middle merrill trail and landed on my head in a bad spot. Ever since this dismount I've been thinking ok maybe something bigger was in order. Ran it all past the wife and her reply was buy the bike with the best suspension so you don't kill yourself.

So today I'm at work tinkering on some new dirtbike when this box showed up. My bet is whatever is in the box will be way more fun than the POS behind it...
IMG_6360.jpg


Yep Sb5.5 with Lyrik fork and DBair shock...
IMG_6366.jpg


Not my best sight unseen internet purchase but ya cant win em all...
IMG_6372.jpg


Pics make it look cleaner than it is... Don't care as long as it keeps my fun meter pegged...
IMG_6374.jpg
 
Voodoo Tom said:
So I've been on a roll the last couple of years buying used bikes & saved lots of dough in the process. Figured I'd keep the streak going till it bites me in the ass. Wife has told me numerous times I deserve a brand new bike but stupid me I keep shopping used stuff and being frugal.

After a demo a few months back I seriously wanted a Yeti S4.5 as it was light, fast and handled like a sports car and was pretty much what I was used to. Thats what I was till a few weeks ago when I ran out of talent on middle merrill trail and landed on my head in a bad spot. Ever since this dismount I've been thinking ok maybe something bigger was in order. Ran it all past the wife and her reply was buy the bike with the best suspension so you don't kill yourself.

So today I'm at work tinkering on some new dirtbike when this box showed up. My bet is whatever is in the box will be way more fun than the POS behind it...
Click to expand...
Love it!!!
 
Last edited:
Hmm, you bought the monster truck. Don't think you'll have problems running over things. Including small children and medium size critters. Welcome to the tribe. Interested in your review of the double barrel. Might be worth it to purchase the shockwiz. Since it's used, just make sure that lower fox link is not dry. I try to lube it every two rides, over kill but that thing is like $300. It takes a special blend and you don't have to use the Yeti lube. I'll give you a amazon link tomorrow, if you need it.
 
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Good info, but....

muni said:
.....I try to lube it every two rides.....
Click to expand...
.

Service Intervals
Dry/Dusty Conditions 75-100 hours
Excessive Mud, Dust, or Frequent Washing 25-50 hours
Minimum Service Interval* 10-15 hours


*Servicing the Yeti Infinity Link more frequently than this is excessive, messy, and unnecessary.
 
Yes @scottay agreed. Excessive but takes less then a minute to do and it's not messy. Just a squeeze and you'll see it ooze out a little. Its not a complete service, just packing in more lube and allow the contact layer to be cleaned. So couple of rides I stated, but maybe 3-5 rides is more realistic. Watch the video, wore through in a month I guess. But of course he's a pro rider


scottay said:
Good info, but....


.

Service Intervals
Dry/Dusty Conditions 75-100 hours
Excessive Mud, Dust, or Frequent Washing 25-50 hours
Minimum Service Interval* 10-15 hours


*Servicing the Yeti Infinity Link more frequently than this is excessive, messy, and unnecessary.
Click to expand...
 
muni said:
Yes @scottay agreed. Excessive but takes less then a minute to do and it's not messy. Just a squeeze and you'll see it ooze out a little. Its not a complete service, just packing in more lube and allow the contact layer to be cleaned. So couple of rides I stated, but maybe 3-5 rides is more realistic. Watch the video, wore through in a month I guess. But of course he's a pro rider

Click to expand...
I had the sliding rail on my 303R-DH. All the haters said it would require frequent servicing and would be a constant source of frustration. Nope. I rarely had to lube it. I did, more often than necessary. It was a great bike. Yeti knows WTF they're doing. :thumbsup: :cool:
 
Don’t even know where to start or how to describe what went on today. Sure we rode wrightwood last weekend but there were still a couple great trails we didn’t hit so back to back weekends were just fine. Today was “new to me” Yeti 5.5 bike day. Spent a good chunk of time late yesterday in my 1000 degree garage assembling and adjusting and cleaning the new steed so I could ride it today.

So here’s a picture of her as clean as she gets. Great looking bike from this distance but not totally perfect when up close. I’m fine with that cause I like to use my bikes.
IMG_6378.jpg


I knew this bike would be a learning experience. I was really thinking the climbs would kill me due to a combo of 1000+ gram Minion 2.5’s front and back and a taller than I’m used to gear combo. Turns out this wasn’t really an issue as the bike pedals pretty darn good. The Enve DH bars at 800mm wide just plain suck. A bit too wide which can be remedied but the big problem was they are just stupid stiff and I feel every damn bump in the trail. I’ll try trimming em to 780 ish and some ESI chunkies next ride.

This is where things get weird.
So first descent of the day was a trail we call “log jammer”. This trail is not for everyone but it’s just darn fun in my book. Before dropping log jammer we stopped for a breather and decided to snap a few pictures. Since @Mikie has a new Hightower coming soon we figured we should let the Yeti’s get to know each other. Theres this concrete post thing (maybe trail marker?) sticking up out of the ground maybe 6” diameter and a foot or so tall and basically seemed perfect to prop the bikes up against to snap some pics. So some pics we took and as my back was turned I hear @Mikie say oh-no oh-no. Apparently a small gust of wind had set both bikes to rolling. Nothing we could do cuz it happened real fast. Mikes bike took a tumble away from everything and it was basically ok with the exception of needing to straighten the bars. Then there was my day old to me 5.5 that tried to make love with that stupid concrete post thing. It landed on the only un-taped piece of frame and then apparently bounced a several times in the process before settling with that stupid concrete post wedged between both fork sanctions. I tried to be careful picking her back up but there was nothing I could do the dang bike was stuck on that stupid post. Lifted it up while hearing a horrible metal against rock type sound.

So she’s got some battle wounds now. Somehow I kept my composure perhaps grateful that it wasn’t a brand new $8000 bike. Mikie was beside himself and literally sick to his stomach seeing what happened.
IMG_6385.jpg



Anybody happen to know if this is fixable or am I buying a new fork???
IMG_6384.jpg


So probably not fair for me to pass judgement on the bike just yet. It was good but didn’t really set my world on fire. Fork was too stiff even at 55 psi but better at about 47. Need to see how many tokens are in it and remove at least one. DBair shock was pretty good considering the only thing I did was set air pressure to get 25-30% sag. Had bars rolled way to far back initially and just wasn’t handling at all but after rolling em forward it felt better. There’s definitely potential I just kind of expected more wow. Set lots of pr’s but have to say my 120/140 Ripley must be way more dialed to me cuz it feels just as comfy and stable. Time to tinker and unleash the beast.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Voodoo Tom said:
Don’t even know where to start or how to describe what went on today. Sure we rode wrightwood last weekend but there were still a couple great trails we didn’t hit so back to back weekends were just fine. Today was “new to me” Yeti 5.5 bike day. Spent a good chunk of time late yesterday in my 1000 degree garage assembling and adjusting and cleaning the new steed so I could ride it today.

So here’s a picture of her as clean as she gets. Great looking bike from this distance but not totally perfect when up close. I’m fine with that cause I like to use my bikes.
View attachment 31552

I knew this bike would be a learning experience. I was really thinking the climbs would kill me due to a combo of 1000+ gram Minion 2.5’s front and back and a taller than I’m used to gear combo. Turns out this wasn’t really an issue as the bike pedals pretty darn good. The Enve DH bars at 800mm wide just plain suck. A bit too wide which can be remedied but the big problem was they are just stupid stiff and I feel every damn bump in the trail. I’ll try trimming em to 780 ish and some ESI chunkies next ride.

This is where things get weird.
So first descent of the day was a trail we call “log jammer”. This trail is not for everyone but it’s just darn fun in my book. Before dropping log jammer we stopped for a breather and decided to snap a few pictures. Since @Mikie has a new Hightower coming soon we figured we should let the Yeti’s get to know each other. Theres this concrete post thing (maybe trail marker?) sticking up out of the ground maybe 6” diameter and a foot or so tall and basically seemed perfect to prop the bikes up against to snap some pics. So some pics we took and as my back was turned I hear @Mikie say oh-no oh-no. Apparently a small gust of wind had set both bikes to rolling. Nothing we could do cuz it happened real fast. Mikes bike took a tumble away from everything and it was basically ok with the exception of needing to straighten the bars. Then there was my day old to me 5.5 that tried to make love with that stupid concrete post thing. It landed on the only un-taped piece of frame and then apparently bounced a several times in the process before settling with that stupid concrete post wedged between both fork sanctions. I tried to be careful picking her back up but there was nothing I could do the dang bike was stuck on that stupid post. Lifted it up while hearing a horrible metal against rock type sound.

So she’s got some battle wounds now. Somehow I kept my composure perhaps grateful that it wasn’t a brand new $8000 bike. Mikie was beside himself and literally sick to his stomach seeing what happened.
View attachment 31553


Anybody happen to know if this is fixable or am I buying a new fork???
View attachment 31554

So probably not fair for me to pass judgement on the bike just yet. It was good but didn’t really set my world on fire. Fork was too stiff even at 55 psi but better at about 47. Need to see how many tokens are in it and remove at least one. DBair shock was pretty good considering the only thing I did was set air pressure to get 25-30% sag. Had bars rolled way to far back initially and just wasn’t handling at all but after rolling em forward it felt better. There’s definitely potential I just kind of expected more wow. Set lots of pr’s but have to say my 120/140 Ripley must be way more dialed to me cuz it feels just as comfy and stable. Time to tinker and unleash the beast.
Click to expand...

As for the scratches on the fork stanchion, it's higher than the rubber band so no worries.:)

Just don't hit anything that will make it go deeper than that.
 
Voodoo Tom said:
Don’t even know where to start or how to describe what went on today. Sure we rode wrightwood last weekend but there were still a couple great trails we didn’t hit so back to back weekends were just fine. Today was “new to me” Yeti 5.5 bike day. Spent a good chunk of time late yesterday in my 1000 degree garage assembling and adjusting and cleaning the new steed so I could ride it today.

So here’s a picture of her as clean as she gets. Great looking bike from this distance but not totally perfect when up close. I’m fine with that cause I like to use my bikes.
View attachment 31552

I knew this bike would be a learning experience. I was really thinking the climbs would kill me due to a combo of 1000+ gram Minion 2.5’s front and back and a taller than I’m used to gear combo. Turns out this wasn’t really an issue as the bike pedals pretty darn good. The Enve DH bars at 800mm wide just plain suck. A bit too wide which can be remedied but the big problem was they are just stupid stiff and I feel every damn bump in the trail. I’ll try trimming em to 780 ish and some ESI chunkies next ride.

This is where things get weird.
So first descent of the day was a trail we call “log jammer”. This trail is not for everyone but it’s just darn fun in my book. Before dropping log jammer we stopped for a breather and decided to snap a few pictures. Since @Mikie has a new Hightower coming soon we figured we should let the Yeti’s get to know each other. Theres this concrete post thing (maybe trail marker?) sticking up out of the ground maybe 6” diameter and a foot or so tall and basically seemed perfect to prop the bikes up against to snap some pics. So some pics we took and as my back was turned I hear @Mikie say oh-no oh-no. Apparently a small gust of wind had set both bikes to rolling. Nothing we could do cuz it happened real fast. Mikes bike took a tumble away from everything and it was basically ok with the exception of needing to straighten the bars. Then there was my day old to me 5.5 that tried to make love with that stupid concrete post thing. It landed on the only un-taped piece of frame and then apparently bounced a several times in the process before settling with that stupid concrete post wedged between both fork sanctions. I tried to be careful picking her back up but there was nothing I could do the dang bike was stuck on that stupid post. Lifted it up while hearing a horrible metal against rock type sound.

So she’s got some battle wounds now. Somehow I kept my composure perhaps grateful that it wasn’t a brand new $8000 bike. Mikie was beside himself and literally sick to his stomach seeing what happened.
View attachment 31553


Anybody happen to know if this is fixable or am I buying a new fork???
View attachment 31554

So probably not fair for me to pass judgement on the bike just yet. It was good but didn’t really set my world on fire. Fork was too stiff even at 55 psi but better at about 47. Need to see how many tokens are in it and remove at least one. DBair shock was pretty good considering the only thing I did was set air pressure to get 25-30% sag. Had bars rolled way to far back initially and just wasn’t handling at all but after rolling em forward it felt better. There’s definitely potential I just kind of expected more wow. Set lots of pr’s but have to say my 120/140 Ripley must be way more dialed to me cuz it feels just as comfy and stable. Time to tinker and unleash the beast.
Click to expand...

Yikes, hope that is just cosmetic on the frame. You can wet sand little scratches in stanchions but too big of a chunk and you need new uppers, not a whole new fork. I had to sand a decent scratch in my Pike and its fine 2+ years later so just depends on how bad/deep.

Edit - You want to replace your fork seals when you do fix/replace the stanchions since they will get gauged by the scratch enough to let stuff in.
 
Voodoo Tom said:
Don’t even know where to start or how to describe what went on today. Sure we rode wrightwood last weekend but there were still a couple great trails we didn’t hit so back to back weekends were just fine. Today was “new to me” Yeti 5.5 bike day. Spent a good chunk of time late yesterday in my 1000 degree garage assembling and adjusting and cleaning the new steed so I could ride it today.

So here’s a picture of her as clean as she gets. Great looking bike from this distance but not totally perfect when up close. I’m fine with that cause I like to use my bikes.
View attachment 31552

I knew this bike would be a learning experience.Then there was my day old to me 5.5 that tried to make love with that stupid concrete post thing. It landed on the only un-taped piece of frame and then apparently bounced a several times in the process before settling with that stupid concrete post wedged between both fork sanctions. I tried to be careful picking her back up but there was nothing I could do the dang bike was stuck on that stupid post. Lifted it up while hearing a horrible metal against rock type sound.

So she’s got some battle wounds now. Somehow I kept my composure perhaps grateful that it wasn’t a brand new $8000 bike. Mikie was beside himself and literally sick to his stomach seeing what happened.
View attachment 31553


Anybody happen to know if this is fixable or am I buying a new fork???
View attachment 31554
Click to expand...

That SSSSUUUUUUCCCKKKSSSS! :( :thumbsdown: :bang: :poop:

I would sand out anything rough and run it as is. At the same time, I would start researching stanchion replacement.
 
Sad to hear @Voodoo Tom. Here is the how to fix the stanchion scratches. Just turn the bike upside down before you start sanding. You should be good. https://factoryjackson.com/2015/03/25/how-to-repair-fork-stanchion-scratches/ . You can also paint the frame if need be. Just find a local PPG paint dealer(or any automotive paint dealer) and they can color match from the frame. It's just base coat/clear coat and fine to use automotive paint. Then just take the pieces to a auto body shop for paint. If you want to head that direction, I can help. In the mean time, you can get turqoise frame protectors. https://www.allmountainstyle.com/co...e-guard-xl-blue-turquoise?variant=41190726416 .





@Voodoo Tom
Voodoo Tom said:
Don’t even know where to start or how to describe what went on today. Sure we rode wrightwood last weekend but there were still a couple great trails we didn’t hit so back to back weekends were just fine. Today was “new to me” Yeti 5.5 bike day. Spent a good chunk of time late yesterday in my 1000 degree garage assembling and adjusting and cleaning the new steed so I could ride it today.

So here’s a picture of her as clean as she gets. Great looking bike from this distance but not totally perfect when up close. I’m fine with that cause I like to use my bikes.
View attachment 31552

I knew this bike would be a learning experience. I was really thinking the climbs would kill me due to a combo of 1000+ gram Minion 2.5’s front and back and a taller than I’m used to gear combo. Turns out this wasn’t really an issue as the bike pedals pretty darn good. The Enve DH bars at 800mm wide just plain suck. A bit too wide which can be remedied but the big problem was they are just stupid stiff and I feel every damn bump in the trail. I’ll try trimming em to 780 ish and some ESI chunkies next ride.

This is where things get weird.
So first descent of the day was a trail we call “log jammer”. This trail is not for everyone but it’s just darn fun in my book. Before dropping log jammer we stopped for a breather and decided to snap a few pictures. Since @Mikie has a new Hightower coming soon we figured we should let the Yeti’s get to know each other. Theres this concrete post thing (maybe trail marker?) sticking up out of the ground maybe 6” diameter and a foot or so tall and basically seemed perfect to prop the bikes up against to snap some pics. So some pics we took and as my back was turned I hear @Mikie say oh-no oh-no. Apparently a small gust of wind had set both bikes to rolling. Nothing we could do cuz it happened real fast. Mikes bike took a tumble away from everything and it was basically ok with the exception of needing to straighten the bars. Then there was my day old to me 5.5 that tried to make love with that stupid concrete post thing. It landed on the only un-taped piece of frame and then apparently bounced a several times in the process before settling with that stupid concrete post wedged between both fork sanctions. I tried to be careful picking her back up but there was nothing I could do the dang bike was stuck on that stupid post. Lifted it up while hearing a horrible metal against rock type sound.

So she’s got some battle wounds now. Somehow I kept my composure perhaps grateful that it wasn’t a brand new $8000 bike. Mikie was beside himself and literally sick to his stomach seeing what happened.
View attachment 31553


Anybody happen to know if this is fixable or am I buying a new fork???
View attachment 31554

So probably not fair for me to pass judgement on the bike just yet. It was good but didn’t really set my world on fire. Fork was too stiff even at 55 psi but better at about 47. Need to see how many tokens are in it and remove at least one. DBair shock was pretty good considering the only thing I did was set air pressure to get 25-30% sag. Had bars rolled way to far back initially and just wasn’t handling at all but after rolling em forward it felt better. There’s definitely potential I just kind of expected more wow. Set lots of pr’s but have to say my 120/140 Ripley must be way more dialed to me cuz it feels just as comfy and stable. Time to tinker and unleash the beast.
Click to expand...
 
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