Manitou 2001 MARS Service Manual

2001 MARS SERVICE MANUAL

I. ANSWER PRECISION SUSPENSION

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING THE HIGHEST TECHNOLOGY MOUNTAIN BIKE SUSPENSION FORK AVAIL­ABLE. 2001 MARS FORK MODELS HAVE STATE OF THE ART AIR SPRING SYSTEMS. THE MARS SERIES
ALL USE THE TWIN PISTON CHAMBER SYSTEM (TPC) THAT SURPASS ALL OTHER TYPES OF OIL DAMPED
SYSTEM IN PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY.

Your 2001 MARS Fork is fully assembled and ready to for installation onto your bicycle and comes
equipped with a 1 1/8 threadless steerer tube. All MARS forks come in two versions: standard and
No-Boss. The standard version has mounts for both V-brakes and disc brakes. The No-Boss version
has the cantilever brake boss removed and is for disk brake use only.

II. CONSUMER SAFETY INFORMATION

GENERAL WARNING: Bicycling is a hazardous activity that requires that the rider stay in

control of his or her bicycle at all times. Reading this manual entirely and properly main­taining your bicycle and suspension fork will reduce the possibility of injury or possible
death. Prior to riding your bicycle, you should inspect your suspension fork to ensure that
no damage has occurred during the course of riding. Do not ride your bicycle if the fork
shows any signs of bending, cracking, leaking, or if it is missing any of the originally supplied
components. Any fall from your bicycle can result in serious injury or even death.
Following these instruction can help you reduce the risk of being injured.
If you are a moderate or aggressive off-road rider, or ride at least three times a week over
rough terrain, Answer recommends returning your suspension fork every 2 years for a
through inspection and update. Take your fork to a Manitou authorized dealer who can
arrange for shipment to Answer Products, or you may call Answer to have your fork shipped
directly at [phone].

IMPORTANT: The 2001 MARS fork is for off road use only and as such, does not come with the
reflectors for on road use.

1 Never remove or have the steerer tube or stanchions (inner legs) removed from the crown.

The steerer tube and stanchions are press fit assembled at the factory. Pressing them out will
permanently damage the crown, steerer tube, and stanchions beyond repair and render them
unsafe for any continued use.

2 Never attempt to thread a threadless steerer tube. Machining threads will weaken the steerer

tube and create an unsafe condition. The only safe thing to do is obtain the proper
crown/steerer from your dealer.

3 Any other alterations or modifications to your fork should be considered unsafe. Contact Answer

Montaggio dell' anello della testa

FIG 1:

Installation du jeu de direction

Race installation

InstalacÛ del anillo

Einbau des Laufrings

ARANDELA DE LA DIRECCION
CONE DE JEU DE DIRECTION

GABELBR‹CKEN-LAUFRING

ANELLO DELLIA TESTA

CROWN RACE

Modelo de horquilla

Espacio libre mÌnimo

ModÈle de fourche
Modello di forcella

80mm travel forks

Spazio libero minimo

3.26" (83 mm)

Jeu minimum

FIG 2:
Minimum Tire Clearance

Gabelmodell

Fork model

Mindestabstand

Minimum clearance

MINIMUM CLEARANCE

JUE MINIMUM

ESPACIO LIBRE MINIMO

SPAZIO LIBERO MINIMO

MINDESTABSTAND

Products Technical Support prior to modifying your fork in any way for safety information.

4

Do not use any Manitou fork if any part appears to be broken, bent, cracked, or damaged.
Contact your dealer or Answer Products Technical Support, [phone], if you have any
questions concerning the integrity

, condition, or safe operation of your fork.

5 Answer Products recommends that you periodically inspect your fork for wear and damage.

Inspect the crown, inner legs, and outer leg dropout and break arch areas for cracks or damage.

III. WARRANTY INFORMATION

Any Answer Products Manitou fork found by the factory to be defective in materials and/or work­manship within one year from the date of purchase will be repaired or replaced at the option of the
manufacturer, free of charge, when received at the factory, freight prepaid. This warranty does
not cover breakage, bending, or damage that may result from crashes or falls. This warranty does
not cover any fork that has been modified, subject to misuse or whose serial number has been
altered, defaced or removed. This warranty does not cover paint damage. Any modifications made
by the user will render the warranty null and void. This warranty is expressly in lieu of all other
warranties, and any implied are limited in duration to the same duration as the expressed warranty
herein. Answer Products shall not be liable for any incidental or consequential damages. If for any
reason warranty work is necessary, return the fork to the place of purchase. In the USA, dealers
should call Answer Products at [phone] for a return authorization number (RA#). Instructions
for repair, return, or replacement shall be given at that time at. Customers in countries other than
USA should contact their dealer or local distributor
website at www.answerproducts.com.

. For a list of international distributors, visit our

IV. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Figures 1 & 2
Ensure that the proper steerer tube length has been delivered on your fork. The steerer tube may
need to be cut to length to fit your bicycle head tube. If you are not familiar with this procedure,
or do not have the proper tools to cut the steerer tube, it is recommended that you seek a dealer
with a qualified bicycle mechanic to perform installation.
Never attempt to thread a threadless steerer tube. Machining threads will weaken the steerer tube
and cause an unsafe condition. The only safe thing to do is obtain the proper crown/steerer from
your dealer.

WARNING: The steerer tube and stanchions (inner legs) are a one time precision press fit at
the factory and cannot be removed from the crown. Replacement of the entire
crown/steerer assembly must be done to change steerer tube diameters or increase length
of threaded steerer tubes. Removing and replacing the steerer tube or stanchions will result
in an unsafe condition and should never be done.

1 Remove old fork from bicycle.
2 Measure and cut the steerer tube to fit your bicycle head tube.
3 Remove crown race from old fork and press onto 2001 MARS steerer until seated on crown. See

Figure 1.
4 Clean and grease headset bearing and crown races.
5 Install lower bearings on fork crown race.
6 Install steerer tube into head tube frame.
7 Install upper bearing, spacers, and stem.
8 Install handlebars. Torque stem handlebar pinch screw and stem clamping system to manufac-

turer’s instructions.
9 Install stem cap, adjust and tighten headset per manufacturer’s instructions.

10 Install brakes and adjust per manufacturer’s instructions. When installing disk brakes, the

caliper must fit, or have an adapter to fit, post style mounts with 74mm spacing.

11 Adjust front wheel quick release to clear the 0.275 (7MM) thick secondary catch dropout. The

quick release must be tightened after it has adequate thread engagement (4 or more threads
with the release adjusted to bicycle per manufacturer’s specifications).

12 Install brake cable per manufacturer’s instructions. Route disk brake lines so that they will not

kink or be pinched through the full travel of the fork.

13 Check tire clearance with crown. Figure 2.

Note: All 2001 MARS forks are equipped with a secondary catch dropout.

WARNING: When installing the wheel or any new tire, check the minimum tire clearance.
Measure from the highest point on the tire to the bottom of the crown. The minimum clear­ance allowed 3.26 (83mm) for 80mm travel fork models. Any less clearance can result in
accident resulting in serious injury or death. See Figure 2

CYCLE COMPUTER INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Follow the instructions in your owner’s manual with the following exceptions:

WARNING: DO NOT DRILL A HOLE IN THE DROPOUT. THIS MAY WEAKEN THE DROPOUT,
WILL VOID THE WARRANTY, AND MAY CAUSE AN UNSAFE CONDITION WITH RISK OF INJURY OR
POSSIBLE DEATH.

V. SUSPENSION SETUP:

• If the fork is new, break it in with at least one hour of riding before making any changes.

• Make sure the fork is in good working condition and is properly serviced and lubricated.

• Make changes in small increments.

• Keep a record of all changes made for future reference.

ADJUSTING RIDE QUALITIES:

ROTATE

GIRAR

RUOTARE

TOURNER

DREHEN

ADJUST SET SCREW

2001 MARS forks offer a wide adjustment range to suit individual riding preference and rider weight
by simply changing the air pressure and spring rate.

Compression Spring Fine-Tuning

Fine tuning adjustments are made by adjusting the air pressure and changing the spring. Use the
chart below as a starting point for finding the proper air spring based on rider weight.

Recommended Spring Rates for 2001 MARS Forks

Rider Weight Air Spring Coil Spring

under 115 lbs. 80 psi +/-5psi (1) 3 blue 80 pound coil spring
115-145 lbs. 100 psi +/- 5psi (1) 3 red 100 pound coil spring
145-175 lbs. 120 psi +/- 5psi (1) 3 red 100 pound coil spring
175-205 lbs. 140 psi +/- 5psi (1) 3 yellow 120 pound coil spring
205-230 lbs. 160 psi +/- 5 psi (1) 3 yellow 120 pound coil spring
230 + lbs. 180 psi +/- 5 psi (1) 3 black 150 pound coil spring

Air/coil spring rate tuning

All 2001 MARS forks use a combination of air and a coil spring. The air spring is adjustable via a
Schraeder valve located on top of the left leg. See Figure 3. The positive coil spring can also be
switched with stiffer or softer versions to accommodate for different rider styles and terrain.
There’s also a coil negative spring, but it is available in one rate only and is designed to be pre­loaded automatically as the positive air spring pressure
is increased (in other words, you dont need to do any­thing to tune it).

Compression Damping Tuning:

To adjust the MARS Elite: Figure 3

Simply rotate the compression-damping knob located
on top of the right leg and crown. Rotating the knob
clockwise will increase the damping, rotating the knob
counter clockwise will reduce the damping. Excessive
damping will give you a harsh ride over sharp bumps like
rocky sections, but will feel good in large hits like G­outs. Insufficient compression damping will bottom out
in the large hit G-outs and bob a little while climbing
but feel plush on the sharp hits.

To adjust the MARS Super: Figure 4

Remove the Anti-Bob compression damping assembly
from the top of the right leg. Adjust the setscrew on
the valve seat in to increase compression damping and
out to reduce the compression damping. Try adjusting
one half turn at a time.
Note: Compression and rebound damping on the MARS is
factory pre set.

Rebound Damping Fine Tuning: Figure 5

To adjust the MARS Elite and MARS Super
Simply rotate the rebound-damping knob located on bot­tom of the right leg. Rotating the knob clockwise will
increase the damping, rotating the knob counter clock­wise will reduce the damping. Excessive rebound damp­ing will give you a harsh ride over repetitive bumps (like
braking bumps) because the fork will pack up.
Insufficient rebound damping will make the fork overac­tive, top out and slap back when landing from a jump.
We suggest that you try adjusting your fork on the active
side with minimum rebound. Then try it over a variety of
terrain and tune in more rebound from there.

For additional tuning tips we recommend that you obtain a copy of the MRD tuning Manual P/N 85­3696 (download from the web at www.answerproducts.com) and check out the MRD Race Tuning kits
available at your dealer.

VI. TROUBLE SHOOTING

Fork seems to top out or has a slight clunking feel when front wheel comes off the ground:
Excessive preload or insufficient rebound damping will result in a top out. Select spring’s that
better fit your weight and riding style, set the air pressure to a mid to low range, and increase the
rebound damping to eliminate top out.

The fork feels less active and is not getting the travel it used to when it was new:
Chances are that the fork is developing stiction. Cleaning Microlube and applying light oil to the
stanchions should eliminate the problem.

Outer legs feel loose on inner legs and bushings, a knock or rock can be felt when pushed from side
to side: A very minute knock is normal with the new harder bushings. If the knock is excessive or
you can feel the fork rocking then the bushings should be removed and replaced. To do this contact
Answer Products or an authorized Manitou Dealer.

A small amount of oil seems to be leaking from top of the right leg at the adjuster cap:
If you store the 2001 MARS Fork upside down for a extended period of time a small amount of oil
may leak through the adjuster cap / knob assembly. The cap area is not subjected to damping
pressure under normal use. So you will not see any leakage with the fork right-side up.. A small
leak in that area will not affect the performance of the fork or cause any type of damage. We rec­ommend that you store your Manitou right side up. If this condition causes any problems please
contact your Answer Products dealer or call our warranty tech department for prompt service.