Just replaced all the pivot bearings (with Enduro MAX bearings). Everything feels real smooth - except when I do up the main pivot to 17Nm, it feels noticeably tight. Yes, both spacers are correctly in place. Anyone else found this?
Hey there, I registered pretty much just to answer your question... 2 years later

All Stilus frames (AFAIK Stilus V1, V2 and the current Stilus E-AM) do suffer from not so good clearance/alignment between the suspension elements plus some bonus design flaws.
If you want your suspension to move butter smooth (and avoid to develop fatigue cracks on frame/bolts in the long run) you must address a few issues:

Pivot A: the clearance between frame and rocker arm is too large. When you tight the bolt at 17 Nm the rocker arm is deformed as the bolt squeeze it against the frame. This cause misalignment between the bearings and most of the roughness you feel and might lead to cracks on the frame welds. This can be solved by adding one shim washer per side. You must check what your clearance is in order to size the shims properly. Should be around 0.6-0.8mm total.
Bolts B: Same as above, use shims to remove all the gap between shock and rocker arm. Here you can also play with shims to give B a better alignment with C and make your shock happier!
Pivot C: Here if you shock has a standard eyelet (w/o bearings), as you torque the pivot bolt to 17Nm you seize the shock between the mountings on the frame. You can lower the torque to about 5Nm and use medium tread locker on the
female threads. Again a couple of shim washer can be added to fill the gap and avoid strain on the frame + they can be used to improve alignment with "B"
Pivot D: No shims needed here!
...However the pivot is shorter than it should be and the inner ring of the drive side bearing sit on the pivot for just 1/4 of the ring width. This cause improper bearing loading leading to premature wear.
The fix involve buying a spare pivot "A" (which is a few mm longer) and use it on D.
The pivot on A has a similar problem but there's nothing longer available of that position.
The two bolts on pivot "E" are just fine but them and their twins near the rear hub should be greased with something thick and sticky like marine grease or antiseize on both threads and countersink for ease of removal. They bind alot and their tiny aluminum hex socket is rather fragile.
Torque on A, B, D, E should be lowered to 12-13Nm. At 17 Nm you risk to get regrets...
For C, 5Nm to keep the shock free, medium thread locker on
female threads to secure the bolt, and thick grease on the pivot to reduce wear.