Harsh feeling in forks

[MDA]

Hi,
While racing at a local hare scramble this weekend, I noticed that at slow speed there was a harsh sensation coming from the forks of my bone stock 2002 KDX220R. The KDX has always felt very plush over pretty much any terrain, so this was new.

I am wondering if I might have blown a fork seal and lost some oil. If I have lost oil in one or both fork tubes, is this the sensation that would result from this? I am seeing what "might" have been some oil on the shock, but it was not definitive. My understanding is that fork oil is pretty light stuff, so I may have indeed been seeing some oil.

I have very little experience with bikes, suspensions are still a mystery to me, so I hope someone here can point me in the right direction as to where to start looking.

Thanks in advance,
-Mark-

 

[RM_guy]

If you blew a seal you would see oil pooling at the seal and possible running down the forks. Low oil only affects the last 1/3 of stroke so that's probably not it. I would suspect that the oil needs to be changed. It can get dirty due to wear of all the sliding internal parts and the viscosity changes which can lead to harsh action.

 

[MDA]

Hmmm,

Well, I have not changed the oil since buying the bike (one year ago). I would not have figured it would have caused this much of a difference in the feeling while riding.

With that beind said, I was definitely not hitting the bumps nearly hard enough to get the shock to compress to the last 1/3 of the stroke. I just don't ride that fast.

-Mark-

 

[RM_guy]

You may be surprised at how dirty the oil is when you change it and how much better the suspension will work with fresh oil.

Another thought, the forks may be binding due to the front axle not being lined up. Have you had the front wheel off lately? Before you tighten the axle pinch bolts, spin the wheel and grab the brake to stop it quickly a few times. The tighten the pinch bolts.