02 RM 250 Suspension

[los36]

I have had my bike for about 4 months now and have been fairly pleased with the suspension performance. My only complaint is that the fork and shock have problems soaking up big jumps. I weigh 170 (w/o riding gear) and race motocross in the O-25 Intermediate class.

I think that up front, it is a spring problem and in the back, it is a valving problem.

FORKS: I run the fork comp. clicker only 7 clicks out. If I run it any further in, it becomes too harsh on the little stuff, any further out and then it feels great on the small stuff, but clanks on the jumps. If I stiffen up the springs and raise the oil a bit, would give me better action?

SHOCK: I can run the clickers pretty much in the middle of their adjustment range and it feels great everywhere, except for jump landings. If I move anywhere on the low-speed clicker, it starts getting ugly in the whoops and other repetitive bump combos. I see no alternative to a re-valve (more progressive low speed compression) for the shock.

Please give me any PROFESSIONAL opinions. I about to have a revlave done on the shock and am comsidering a front revalve also. Is it worth the money to do both, or am I on the right track to fixing my forks?
THANX!

 

[shaggy829]

los36
the .43 fork spring should be good .The shock spring stock is 4.8 in the past i would have suggested a 5.0 but i have not been able to do any spring testing yet.
THe 2001 model swingarm and linckage mimic the 01 kx 250
and would use a5.0 for your weight. A good revalve would help you out a lot because typicly springs don't do to much for bottoming control .the bottoming is mostly effected by damping design and oil height . :)
take care shaggy

 

[HONDA65]

I have done testing on the '02 RM, and personally, I think the spring rates are OK for you. Yes, a revalve would help. A good tuner will alter the fornt shim stack and raise the oil level. Out back the valving is a little on the light side. GREAT in the chop, but like you said, soft on the big hits. If your a fast Intermediate, going to a 5.0 wouldn't hurt, but I'd try it with the stock spring first.

 

[los36]

Thanks alot, guys.
I dropped my components off yesterday at John Mitchell's J/M Racing here in Houston. I'll let you know how it works!

 

[los36]

WOW!

Well, I got to try out my revalved suspension this past weekend. The only non-race testing that I got to do was during the 3 laps of practice I got before the event!
I never had to touch the clickers and it was awesome. JM kept the springs stock and was able to eliminate the bottoming without ruining the smooth midstroke.
I raced at Swan in Tyler, TX. The track got pretty rough but every time I was expecting to feel a sharp jolt going into a corner, I'd ride right over it without incident. The forks were even much more calm in the high speed rough stuff. Also, even though I saw some tire marks on my rear fender, I never noticed any bottoming while I was on the track. Very smooth. I went 1-4 for 2nd overall out of 30 entries. I've never done better than about 14th there!
Definitely worth every penny spent. I didn't think it would make this much difference. Thanks for talking me into it guys!

BTW - 3 day turnaround at JM Racing!! :confused:

 

[HONDA65]

:)