21 pound fork springs

[ziggypop]

I just ordered 21 pound springs at from Fredette. The guy I talked to suggested 21 pound but I weigh 215 and I just checked Freddettes web-site and it suggests 23 pound springs for over 190 pounds. I trail ride at an intermediate level and am improving after a long lay-off. Any suggestions as to which weight sounds right.

 

[Mac]

I weigh 205 with gear and use 21 lbs springs, they work MUCH better than stock and are perfect for trail riding. I dont know about the 23 lbs springs, they may be too stiff. You can fine tune the performance by adjusting the compression or by playing with the fork oil level.

If Jeff said 21 and his web site says 23 then call him back and ask him what the deal is. He told me 21 when I ordered mine and i'm very happy with the result. :)

 

[ziggypop]

Thanks Mac I feel better. I will call him though to see whats up.

 

[POSyz]

springs

I also was wondering which springs to get, and wiegh about 215. I was going to go with the 21 pd springs and at the last minute decided to go with 22pd srings. I wonder if I actually got these though. They had "40" scribbed on the bottom of them. I think 40kg is about 22 pd. Anyways, I like the 22 pd springs just fine, except the front end still dives when applying anything more than moderate front brake pressure. I have my compression clickers set at 8 clicks out, thinking of trying 4 or 6. Maybe I need to add alittle oil? Not sure what will remedy this situation. My point is that I wish I would have went with the 23 pd springs.

Troy

 

[Mac]

Whats your fork oil level? I use Mobil 1 atf @ 90mm.

 

[ziggypop]

I talked to Fredette and he said I definitley wanted the 21 pound springs. I guess he is the man so I am excited to see how they work. It has to be an improvment over the mush in my forks now. During a poker run on sunday on a long downhill my front fender was right on my tire.

 

[POSyz]

mac- not sure on the oil hieght, I asked fredette about it and he said that I could pretty much just pull the old springs out and put the new ones in and the loss of oil would be insignificant. So I did. What effect, exactly, does having a higher oil level have? I may need to add some. Like I said though, seems fine except when braking decently, If I brake real hard, close to the edge of front wheel traction, I can darn near bottom it.
ziggypop- Please post your results with the springs. They will obviously be better, and stiffer, but I am curious if you still get diving on downhills and while braking.

Troy

 

[ziggypop]

I will let you know how I like them. They should be in first of next week. Oh yeah is there a good thread on installing them or is it pretty straight forward. I've read that you should take the forks off, I haven't been into a set of forks since I was a young lad.
Ziggypop

 

[POSyz]

changing the springs.

Well, I did mine without taking the forks out...that would seem like alot of work! A quick run down is I put the bike up on a 5 gallon pucket, loosened the top triple clamp bolts, Loosen the big nut/cap on the top of the forks-all the way off, pull the front tire up to the fender to push the springs up. Then, grap a couple sizes of open end wrenches, around 1/2" or so, and you can use one to hold down the spring and spacer while you lossen the cap off of the rod. Once you have the cap off of the rod, twist a 2' piece of small rubber hose on there, like the house that goes from your petcock to your carb. The rod will want to fall into the fork tube, put you will be able to pull it back out, or just hold it up with the rubber tube, while you take the old spring out and put the new spring in. After that, its all just reverse of taking it apart, and then do the other side. Hope you can make some sense of this!

Troy

 

[ziggypop]

Sounds easy enough Ill let you know how it went. Thanks Troy.

Bill

 

[Mac]

POSyz
More fork oil will stiffen the fork. You really should remove the forks from the bike to check or change the oil. With the fork vertical and spring out measure the distance from the oil to the top of the tube. Try setting it to 100mm +or- 10mm.

Also make sure you bleed the forks after transport with that little screw at the top of the fork tube.

 

[ziggypop]

Bleed the fork after every transport? Please explain as I have never heard this..

Bill

 

[Mac]

The KDX forks should be run with 0 psi. When riding, air will sometimes pass by the fork seal creating a vacuum in the fork tube, this will make your forks feel softer. During transport to my riding area I secure the bike into my pickup using straps to compress the forks, this will also cause a air to leak by the seals.

To equalize the pressure, place the bike on a stand then remove and reinstall the little bleed screw at the top of the tube, if you listen carefully you can sometimes hear the air leaking.:eek:

 

[ziggypop]

You know, that may be why my forks felt especialy soft this weekend. I put my bike in my truck for about four hours before I went riding. I am going to bleed every time I ride. It seems so obvious.. Thanks for the info again Mac!

Bill