can I replace my suspension with modern forks and shocks to improve ride quality?

[ws6transam]

Suspension development has come a long way since 1991 and I was wondering if I can teach my old dog new tricks by swapping out the front forks and rear shock.

I did a forum search but didn't turn up anything definitive.

What with all the endless testing and research that goes into creating a balanced suspension, I am not comfortable at just going out to the bike wrecker and grabbing any old fork from a 2005 YZ or 2008 KX.

Is there a method that would enable me to make a decision on both front and rear shock, such that I could choose forks and shocks that actually improve the ride of my machine?

I have a 1992 Yamaha WR500. It needs a bigger (AND LESS WARPED) front disc, and the master cylinder needs some service too. It seems that if I need brake service and fork rebuilding, that now would be a good time to look at upgrading the whole assembly.

Obviously in the case of the rear shock, I would need to match shock lengths, or at least choose something in which the appropriate shaft length is available.

So, how do I go about choosing a late model suspension that is tunable enough to compensate for the difference in weight and weight distribution of my bike versus the one in which the suspension was originally designed?

 

[XRpredator]

the easiest swaps are by taking the entire front end of a new bike and seeing if the steering stems match up, then you can just swap everything over (forks, clamps, front wheel, everything). You can accomodate the difference in rake by hwo far the forks are up in the clamps.

as far as the rear, it's really just a matter of finding a shock that fits.

whatever suspension you have really doesn't matter, since if you send it off to whoever, and tell them what you are putting it on and what you weigh and all the other pertinent info, they'll be able to tune it to your needs.