CR250 Suspension question

[curVV]

Hi all,

My friend recently bought a 2002 cr250r and he is having trouble with the suspension. We do alot of rocky/mountain riding and he gets kicked in rump through the very rocky sections. Riding behind him it is visibly clear and he gets thrown all over the place. The suspension was very hard to start off with so we changed the front fork oil from 5w to a lighter 2.5w which sorted out the fork stiffnes. We then set both front and back to the softest setting and rebound to a little harder(slower). The front seems to work fine but he still gets it in the rump. So, yesterday i switched the setings around to the opposite setting for the rear which sorted out the problem. Now my question: What am I not getting here? Setting the rebound to softest now gets rid of the quick rebound. how is that possible? Isn't softer rebound = quicker rebound? I have tuned the suspension on my bike quite alot of times and getting the desired results. but now with this cr250 things seem to work backwards unless i'm getting it all wrong. please educate me :). thanks a lot!

 

[Jim Havins]

What was the rebound clicker set at before you backed the clicker out ? 4 or 5 ? Some fluid goes thru the rebound clicker circuit during compression. When you get the rebound clicker in to around 5 it dramatically reduces this flow. If you want to feel the effect on the compression, set the rebound clicker at about 8 and push down the seat with your hand. Then turn in the clicker to 4 and feel the difference. I'll bet you'll be surprised on the effect it had on compression.

 

[curVV]

makes sence! i'll give it a try. thanks for your input. i just felt a kx250's suspension and it feels really really good. probably gonna need a respring or revalve or something coz the suspension is still very hard.

 

[ActiveRide]

Like Jim said, the rebound adjuster effects both compression and rebound. However, if you achieved these problems in roots and rocks it wouldn't have much of an effect in this situation.

What was most likely happening is it was falling lower in the stroke. Normally roots and rocks at a decent speed can cause packing quickly especially with the rebound at 5 out. The compression is keeping it up in the stroke, as well as the rebound. That keeps it up in the stroke which generates the softer feel.

 

[bikepilot]

Yep, sounds like it was packing up in the back which can result in a very harsh ride. You might try turning the compression back out along with the rebound.