Fork not getting full travel

[Bird82]

I have a 1995 Kx250, it's set up for a 165lb rider and i am 180lbs.
I can't get the forks to use the full travel, i have the compression damping turned full out and it still won't bottom, i have a ziptie around the fork leg and it only goes to about 3 inches from the bottom of the fork, could it be there is to much oil in them? I bleed the air out a couple times a day, I was going to change the oil in them this weekend, I was wondering if that would fix it or should i do somthing else? Thanks for any help, Mike Hauck

 

[podia]

Why would you want the fork to bottom out ?

It would bottom occasionally, normally on big jump.

Maybe you want to reduce your oil height level.

 

[Jaybird]

My guess is that you do in fact have too high an oil level creating hydralic lock.

 

[rollingp]

censorship

 

[TexKDX]

Yea, it is possible they set the oil level with them extended instead of collapsed. If it turns out the oil is not the problem, then you may have bigger problems wth the mechanicals of the forks.

Don't you just love used dirt bikes?

 

[Bird82]

Cool, thanks for the quick replies, I'll let yall know how it turned out, c ya

 

[shockdoc]

If it's not oil height then check your spring free lenth. I've seen people install
the wrong length (to long) spring and cause coil bind.



doc

 

[Bird82]

I worked on my forks today, I think the oil level was to high or maybe now its to low because i took some out. I wont be able to test ride it until saturday.
I got a little confused. When checking the oil level do you also remove the 4 or 5 inch plastic thing(spring guide?) along with the springs? I set the level 100mm from the top of the fork with only the springs out, i hope this is right, sorry if this is a dumb question, the book i have doesn't really go into detail and I havent worked on forks in 20 years, thanks for any help

 

[shockdoc]

Springs out, forks completly collapsed to set oil ht. You can leave the spring guide on the rod.


doc

 

[Bird82]

Thanks, the oil level was at least 2 1/2 inches to high, equal to the amount of travel i was missing, I'm looking foward to seeing how it works now, thanks again, Bird

 

[Bird82]

Thanks, I rode today my forks are working great, Bird