Forks Too Stiff!!!!

[Chief]

Hi,

I mostly trail ride, stock 01 RM250. A lot of times I'm generally traveling over rocks that are in the neighborhood of 4" dia. It is generally rocky terrain that I ride. I don't jump much and don't ride mx tracks, It's basically tight woods riding and rocky polelines. Also some midsize whoops.

I weigh about 210 lbs with my gear on and am 5'9" tall. The problem I am having is the front end just isn't soaking up the rocks well at all. It skips around and sometimes sends the back up in the air. What I have found to work best so far is to set the compression damping at the softest setting and the rebound damping force to the hardest setting. I was told this forces the shock to ride up high where the compression rate is soft.

This weekend I rode a friend's 91 kx250 (stock) and it was a real eye opener. It made me realize how much energy I use just trying to control my bike, and it is definitely worth doing something about it, although a 500 dollar revalve is simply out of the question for me right now.

Do I have any other options? How much are softer springs generally, what about fork oil weights and levels? What would give me the best results for my money?

I do have a friend who specializes in snowmobile shocks, he rebuilds them partime at a local shop, he has some knowhow of forks and tools and has offered to help me out. The question is, what should I have done?

Thank You in advance from someone who has no idea of how to get the results I need,

Sincerely,

Joe Chief.

ps: Even search topic suggestions would be helpful, I just don't know what terms to use to find what I'm looking for

 

[Jeremy Wilkey]

Cheif,
Unfortunalty you could not have picked a worse stock bike for offorad.. The 01 had a real low-float midvalve and a passive bleed stack. The springs a soft enough for offroad. About the only thing you can do is reduce oil level, remove the paasive bleed shims, and or revalve..

Regards,

Jer

 

[MN KDXer]

Hey Joe,

Fear not, there is hope for your RM forks. Those forks can be made to work quite well off road with a revalve. Trak Control did my suspension last season, and my 01 worked VERY well for off road. Of course, it wasn't exactly a stocker either- WER damper, Boyesen reeds, 13oz Steahly FWW, and Bills pipe. The FWW is a biggee for the RM250, IMO.

As to the 01 in general, I don't know if my 02 is really more effective as a woods bike. There is a bit of each which has appeal; sort of a "pleasant power, but how about a little more?" compared to "PLENTY of power, thank you!" type of thing. I would suspect your bike w/ the porting is a bit more to the PLENTY side of town.

 

[Chief]

Thanks Jeremy and Joe, I really appreciate your feedback on this subject.

Joe, How about some numbers here? Could you tell me what I might expect to spend for the re-valve? It's going to be tough not trying the free stuff first, especially if it suffices, yet I have a feeling I'm gonna end up putting out the $ in the end. Hope you're doing well.

Chief

 

[RM_guy]

Joe,
I had Jeremy do my forks and I love them. I'll let you give them a try at Paragon if you want.

 

[Neil Wig]

Hi Joe, I had MXTech (or their affiliate in Canada) revalve the forks and shock for my '01 CR250. The cost of the revalve was about $400 Canadian ($250 US). The difference is amazing. Simply the best bang for the buck I could have spent.

 

[yz250roost]

so you had MX tech do both Forks and shock for only 250.00 that's pretty good!!

 

[Chief]

Thanks RM_GUY and Neil Wig,

I guess the plan is to make sure I get my arse to Paragon.(perfect testing grounds btw) then see if a re-valve is what I'm looking for. Also ride this summer as is. 250 bucks or so over the winter 'slowdown' should be within range for me.

They say suspension makes the difference between winning and losing (not that I race) more than engine. and I truly believe it. Then again, I have more than enough snot in my bike for me.

MNKDXer, I bet that FWW does make a difference. Every bike I ride seems to be under that 'Load' that smooths things out except mine. Maybe someday...

Later.

Chief

 

[MN KDXer]

Joe,

Been doing some riding over here. :) I'm still only so fast/slow, but the kid is on FIRE this year. He finished within breathing distance of some national level fast guys last weekend. I need to get him to some bigger races for some exposure.

The suspension DEFINITELY makes the bike, waaay before engine. At this spring's first HS, I had my bike dialed for deep whoops stuff rather than the sharp edged rootsy stuff. Can you say "Long day"? I had such a NICE start, too. (guess who was running #2 for over 1/2 the first 5 miles?)

You were wondering about prices; check at www.trakcontrol.com

The FWW is a good addition, and don't get too concerned about 13 or 11oz on the RM250. I tried both sizes and they felt about the same (+/-). Another good accessory is some different seat foam. Ceet and Factory Effex make good aftermarket foam in both heights, with the FE being a little taller, firmer, and better shaped.

If you've got a little downtime, the forks are most in need of some work, and you could get the bike to work (for MX) pretty good with the stock shock valving. My 02 had the exactly shock stacks and in stock tune, it worked very good for moto stuff. However, since you are aiming for woods work, you will need to soften both ends. Also... The stock KYB fork & shock fluid is kinda crappy stuff, and you may want to get that stuff out promptly.

Keep the faith, though. Those RM's are about the best steering bikes around and make excellent woods machines once dialed in. The 01's seem to steer a little quicker than the 02's.

 

[Jeremy Wilkey]

Joe,
Glad to see that you've seen the light! Sometimes it takes a while to sort through all the BS.. Jeff saw through it and now we are good freinds again, it sounds like you have now too.. Anyway maybe now we can all just get along.

I cocure with your assement, the 01 is a great bike once its set-up.. Stock well like we've said.. A real handful!

Cheif, A well tunned package will be very versital, if you don't mind turning clickers.

Best Regards,
Jer

 

[Chief]

MNKDXer, Good to hear the kid is on fire!!! Hope you guys have a winning and safe season.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I am checking out the links and I guess I'm on my way to a better ride.

Sincerely,

Chief