Front wash out in soft terrain.

[mlhend1]

I recently had my front suspension redone according to my weight with stiffer springs, etc. What a difference in the bumps and overall handling. The one problem I am having is the front end washes out in soft dirt or sand, more than it did before. Is the front suspension more likely to stiff or soft?

 

[Fred T]

After spending a significant amount of $$ on my KDX suspension I was really never able to get rid of front wheel wash out entirely. I did have to move my weight position a little farther back on the bike which supported keeping the front tire light exiting turns, which helps your speed. (You can be on the gas hard and attack the rougher conditions more.) Try not to stuff your crotch on the gas tank in every corner, sit back a little farther and see if the bike steers more where you want it. Thats what I ended up doing to get it to corner for me. I ride in a lot of soft sandy soil and it would plow or dive if I did'nt set up for the turns just right. I also added rebound dampening to the forks (MX Tech) and by adding a bit more rebound dampening to the forks that helped it too. Stock you have no adjustment for rebound dampening.

I am assuming you have a good front tire too.

 

[Matt90GT]

Beyond technique, try a different tire. That can make a lot of difference!

 

[canyncarvr]

In corners?

Control in the forks comes from pressure against them during rebound action. It's the fork rebounding in the corner that gives you control of the frontend. (same thing said twice in different ways)

It's technique/style that gets the forks compressed entering a corner in the first place.

If it's sand your talking about, rule of thumb is to add a couple clicks in sand.

You might 'spearmint with air pressure, too. My bike's washout tendency lessens considerably with a couple added psi.

re: different tires

They have personalities like peoples. Take note of what better riders in your area use. Try one.

Asking on a worldwide forum (like here), 'What's the best front tire?' isn't likely too useful. You'll get a bunch of imos that may have nothing to do with your application.

...like...Try a dunlop 756! ;)

 

[Robcolo]

#1, I think we have to actually diagnose the problem before it can be fixed. According to FredT's solution - getting his weight back- his problem was NOT washout [understeer] but just the opposite - the front tire biting and knifing under - oversteer. KDXs do this because of the steep steering angle and possibly the [only] fix is a steering stabilizer [I'll soon know as I just got one from Jeff] If it truly is washout, then CanyonCarvers solution of increased rebound damping / more weight forward / lower front tire pressure should help. Unfortunately my KDX exhibits BOTH of these traits so trying to correct one increases the other. IF your front compression valves are stock - your High speed Comp is too harsh and this contributes to washout. When installing RT Gold Valves, I added some of the discarded compression shims to the rebound stack [3 each side] to increase rebound damping. You need do do this especially if you've put in stiffer springs. MX Tech sells an adjustable rebound valve but how much do you want to end up spending on one of these bikes? It's one confused bike to sort out