Help/Advice - 00 YZ125 Front Fork ?'s

[mg_racing]

New Member in search of help/advice! I just recently got back into riding and cannot figure out why I ever stopped! Anyway, here it goes.....

I am 30 yrs old, 5'11" @ 180lbs and recently purchased a 2000 YZ125 and absolutely LOVE IT!! It has Pro-Action suspension and feels/responds great in my opinion except for on BIG jumps! The front forks seem to hit hard and bottom out at times. I can actually hear a fairly loud knock or pop when I hit hard and feel it in my hands/arms. I did replace the front fork seals and fork oil about 3 weeks ago because they started leaking oil after an extremely muddy ride and not sure if this has anything to do with it. I did add the minimum amount of oil in the forks that the service manual recommended which was I think 80 or 90mm of oil.

Is this a normal thing on big jumps?
Would adding more oil help?

I don't have much money to spend right now because the bike and gear pretty much exhausted my funds, but any suggestions that I can try would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
MG

 

[MRKRacing125]

You may want to adjust your rebound, and yes on some jumps forks will bottom out! The clickers should be underneath the forks. Turn them about 2 or 3 clicks out. If this is wrong, someone please correct

 

[super rat]

my 00 did the same thing. i hated how when it bottomed it would clank. it realy messed with me i was always trying not to hit suff too hard. i tryed to dial it out with the clickers but the fork would get very harsh with too comp. damping. i never got it right. on my 01 i had tom morrgan do my suspension he put different bottoming cones in it, revalve and pogressive shock spring, what a change. now i ride around looking for stuff to hit, im hitting things so hard that i have blown a few spokes out of my wheels. i know that im bottoming out but i never feel a jolt. its the best mod. ive ever done. my wife still has a 00 and im going to send her stuff out. oh the rebound is on the top of the forks.:D so there you have it throw money at it, at least thats what i did:) good luck

 

[mg_racing]

Thanks for the info! I think I will adjust a bit and see what happens! If that doesn't work, I'll start saving my pennies and have someone else build them!

 

[JTT]

mg, try raising the oil level, maybe even to the max. This will firm up the fork in the last 1/4 of it's travel (ie: bottoming), without effecting anything else. Cheap and easy fix.

Yes a revalve would be nice, but not necessary likely at this stage.

You should also check out what rate springs are in the bike and what you should have. This is another easy fix (although costing some money). At 180lbs, you are likely a little heavy fo the stock springs.

Always remember, springs are the foundation of your suspension, without the right springs, all the valving in the world won't make it right.

oh, and by the way, adjust your compression (bottom clicker on KYBs, I believe) to firm up the landings, slowing your rebound will likely make the situation worse.