How do I harden my shocks with out a huge bill

[Bloody_MXboy666]

Hi everyone.... I am new to hear and I am a average 15 y/o biker... I got a KLX250 with a UNI airfilter and chengshin c-755 tires i was wondering how i could harden (stiffen) my shocks... mainly in the back but in the front a little too but I can't afford a bill over $150 can i add like more oil to the front and jus tighten the rear end( more spring tension) and b happy with that.. bcuz i can jump just as far as the average rider on a newer KX125 (or other bikes) :aj: :think:
:debil: :p
Plz Help
Tim

 

[Mr. Clean]

You can tighten the front forks by installing a short piece of pvc pipe of the same diameter of the spring to preload the spring. Just use a short piece first and increase in small increments. 1/4 to 1/3 inch goes a long way. Increasing the oil levels helps also. increase by removing the spring and pushing the tube together. Add oil in 1/4 inch increments here also. Adding more preload to the rear spring is advisable to keep both ends balanced. good luck mr.clean

 

[BlazinBoy]

I dont recommend using PVC piping. If you are jumping alot I'd be afraid of pulverizing spacers made of PVC. I think spacers made of steel or aluminum would work much better. Just my 2 cents. Also adding oil will increase the compression dampning which is the right direction you want to go. Like Mr. Clean said you will want to increase the rear spring preload also and if it has any compression adjustment increase that as well. Honestly the best fix for this is to replace the bike with a motocrosser model. I know.....easier said than done since you cant even afford new springs but until you upgrade to a better suspended bike your just gonna keep killing your KLX but hey...its a bike to ride right? Have fun!!

 

[David Trustrum]

Ok a couple of fundamental misunderstandings here, but very common.

1. Increasing the preload does not make the spring rate stiffer. They are the same springs just they are compressed a bit more. It does more to change your ride height, even if it does feel stiffer when you push up & down on them). Thick wall PVC pipe works just fine as a spacer though. You need to change the spring rate to reduce the bottoming. This can be done by increasing the diameter of the spring wire (not easy) the coil size, or reducing the number of active coils. This is cheap & fairly easy but does require some thought as to whether the spring will coil bind when fully compressed. You cut off a number of coils, heat the top end & bend it flat. Then you replace the reduced length with a longer spacer. For example in my old KDX I think I cut 3 coils off 30 total (10%) (memory only) & it was good. Newer ones I am told would coilbind, you’ll have to measure spaces from a preloaded state as it would be in the fork. Same trick can be done on the shock but you’d only cut off a section of a coil.

2. Increasing oil level will not increase compression damping. Thicker oil will but also the rebound, a little thicker may be worth a try. More oil will decrease the air level & increase the pressure near the end of the stroke which might help a little up to a point.