kawasakis 04 KX125 fork review.

[marcusgunby]

well they have been busy-it looks externally like last years but thats about it.

 

It uses a 2 stage mid like last year, but this year they have gone to a 2 stage base valve.The base valve itself is like last years.No passive bleed shims like a CR.It no longer uses a CV and it doesnt use bumpers.It has a bottoming cone very like a CR125 fork.It does have a bladder like a CR fork but it has no removable restrictive barrier(ie large washer thats sits under the fork spring)

 

the bottoming cone recess has cut outs, to soften the action as the cone meets it.It has a nice plastic spacer that sits ontop of the spring to stop it eating into the soft alloy cap.

 

it uses low lifts (0.3mm i measured)however when i built the other fork to the same new stack i measured a 0.3mm difference(larger).So maybe it was meant to be nearer 0.6mm like last years????

 

Overall its a nice fork to work on with the cr type removable bottoming cone.No more heating the cartridge to undoe it.The fork seals were super dry however.One exeption is the cartridge holding tools wont fit this fork-i have 3 different ones and none fitted.It has hardly any cutouts to get the tool into.I ended up using 2 long thinblade screwdrivers-next time i will use the impact gun.

 

[drehwurm]

Servus Marcus,

Thanks for the review; it gives me something to think about while waiting to dive into the Showas of my CRF250 - if it ever arrives ;-) The two stage midvalve with a very low (0.2mm) lift was the ticket for me on the WP forks.

Have you already been into the forks of your RM - any report here? BTW, what oil are you using on the Showa forks?

Michael

 

[fonz]

it uses low lifts (0.3mm i measured)however when i built the other fork to the same new stack i measured a 0.3mm difference(larger).So maybe it was meant to be nearer 0.6mm like last years????



Marcus How do you measure the lifts.

 

[marcusgunby]

I measure from the plate to the cup-using a feeler guage.This is the actual allowable movement of the stack.Some people add up each shim and calcualte the float-i feel this allows for inaccuracies to add up.

 

[marcusgunby]

Servus Michael, i have revalved the passive side of the showas so far-they have loads of HSC std -havnt replaced the oil yet as it seems good quality.

 

[drehwurm]

Servus Marcus,

Well, let me re-formulate my question: What oil are you going to use in the Showas once you replace the stock oil? I've only used Öhlins No.5 and Sölva oil in the WP forks, but both seem to be a little exotic. I'm looking for something more mainstream to have comparable results, but it should also be readily available here in Europe!

Michael

 

[marcusgunby]

LOL i use putoline 5wt-its clear so you can see discolouration and i get it in 25litre drums so its a bit less expensive.I have no problems with the putoline and would reccomend it.

 

[bclapham]

Originally posted by fonz
How do you measure the lifts.

i build the stack on the bare piston along with the post. then i measure the distance from the back of the piston to the top of the post, and then measure the back of the piston to the top of the stack. subtract the latter from the former and voila, your lift!

 

[marcusgunby]

I forgot to talk about the shock-it uses a 20mm clamp instead of the 22 of last years.Apart from thats it looks similar-however it has a bleed screw at the top like the old ones had.This makes working on it much better-it uses a lightweight spring and bottom collor-you can really see they have gone for lightweight on the 04-just take a look at the fork guards-they look like they were designed by the same guy who did the 02 cr airbox.

 

[fonz]

Originally posted by marcusgunby
I measure from the plate to the cup-using a feeler guage.This is the actual allowable movement of the stack.Some people add up each shim and calcualte the float-i feel this allows for inaccuracies to add up.

Thanks for info learning all the time eh.........

 

[fonz]

Originally posted by bclapham


i build the stack on the bare piston along with the post. then i measure the distance from the back of the piston to the top of the post, and then measure the back of the piston to the top of the stack. subtract the latter from the former and voila, your lift!

Won't forget you too. This is great.... How can we go wrong if we have each other.

 

[drehwurm]

Servus Marcus,

LOL i use putoline 5wt

:-) This is the one, which is probably the most easiest to get for me. I have never used it though; guess it is time to get away from the high € stuff.

Michael

 

[projekt]

Servus Michael,

you can try out the Motul light, its about 4wt or 16 cSt@40°C. Gosd results in my WP SXS '02.

Hagen

 

[drehwurm]

Servus Hagen,

I knew the title of the thread would spark your interest, but I also see you have changed your mind ;-)

http://www.hagen-adams.de/host/cr250f.jpg

The Motul would be as hard or easy to get for me as the Öhlins and Sölva - the Putoline I can buy right around the corner. It is a nice coincidence that Marcus, who I'm going to question hard about the Showa forks, uses it also
:-))))

BTW, sorry for being off-topic.

Michael

 

[marcusgunby]

I have used many types over the years-the only stuff i dont like is the new silkolene 5wt-it comes out smelling so bad i feel sick.I have used motul and many others-most i believe are good oils-however its a good idea to stick to one brand as otherwise yout testing can be compromised by slightly different thickness oils.Ohh and i hate std oil used in KYBs.

 

[georgieboy]

Can you enlighten us a bit on the shim stacks used. Oke you say they are 2 stages, but do they have many big shims(low-speeds)? And how are your feelings about them. Overdamped, or just perfect?
And most important who won the poll: how long before Marcus .....etc!

 

[Onore GT]

Originally posted by marcusgunby


It does have a bladder like a CR fork but it has no removable restrictive barrier(ie large washer thats sits under the fork spring)

Although the internals look very similar the system differs significantly from the CR due to the change in the check valve at the top of the cartridge. The KX check valve is reversed from prior years, meaning that instead of metering oil flow into the lower part of the fork, now oil can freely flow into the lower part of the fork and is held under pressure by the check valve. This helps prevent oil cavitation and provides a much more controlled feel in the fork.

 

[marcusgunby]

Onore GT
interesting observations you have made-i didnt have time to really inspect the fork.Did you measure the mid lift as i have a different lift for each fork???

georgieboy
if i knew the lift i could tell you more of my feelings on the shim stack.I do like a 2 stage mid with low lifts in general.When i checked the 1st fork it had 0.3mm lift, then i built the other one with the same modified stack(which was 0.6mm lift) and it had 0.9mm of lift.So i dont know if the original should have been 0.6mm or 0.3mm.I will look at my notes for the actual std stack.

 

[MXP1MP]

I read this thread with alot of interest, I just got an '04 KX 125 but I haven't even riden it yet :( just wondering what your thoughts on the shock are it feels pretty stiff to me right now but it still needs to be broken in so I reserve any kind of judgement on it.

 

[marcusgunby]

The shock will be stiff-its hard to say with accruacy as they changed the linkage again.But its like last years with a smaller clamp shim-that will make it slightly softer.Also for the riders weight(175lb) a 4.6 rear spring gives much better sag numbers than std.

 

[marcusgunby]

heres the 03 kx125 mid(i think the 04 was the same)
18.1
24.1(3)
15.1
24.1
22.1
20.1
18.1
16.1
14.1
10.3

 

[bclapham]

wow! thats a lot of shims for a midvalve. i assume these KYB's have a much smaller cartridge than the yz forks that use the 11mm id shims

 

[marcusgunby]

small clamp on it however 10mm.

 

[bclapham]

so i assume the shims can bend over that small clamp really easilly since there is lots of leverage and the stack is actually quite soft?:)

 

[georgieboy]

Marcus, why the 18.1 shim nearest at the piston? Free bleed of 0.1mm??
Although you meassured 0.3mm/0.6mm lift.