Ok- just some comments since this seems to be a popular topic of conversation.
I ordered the XR400 springs from Ron Ayers – http://www.ronayers.com
Here are the part numbers:
51401-KCY-761 SPRING, FR. FORK $38.41 X QTY 2 = $76.82
I am ultra cheap – so this is the best deal out there :thumb: .
After a few visits to my local dealer – the 96-98 springs for the XR are .39, the 99-04 are .40. The part number I listed are the .40.
Installation was pretty easy – total from start to finish was about 3 hours (and I am slow at anything). If I had to do it again, it would be half that.
I won’t go into any of the details since that has been discussed ad nauseum. A few things I did notice was that even though I fabricated a spring retention tool – I found that a pair of vice grips (needle nose style) worked really well.
I tossed the stock spacers and went searching for PVC. Luckily the house they are building next to mine had a huge pile of plumbing scrap – what do you know, PVC schedule 40. After measuring the complete stock setup – I wound up with a new spacer that is 1 3/8” or 35mm. This yielded about 10mm of pre-compression.
The stock oil that was in my new bike was disgusting. I am not sure what was in there – but it had the consistency of baby snot (I am not exaggerating). I was certainly glad to get that stuff out of there. May have something to do that my bike at new on the showroom for 3 years. Anyway – filled to 100mm from the top with BelRay 7w. I was going to go with Mobil One ATF – but after reading some more threads – the Bel Ray just seemed to be more appropriate. 1 quart was enough.
Bolted it back up…Reactions?
WOW! :yeehaw: Don’t spend another $100 on your KDX until you do this easy mod (unless of course you spent the big bucks for real suspension). This has literally transformed the bike. We have snow and ice on the ground – so my test run as short lived – but the difference is really noticeable. You will notice the difference the moment you mount the bike – that initial 2 inches of ride sag is gone. The bike just feels balanced.
I noticed that when throttling off – the bike doesn’t dive forward like it used to. The ultra plush ride that I was accustomed to is gone, however. Don’t get me wrong – it isn’t like riding an MX bike – but you can defiantly feel a bit more of the trail. I intentionally rode it pretty hard over some roots and some 2x4s (simulated roots) – and I could not be happier – soft, yet reactive.
All in all – SUPER UPGRADE.
I ordered the XR400 springs from Ron Ayers – http://www.ronayers.com
Here are the part numbers:
51401-KCY-761 SPRING, FR. FORK $38.41 X QTY 2 = $76.82
I am ultra cheap – so this is the best deal out there :thumb: .
After a few visits to my local dealer – the 96-98 springs for the XR are .39, the 99-04 are .40. The part number I listed are the .40.
Installation was pretty easy – total from start to finish was about 3 hours (and I am slow at anything). If I had to do it again, it would be half that.
I won’t go into any of the details since that has been discussed ad nauseum. A few things I did notice was that even though I fabricated a spring retention tool – I found that a pair of vice grips (needle nose style) worked really well.
I tossed the stock spacers and went searching for PVC. Luckily the house they are building next to mine had a huge pile of plumbing scrap – what do you know, PVC schedule 40. After measuring the complete stock setup – I wound up with a new spacer that is 1 3/8” or 35mm. This yielded about 10mm of pre-compression.
The stock oil that was in my new bike was disgusting. I am not sure what was in there – but it had the consistency of baby snot (I am not exaggerating). I was certainly glad to get that stuff out of there. May have something to do that my bike at new on the showroom for 3 years. Anyway – filled to 100mm from the top with BelRay 7w. I was going to go with Mobil One ATF – but after reading some more threads – the Bel Ray just seemed to be more appropriate. 1 quart was enough.
Bolted it back up…Reactions?
WOW! :yeehaw: Don’t spend another $100 on your KDX until you do this easy mod (unless of course you spent the big bucks for real suspension). This has literally transformed the bike. We have snow and ice on the ground – so my test run as short lived – but the difference is really noticeable. You will notice the difference the moment you mount the bike – that initial 2 inches of ride sag is gone. The bike just feels balanced.
I noticed that when throttling off – the bike doesn’t dive forward like it used to. The ultra plush ride that I was accustomed to is gone, however. Don’t get me wrong – it isn’t like riding an MX bike – but you can defiantly feel a bit more of the trail. I intentionally rode it pretty hard over some roots and some 2x4s (simulated roots) – and I could not be happier – soft, yet reactive.
All in all – SUPER UPGRADE.