I thought I read somewhere that more travel can be had out of the front fork on the 09 + bikes by removing a spacer inside the cartridges and using a longer spring or stock spring spacer. Is there any truth to this? Anyone done it? I'd like to raise the ride height a bit. TIA

 

This can be done with almost any fork- but the forks will flex more. If you are looking to improve the performance- you would be better off with a good suspension guy doing a revalve and new springs.

 

correct, don't confuse longer travel with better suspension. proper spring rate and valving and a good set up makes a big difference

 

red, was it you or someone else who opened up an '09 and found that the fork was just spaced or such to get the travel reduction?...along with shorter springs, of course. It's true that longer isn't always better, but I appreciate all 11" of my '06 KLX. If the fork stanchions and upper tubes are all the same length as the '06/'07 models, then upping the '09/'10 travel to 11" won't weaken the fork. The fork would have the same overlap and therefore proper rigidity and safety. You'd only get into trouble if the lowers and uppers had reduced overlap with '06/'07 travel modification.

The rear shock could be the same kind of deal between the two models but would require more work to get into the internals. That said, it would be the perfect time to do a Race Tech Gold Valve mod to really improve the rear suspension. Gold Valves front and rear really transformed my bike.

 

I will be be replacing springs and revalving. I've been doing my RR and MX bikes for years, I just want to know what to expect when I get in there. It's not extra travel that i'm looking for, it's the added ride height. Shorter links in the back will take care of that.