Hello

I was wondering if any body could provide me with some good links with instructions on how to go about seting up the suspension for my bike. I am a heavy rider at 6'1" and 250lbs and I find the stock settings pretty soft. Any help with this would be great.

 

This is for sport bike but I believe the same holds true for dirt. It is best done in your ridding gear and with a couple of friends to help. Normally they can be coned into helping with beer.

Setting Rider Sag

The following is a simple "how-to" guide that should help in setting your rider sag. These numbers should work for most any sportbike, although you should check your shop manual for any recommended settings.


FRONT SAG
1.
Place a ty-wrap around your fork tube just above the dust cap (or just below depending on what type of forks you have). Make it snug but not too tight so it can move freely but stay in place.
2. Sit on the bike (in full gear for exact measurement) with someone holding it up in the riding position. This will move the ty-wrap up (or down) to its most compressed position.
3. Get off the bike (easy), put down sidestand, pull the bike towards you and back so the front wheel is off the ground (you can do this with a little practice) and have someone measure the distance between the ty-wrap and the dust cover.
4. This measurement is your front sag based upon your weight. It should be ~34mm-38mm (34-track 38-street).
5. Adjust your front preload as needed to make this correct (see owner's manual).

REAR SAG
1. Place a small piece of tape on the side of your tail section (sprocket side) straight up from your rear axle. This will be your reference point so make sure it is as straight up/down from the axle as possible and maybe mark a dot or something with a pen for accuracy.
2. Sit on the bike (in full gear for exact measurement) with someone holding it up in the riding position.
3. Have someone measure the distance from the marker down to the rear axle.
4. Get off the bike (easy), put down the sidestand, pull the bike towards you and forward so the rear wheel is off the ground (you can do this with a little practice) and have someone measure the distance from the marker down to the rear axle.
5. Subtract the first measurement from the second measurement and that is your rear sag based upon your weight. It should be ~26mm-32mm (26-track 32-street).
6. Adjust your rear preload as needed to make this correct (see owner's manual).

If the ideal sag measurement is unachievable (your too heavy) then you might consider upgrading your springs, valves, oil or replacing the forks or shock. See your local suspension shop for upgrade recommendations.

Welcome to KF

 

Better one http://dirtrider.com/tech/141_0411_s...your_dirtbike/

Scroll down to the suspension part, setting your sag is a must and will allow your bike’s suspension to operate to its fullest ability.

 

Great info, Notstock - thanks!

 

Thanks for the info, thats exactly what I was looking for.

 

No problem fella's [sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

KLX specific instructions on setting up suspension plus lots of other good stuff at http://www.klxzone.co.uk/maintips.html

 

Broncooffroad,

The KLX Zone instructions are great for setting up the rear. Made a world of difference on my bike as it was a long way out from the factory.

However, for someone at 6'1" abd 250lb, the front and rear springs are going to be way too soft.

The stock fork springs are .38's (kg/mm) and really designed for very light riders (around 140 - 150lbs). I'm actually getting my forks tuned at the moment, and as part of that are getting .44 springs put in (I'm around 180lbs).

The rear spring is a little heavier and is designed for around 170 to 180lbs riders. I've left my stock spring on as it's about right.

The stock suspension is not at all setup for someone around 250lbs. You really need to get it sorted out professionally. The difference will be substantial. Most people normally live with the stock suspension as the price to fine tune it can't really be justified, but for yourself I think it is more than jutified - probably before any other mod of significant cost.

There's also some more KLX specific suspension tips on Plant KLX here:

http://www.planetklx.com/techtips/suspension.shtml

I'd also suggest that at your height that you look into a higher bend bar or bar risers. I'm using the Renthal Jimmy Button high bends which are a lot better than the stock ones (I'm just under 6'). Bar risers are probably worth investigation too at you height.

Hope this has been of some help?

Drof

 

Here's the link to the spring rates:

http://www.planetklx.com/techtips/spring-rates.shtml

(Although the site is about the KLX300, the springs in the 250 are the same - in Australia anyway and I assume the US models are no different).

Drof

 

Here's a question for you suspension experts out there.

I have a Pelican box mounted to the rear rack. The box and its contents probably weigh about 5-10 pounds. When making the zero sag (bike on stand) and bike sag (bike off stand with no rider) measurements, should this box be present for either of those two measurements?