The main reason for me modding the suspension to the level that I did is 1) I do a LOT of off road riding-mostly single track and gnarly off road stuff. 2) I found the 09 to have a bit of twitchy front end due to the lower suspension geometry, it had a tendency to tuck the front wheel. 3) Just because I do this kind of stuff for a living

I now have a bike that has perfect neutral handling.....very stable at high speed, but still snakes around trees nicely.

Again just my 2 cents.

 

No, I get what you're saying. In fact, after your 1st post on this topic today I tried to see about finding a pair of fronts for myself. Raising front and back makes the most sense to me too. I ride in all kinds of terrain and wouldn't mind a little more ground clearance when going over rocks & stuff.

 

Have no direct experience but something I have looked into for awhile. From what I have read online people that have raised their klx 1 inch seemed to all say it's a positive with no increase in front end stability. I do question how much of a noticeable difference you could feel in the ride height though? So in the meantime I have just lowered front forks max and used a taller profile tyre than stock.

I am 6'3 and love the klx, and while I can continue to improve power and performance from stock I think long term the cramped feel this bike gives me in the legs could be the breaker.

 

I'm 6'1" and too think about giving the raising links a try someday just for fun. The tall seat helped tremendously with the cramped feel and better comfort, but of course does nothing for clearance.

 

My dog bones came in the mail today (@$30 shipped, as posted), so I thought I'd give it a try, as it's a super easy thing to do. First impression was to sit on the bike & see if I felt a difference. I'm 5'9" - 5'10", so noticed a difference right away in seat height - which I liked. I decided to take it around the block for a seat test. Being used to it the other way, I felt like I could notice that the rear end was a little higher, which made me feel like the bike was nose LOW (it wasn't, but that's how it felt). Steering seemed to be a little different (but only a little), more like a dirt bike. I raised my triple clamp a long time ago, so this mod def. raised the bike. I suppose if I was as tall as some of you guys, this wouldn't be as noticable. I'd also be a bit heavier, which may squish (technical term ) the suspension a bit more. I def. noticed that the rear stiffened up a bit.

The real test is going to be in the desert though. I don't know if I'll keep them on after I get my stuff back from MotoPro, but we'll see. One thing's for sure - I'll be taking the OEM set with me the next time I go riding, just in case.

 

used shorter fat aluminum dog bones to raise it an inch...feels more stable at higher speeds (which I like), but rear skids a bit forward on hard braking...looks better and like the way it handles...

moto lift...replace dog bones with shorter fatter aluminum dog bones...

 

I've really liked my bike set up this way. I think it feels much more stable in the dirt & handles better. I've also noticed that it seems to dig much better when I hit the gas. I think it looks pretty good too.

 

Post a pic of the new altitude of your klx....

 

The KLX Rear linkage is rather simple. The pivot block is attached to the frame and the shock. The dogbones pull on the pivot block to compress the shock. See attached image, KLX is on the right. Since the pivot block and the shock are attached to the frame there is no difference in leverage by changing the dogbones, just ride height. Now look at the KX rear linkage, it is the opposite. The pivot block is attached to the swing arm and the dogbones are attached to the frame. As the swing arm pivots up the pivot block moves with it and also changes rate of compression because at the same time it is pivoting up due to the dogbones pulling on it. So I think changing the dogbones on the KLX is not going to affect suspension travel or stiffness of the shock, just ride height. On the KX changing the dogbones will affect just about everything, ride height, shock dampening and wheel travel.

 

I raised mine and will never go back. Feels great.