oh and get a good lawyer.

 

Thanks guys. I'll try some of the tips. Hey LearjetMinako, that's funny, I also have a 2006 Klx & a 1996 Ford Ranger XLT... I paid more for the KLX than the Ford !!!

 

Yeah, 150 w/ gear. The bike is a little tall for me, but not as tall as most other dual sports. I like taller bars b/c I stand up a lot and I like the look of the oversized bars without the crossbar.
later

 

I put .42 springs in the front forks for off road work and to kill the front end dive when I brake hard on the street.

The ride on streets in southern Arizona is harsh now, however braking is a whole lot better and safer without all the nose dive drama.

Better foot pegs help but, there is a limit to what you will get out of the stock suspension. It's good but, not great.

With your light weight, the rear may be sprung a little heavy. Set your sag correctly and play with the rebound. Rebound is harsh so, if it's set a little high on the rear shock you are in for a rough harsh ride. Tire pressure was tricky for me as well with Dunlop 606's. 18PSI was too little and 22 was too much. 20PSI was just right for asphalt stability and cushioning off-road. I never got a pinch flat but, I did break a tire tube stem with hard stops on the street at 20PSI once in ~9K miles.

 

How do you find the .42's off road?

 

I never did hardcore off road trails with the stock spring rate so, I don't have a good frame of reference to compare them to stock. When I hit speed bumps on the street around 40MPH I get a little bounce in the handlebars that is easily controllable with about half the travel I got with the stock springs (stock was about 8 inches of travel).

Off road I think the steering is better in the rough stuff because the front is firm and doesn't dive. I rode into an ~8 inch ledge that caused me to almost stop before the front wheel lifted. If I had the front end dive of the stock springs, I think I would have flipped the KLX on top of me. On loose washouts I have great feel for what the front tire is doing and I can "lever" the handlebars when I need to correct my path in the soft stuff. I also do not notice any harshness on most surfaces. Washboard sections and flat rocky spots put a lot of vibration into the handlebars but, control is still good. I have also noticed that I appreciate a good front tire more because I get more feel transmitted to my hands. Also, I have not bottomed out with the higher spring rates but, stock I would have hit the stops hard many times by now.

The new fork springs are some of the best $$ I have spent. Delivered to my door, they were around $80 and were super easy to install (just make sure you use a socket and not an adjustable wrench on those soft aluminum fork caps). For a little more then the price of most tires, you can try the springs yourself ...

 

Thanks for the feedback, I have some on order.
Well, they arrived but the supplier forgot to cut them down for me.
I have had my suspension lowered and a stock length spring is no good for me now.
I have had to send them back to be cut down by 1".
No big deal as they are going to put it right and s#*t happens right?

 

Sidpost, what do you weigh? the front dive is crazy indeed..

 

In normal riding gear I'm around a 175 give or take a few pounds. On the street I normally have a big backpack on which adds 15lbs nominal up to 35lbs when I go grocery shopping.

Coming home from the grocery store I would get as much front end compression on a hard stop as I would with a hard hit offroad with the hiking pack.

 

Cool, you're right around my weight, maybe 5 lbs more.. I'm bouncing between 42's and 44's..