If your planning on jumping, any bike you purchase will probably require a susp redue if your 230#, IMHO.

 

But I jump while standing on the footpegs so part of the suspensions are my legs..

 

Isn't that the only way to jump? Jumping without standing is just asking to get bucked off, right?

I'm ~185 lbs and I upgraded my fork springs for $100. Racetech ones off eBay. Made for KLX300, but work for 06-07 KLX250S with some spacers.

I finally completely honed in the suspension (minus valving). Shock spring is fine for my weight, and will be even better after I lose some weight. But I got sag set correctly for the first time as well and it's amazing how much better this bike handles in all terrain.

I got several metal washers to use as spacers for preload in fork, and then otherwise set fork clickers out much further than before putting in spacers (7 or 8 out vs 3 or 4 out). Now I don't have any fork dive on front braking, but I can do decent jumps comfortably without bottoming out.

My back clickers are pretty soft/open. I think all the way out on rebound, and 12 out on compression, but preload is set correctly to attain ~94 mm race sag.

I still want to do valving quite badly though. Probably will do 351 first but we'll see.

 

The fact that the suspension can be revalved to perform extremely well, as TNC and others here point out, is the big benefit over the CRF. The CRF is what you get is what you have - no adjustment at all and no rebuild/revalvablity on the shock. It is buy a $500 shock or suffer.

As a rider gets better the KLX suspension starts proving to be too soft in spring and weak in damping, but there is the solution of revalving them - not available on the CRF shock.

As a rider gets better they can rework their shocks and either rework the forks or swap out for MX forks. You will see some CRF riders have done similar along with buying $500-600 shocks.

By the way, it seems odd that one post says the KLX is not built for the pounding. Seems it has a frame near identical to the KLX300 which has some pure off road racing pedigree. The frame can do it, the suspension just has to be reworked to match skills.

At the present time the stock 09 suspension on my 250 will work for me. Hopefully my skills will build requiring more suspension modifications, but then again I'm not so young as to be doing too much jumping. Last big one I did in 1990 I stuffed the second jump face and paid the piper - shattered C6 vertebrae and ruptured left lung - took me out for nearly a year and a half, getting to learn to walk again after partial paralysis.

Needless to say I do wear a Leatt neck brace now when off road riding now. They didn't have them in 1990 otherwise things might have been different.

 

I didn't think about big jumps, just something like this


I guess I have to learn about suspension more because I don't know what revalving is.

 

A jump or "getting air" of that type and size isn't dramatically critical on the suspension unless rider weight and spring weight are way out of whack. Properly "valved" and tuned suspension setup comes more into play in successive hits where good setup allows you to continue to control the bike and poor setup causes you to be more of a passenger aboard a bucking bronco. If your terrain and/or riding speed isn't that challenging, good suspension setup and tuning isn't nearly as important. Many don't want to do anymore than dirt roads and smoother 2-tracks, and honestly the stock suspension can do OK on that...again, as long as rider weight and spring weight rate aren't way out of compatibility. The rougher the terrain gets and the higher the speed gets in that terrain, the more you'll appreciate good compression and rebound damping in the fork and shock. How the fork and shock compress and return during hits is controlled by the "valving". Sometimes...and maybe often...the factory delivered valving does not get the job done, requiring a change in that valving to deliver optimum handling.

 

TNC, did you revalve your shock yourself or send it out? I think if I remember right you did a Gold Valve kit in the forks yourself. I'm thinking for next fall...

 

I installed the Goldvalve in my shock over the winter-the hardest part of the project was fabbing up a hypodermic adapter to pressurize the bladder. There are plenty of video's showing the basic procedure of rebuilding a shock. Really not that complicated.

 

Yeah, did the shock myself. Honestly, I think revalving and servicing the rear shock is way easier than doing the fork. The fork is a bit fiddly with more work IMO...doable, just a little more complicated. I use air in the bladder by using an MTB shock pump instead of using nitrogen. Most of us are not doing supercross or the Dakar at full tilt for hours on end to require nitrogen. The Race Tech Gold Valve kit for the KLX shock worked perfectly.

 

I've decided I have enough of the oem suspension and will put a RaceTech Gold Valve in my forks. The front is what I dislike the most, so I will change the valving in the forks first, and may be the shock later. I am on the light side at 155 pounds with my gear, thus the springs are ok for me, only the valving will get replaced

Now I wonder if I should also purchase and change the following: Inner fork bushings, Outer fork bushings, fork seals, dust seals. Do you recommend changing these items preventively while having the forks apart, or simply leave as is (they don't show sign of weakness as far as I can tell)?.

TIA