Forks way too soft, any suggestions?

[Dirt Bike Dan]

I have a 1983 KDX 250 (old school dampener rod forks). I ride in the woods and hit a few jumps and my forks bottom too often. Normally, I would consult a manual for answers, but I haven't found a manual for my bike, so I settled for an '83KDX200 manual. It recommends air in the forks, but even when I put 20 psi in the forks still bottom, but they also are much harsher over the small stuff. Will changing the spring, oil viscosity, oil amount, etc. help? Any suggestions? Currently I run 10w oil, at about 6 in. (I don't know the spring rate) I'm 5'11, about 160 lbs w/gear. I think someone said the cut a couple coils off their spring and added more oil. I'm not looking for fantastic suspension, just something that works better. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CaptainObvious]

Going with a heavier weight oil (or even fresh oil) will help with the dampening. So will running it at a higher height (six inches seems a bit low).

Even if the springs are the correct rate, at 21 years old, they might be sagged. Check the Race Tech web site and see if they have a suggestion for your bike. If the bike is in the data base, they will also list the proper weight oil as well as the hight from the top of the tube.

 

[matt-itude]

Im no suspesion junkie like these other guys but going with heavier fresh oil and messing with the spring (modifing the stock spring and spacer) in my 82 yamaha made a huge difference and it was very cheep to do.

 

[Dirt Bike Dan]

Thanks for the info. If I were to cut the fork spring, would a grinder work, or does it need to be torched off?

 

[matt-itude]

I like to use a die grinder because the less you heat the spring the better off you are. Then go to the bench grinder and slowly try to duplicate the angle on the end that was there originaly.

 

[shockdoc]

You could go up an inch or 2 on oil ht. too.

doc

 

[Dirt Bike Dan]

Hey thanks again. What should I use as Spacers? Will washers work, or would a tube (Aluminum?) be better?

 

[shockdoc]

PVC works good

 

[dbrace]

I'm not allways a huge racetech fan but the best way to get those forks working is with an emulator.

 

[Dirt Bike Dan]

Is it possible to put in too much oil? If so, what would happen?