Fork spring swap..make it easy on me.

Colorado Mike · Post by **Colorado Mike** » 04:49 pm Mar 11 2005

I want to stiffen up the front of my '04 220 a bit. It has the stock springs (I think .35 Kg) in it now. I weigh about 185 with all my gear on, and I ride rough rocky stuff at low speeds, so I want to keep it pretty plush (old guy), but feel it's a little unsafely soft right now, if that makes sense. Is there a chart or any recommendations from folks that been down this road before on what rate of springs to get? I'm figuring the Honda XR 400 springs are the way to go, and was thinking around a .38 rate. Does this sound right? I did try the search BTW. Oh, and it seems I'm one of the few that still do not have KX forks on my bike.

Thanks for any advice,

Post by **Indawoods** » 04:52 pm Mar 11 2005

It’s the 1996-99 0.38kg/mm XR400 springs that are interchangeable and commonly used in 1995 to 2005 KDX200/220s

Colorado Mike · Post by **Colorado Mike** » 04:58 pm Mar 11 2005

Glad you told me, I thought even the new XR's pretty much had the same length springs. You think the .38s would do what I want?

Thanks,

Post by **Indawoods** » 05:01 pm Mar 11 2005

If setup right... you will be happy with them. I went to KX forks because of an incident I had last summer that I don't want to have again. We change things based on experience... if it don't happen to you... don't worry about it... The stock KDX forks can be made to work quite well...

Post by **Indawoods** » 05:02 pm Mar 11 2005

Yes... .38 will be plush and give you more support that your looking for... You can play with the preload to get just the right feel you are looking for.

Post by **KDXGarage** » 05:03 pm Mar 11 2005

In your gallery, you have some pictures of you going down and / or resting on some steep, rocky declines. One area in which stiffer springs will help is to keep the front end from compressing so much and making the bike "nose dive". This is one of the very first things I noticed right after changing from the stock .32 springs in my 1987 KDX200 to .43 springs. If I was going down hill, it didn't lean forward so much and when I hit a bump, I had more front suspension travel to soak up the bumps.

From reading others' posts around the internet, the .38's sound like a good choice. I have found that pretty much everyone does research, makes a best guesstimate as to the proper spring rate, then reports back that whatever rate they went with is MUCH better than stock.

You may want to check http://www.servicehonda.com for the springs. They were even cheaper than ronyers when I looked last fall.

Dno't worry about not having KX forks. Some stiffer springs is your first order of business. KX forks are on down the road, if you see fit. Also, I like to think that ALL KDX forks are "KX Inspired".

For example, I have the 1988 KX125 / KX250 / KX500 service manual and the 1995 KDX200 service manual. From the pictures and service procedures, they seem to be VERY similar. They used to hand down the tehcnology more quickly, but they got caught in a time warp in 1995.

EDIT: How in the heck did four posts from 2 people slip in on me while I was typing? That does it, from now on, I will only post "y" or "n" replies.

Post by **Indawoods** » 05:05 pm Mar 11 2005

CC might have a set for sale!

Colorado Mike · Post by **Colorado Mike** » 05:06 pm Mar 11 2005

Cool, sorry to hear about your incident. I kinda like the stock fork design...the underhang helps bash rocks out of the way so my buds behind me have an easier time of it. I always try to do a little public service wherever I go.

Thanks.

Colorado Mike · Post by **Colorado Mike** » 05:20 pm Mar 11 2005

Does this part # sound right: 51401-KCY-761 ? I got it from a parts look-up page, but it doesn't state the spring rate. It also quotes a price of $36.81, which I assume would be for one spring. They also show different PNs for 96-97, and 98-02 XRs, so that seems to conflict with the 96-99 idea.

Post by **KDXGarage** » 05:30 pm Mar 11 2005

On the Race Tech site, it shows .38 for 1996 (first year they made it) through 1999. It shows 2000 - 2005 has .40.

WOW! Service Honda is as high as Bike Bandit on both springs ($50.33). Ron Ayers is only $41.52 for either one. The price went up since last fall! Word got out, and they jacked the price up!

Where did you see the $36.81 price? That sounds like what I saw last fall.

Thanks,
Jason

KDXer · Post by **KDXer** » 06:36 pm Mar 11 2005

51401-KCY-761 are .40's
51401-KCY-671 are .38's

I ordered the *****-***-761's and they gave me the *****-***671's which turned out to be .38's.

canyncarvr · Post by **canyncarvr** » 07:07 pm Mar 11 2005

.38s would do.

Not all springs are the same, either. My XR .40s are a much nicer spring than the Eibach .40s I tried.

The oem preload on a KDX is close to 40mm. Ouch! I set mine to about 5mm. Small stuff comes and goes...don't feel a thing. Haven't ever bottomed them on anything.

Don't put them back together with the OEM preload. ..imo...

Kind of off-subject...but sometimes the front will feel too harsh because it's too soft! If you're undersprung you will take up too much suspension travel on <some bump>, maybe getting into higher suspension/parts velocities than you need to. A stiffer (read, 'Closer to right') spring will keep you more to the top of your suspension, reduce said suspension speed and actually give you the idea that things got softer when you hit that same <bump>.

...and I didn't even make that up!

No, I don't have any for sale, neither!

Post by **KDXGarage** » 07:19 pm Mar 11 2005

Actually, Eibach doesn't make .40's. Almost every single model springs they have are .37, .39, .41, etc.

Please DO try less than stock preload. You may want to pick up some 1" external PVC pipe and cut some new spacers. Since it is about $3 for 8', try different sizes to see what works best for you.

Colorado Mike · Post by **Colorado Mike** » 09:40 pm Mar 11 2005

Thanks for all the good info, I think I'll go with the .38s . The site I quoted is servicehonda.com, specifically: http://www.servicehonda.com/parts.php?p ... ice=Submit

Thanks again, you guys are da most!

Post by **KDXGarage** » 10:29 pm Mar 11 2005

AH HA! I was just seeing the list price. Thanks for pointing that out.

Good luck on the springs. If anyhing in the manual sounds wacky on changing the springs, just let us know.

Also, if you have not already done so, it would be a good time to change the fork oil.

Post by **Indawoods** » 10:59 pm Mar 11 2005

Report back when you get em in .... we want a ride report.

Colorado Mike · Post by **Colorado Mike** » 09:41 am Mar 12 2005

Will do, but it could take a while. It's still snowy on my favorite trails and we're supposed to get another storm tomorrow. Over the off-season I got RB to do my carb and I put in the V-force 3 cage. I'm going crazy with wanting to ride so bad. I might have to get one of my buds to show me one of the lowland MX tracks or something. At least I can get a reference point on the jetting there. I owe Ron some feedback on how he set the carb up.

Thanks again for all the great info.

89kdx200rdr · Post by **89kdx200rdr** » 11:11 pm Mar 13 2005

.42's would be good for you cm

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KDXRIDER.NET

Fork spring swap..make it easy on me.

Fork spring swap..make it easy on me.