KX fork report #1 (KAY DEE EXER)

[KDXer]

The ride report is soon to come as most may know I'm taking her away on the 27th-30th.

This is an update on the suspension work performed on my 2003 KX 250 forks. When I purchased the forks I purchased them of EBAY advertised as the following;

KAWASAKI KX 250 FRONT SUSPENSION FORKS & TRIPLE TREE

KAWASAKI 250 FRONT SUSPENSION

EMIG RACING BILLET TRIPLE TREE

KYB FORK TUBES

SUSPENSION WORKS. SPRINGS AND SEALS. THIS FRONT END IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION AND HAS NEVER BEEN WRECKED OR ABUSED...

THESE FORKS WILL MAKE YOUR BIKE RIDE AND JUMP LIKE A DREAM!!!!!!

Now comes the good part, not only did they give me a set of Protaper bars for free but they forgot to advise anyone in the EBAY ad that the forks had Race tech springs .41's, gold valves (motocross), replacement midvalve kit and different valveing for motocross use. BONUS (well 'cept for the motocross stuff) !!!

So instead of looking at about $700AU for springs, gold valves, seals, midvalve replacement kit and oil, I got out of it for a tad over $300. He replaced the springs with .38's, swapped the motocross gold valves for a better suited gold valve at no charge, revalved 'em and new seals / oil. I'm can't wait to get out and there test them. I couldn't get a great deal of info from him about the mid valve and bladder setup because he was really busy although he said he will happily answer most questions online.

(One thing he did say was "Yes the 2003 KX forks have a bladder, yours hasn't because it's been disabled" Interesting.)

[skipro3]

Oops! I forgot which forks were yours and which ones were mine. I must have sent you my forks by mistake Trev!


Joke!! That is great news for you! Your forks were exactly as mine are now except for the shimstack probably. I've got .41 springs. Did he return yours to you? Hang onto them, they are worth money and I'm willing to bet that you advance in your riding quickly enough that you will need the .41's before long. I mildly bottom my forks on the worst hits I encounter; maybe every other ride or so. This tells me I am getting all the fork travel the forks are cabable of. If you start bottoming your forks more than on occasionally, then slip the .41's back into the bike and see how that goes. Take a small screwdriver with you and play with the clickers when riding so you get them adjusted to your riding. Mostly the compression dampening located on the bottoms of the forks.
Can't wait to hear your ride report!

[IdahoCharley]

You can also increase bottoming resistance some by increasing the oil height slightly/decreasing air gap. Try adding 5ccs to each fork leg and retest your bottoming resistance.

[KDXer]

He indeed did return the .42's and I was going to hang onto them as I'm hoping to gain some weight in the future ( GAIN weight I hear you gasp,,, yep I'm 6'5 and 150lb 'read beanpole'. I sure could do with a few extra inches (around the waist of course).

I know your setup is totally different (ie year model, spring rate, valveing, oil etc) but what are your clicker settings shock and forks ?? And is you shock standard or resprung / revalved ??

Wondering the benefits in a revalved and resprung and gold valved shock ???

[skipro3]

As far as the shock goes, stock is great. I did add gold valve and set up to my weight, but I couldn't notice a difference on the trail. My forks are set at 13 clicks on compression and 15 rebound. I've tried softer compression and it does make the ride smoother for small hits, but I don't get enough "feel" telegraphed back to me. Doug runs his compression full out. I tried it and it's like driving a cadilac; almost marshmellow feeling to me. Soft, yes, but hit a waterbar and I can't tell if the bike is going to shoot for the moon, motor through, or what. I can't feel ANYTHING!!!

I'll check the clickers on the shock tonight when I get home and report back.

[KDXer]

Thanks buddy and (STUPID QUESTION WARNING) am I right in thinking "13 clicks" is 13 clicks OUT from fully turned in ?? I am 99.9999% sure it is but its 3.15am and I need sleep so I thought I'd double check. Cheers

[skipro3]

Yes, clicks are counter clockwise. Start by turning the clicker in; clockwise until it stops. Don't man-handle it, or you could damage something internally. Then count the clicks as you turn the adjuster counter clockwise.

Well, at least in this hemisphere!

[fuzzy]

What a find!!

[KDXer]

I almost forgot to mention the best part of my visit to the tuner.....



Kawasaki Australia Team Green was out there riding his track tuning the bikes up. One was a 250F and and the other a 250 2T. What weapons !!! They had all the gold bling bling engine parts and t/clamps etc. Just wanted to brag. I got a photo of the 2T and the Team Green truck on my phone Ill post it up later.

[canyncarvr]

I'd like to know what compression stack you ended up with. He should be able to tell you that. It's not a big secret 'cuz you could simply take the base valve out and find out for yourself.

So...which is it going to be?

Good thing about the bladders being disabled. I haven't heard a single good word about them from any tuner anywhere.

Maybe I missed it...did you document this swap in your gallery?

Did your ride heighth change? Being so short and all, you probably don't care if it did, but I'm curious if you checked the level of your bike before you changed the forks, then compared to after.

What's your front brake setup? KX (under) or KDX (around)?

Ski's setup seemed perfect to me. Might NEED the CF guards for stiffness (instead of plastic), but I sure like the brakeline to the INside of the fork.

Happy Trails!

[KDXer]

I'd like to know what compression stack you ended up with. He should be able to tell you that. It's not a big secret 'cuz you could simply take the base valve out and find out for yourself.

I will give him a call and see what I can find out. Probably next week after my trip (Tuesday-Wednesday).

Maybe I missed it...did you document this swap in your gallery?

Well not really step by step but I basically followed Vince and Jerrys procedure with the spacers etc. There are a fair few new photos in my gallery.

Did your ride heighth change? Being so short and all, you probably don't care if it did, but I'm curious if you checked the level of your bike before you changed the forks, then compared to after.

Ha, yeah short !!! I used the same spacer setup as Vince but haven't measured it 'loaded' yet. It feels alot lower but that could be the pro taper bars and lack of bar risers.

What's your front brake setup? KX (under) or KDX (around)?

KDX setup with no fork guard guides and brakeline ziptied in several places. Its probably temporary until I can afford Jerrys method.

Ski's setup seemed perfect to me. Might NEED the CF guards for stiffness (instead of plastic), but I sure like the brakeline to the INside of the fork.

I have four days of testing so I will see how mine holds out, but will most likely resort to Jerrys way...

[KDXer]

And indeed I did revert to Jerry's way. I have been trying for 6months to get C/F fork guards and have given up. Here's what I did...

[Indawoods]

And that is not going to hang on your upper tubes?

[KDXer]

What for ??

Not being a smarta$$, I just don't get what ya mean. :)

That clear plastic tube keeps the line very rigid .

[KDXer]

Dodgy paintshop warning !!!



If I use one of these it will interfere when the forks are fully compressed.

[skipro3]

Looks good to me Trev. I see nothing that's going to hang up.
Your rendering of a guide is correct; it will be hit by the lower fork guard upon a full compression.

Begin looking for a Stainless Steel brake line. They really make a difference in braking performance and feel at your fingers.

[KDXer]

Thanks Jerry, I will be sourcing both front and rear in S/S when I get the hand operated rear brake and clutch setup.

[krazyinski]

I cut the little flip up lip off on my fork guards and run the KX oem guide on the lower triple nothing touches. I would like to know were to get S/S lines for the kdx? I would epoxy the back side of that cable holder, I use a zip tye on the upper fork tube with the clamping part facing the back side of the fork guards as a guide or slider and the guards hit the zip tye.

[Indawoods]

I'm talking about the backside where the cablemount is... it would clip the forks if the guard got pushed into the forks while in the bush.

Does it make sense now?

[skipro3]

I agree. Epoxy on the back side will prevent anything from snagging. Imagine brush hitting the front of the guard just as the fork is stroking those rivets along the tubes. A smooth epoxy would glide over them and the rivets could snag. Maybe?