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The spot where we are sitting is just a little clearing, if you look behind the machines you can see the trail heading up the hill, there are some wider trails there but the technical stuff is very narrow and rocky, and mostly very steep, I did practice running the rocky 4x4 trail standing up in 3rd gear several times and the bike felt fairly good, I did notice that the bump stop on the rear shock has the top 1/2 inch missing now, hence how I know it was bottoming out a good bit.

The USD forks only have adjustment on the bottom and no clicker on the top, have not adjusted them at all yet.

How about some input from other 250 riders..........

These forks have only a base valve (compression) setup? Or...the base valve does both? No midvalve, I presume?

So....free sag is....what?

I was just razzing you about the trail/road thing..................

Re: Top 1/2" missing..

?? You mean it's been hit so much it is disintegrating? That's bad...and needs to be fixed!! I wouldn't guess your spring is THAT far off. Chances are pretty good that your shock needs some repair. Most riders seem to think the shock is an assembly that just kind'a sits there forever. It's not hard to DIY, and a few phone calls will probably find you somone that will recharge it for you. Parts (including bumpers) are available from RaceTech, for one.

Even if you have to pay to get your shock rebuilt it is worth the money... believe me... it makes all the difference in the world!

Zombie...You live where? There is a good suspension guy in OKcity..Richard Wilson..House of Horsepower.

I'm in Maryland

any one know if a later model shock say from a kx250f or a kx250 would fit? the mounting looks the same.

As I recall the KX shocks are too long. Like has been said, rebuilding the stock one is pretty simple. When they go bad, they are really bad. Rebuilding makes it seem like a new bike.

Another vote for rebuilding the shock, big improvement for low cost.

Depending on how far you want to improve the forks, many swap out the OEM forks with upside-down forks from an MX bike (I did as well) with much success; it does take some work and you have to find the forks, wheels, etc. I've since learned that there's a good alternative and you keep the stock forks. I called a guy about a fork "conversion" he offers that I've read about. Bruce Triplett in North Carolina (http://www.brucessuspension.com) has been doing forks for almost 20 years (he's in his 60's). Years ago - on an early 90's KDX as it turns out - he experimented on using one fork for compression only and the other for rebound only; apparently it works very well. Do a web search; I had the luxury of hearing about it firsthand and the guy raved about it. Better yet, give him a call and he'll gladly explain. Among the improvements this mod provides is you end up with a rebound adjustment (something you don't have now) and that gives you MUCH improved adjustability. Compression is as much about how much travel you use as it is anything else; performance is more about rebound, and without the adjustment on older technology forks you're pretty much limited to fork oil viscosity changes.

He calls it the "Terrain Tamer" and his work comes highly recommended by mostly word-of-mouth.

Here's the excerpt from his site regarding the mod on a KDX:

. . . more plush than stock, but not mushy, more bottoming resistance that adding GOLD VALVES, but with the added benefit of having adjustable rebound similar to MX forks

I mighta been tempted to try this had I known more about it. I believe I'm going to have Bruce fix up my RM250 forks in the very near future.

On my 200 I ran IRC Vulcanenduro (I think it is now called the VE33) and it seemed to work well in the rocky/sandy mix we have here. I ran a 5.10 x18 which as I understand it is supposed to be around a 130mm wide tire. Either way, it did well until the center wore down. Now I am trying out Maxxis MaxxCross Desert IT's for something different.

VE33? what a crappy tire for around here
I was constantly on my ass with that tire

They wear like iron, but as most tires that do, they have **** for traction when you need it most

Not sure where "around here" is, but it did fine for me around here. Besides, what kind of a rider blames the tire for ending up on his/her posterior . I'd say you need to shift your weight over the bars more if your bike keeps dumping you.

Come on down to SW Orygun and ride some decomposed granite

Donut really matter if'n it worked fine for you

The tire SUCKED for our conditions here

I never even wore the corners off the knobs.

I gave that crappy tire away a couple months ago to some poor sap

well I took a look at all the suspension adjustments, and set them all to the middle or 8 clicks, only got to ride it around the yard yesterday but it did feel better, the front forks were set as loose as they could go, as well as the dampening on the rear shock, sitting on it ad just bouncing it around in the garage, it feels better, we will see on a real ride,

18th vote for getting the shock worked over. It usually costs me around $100 to $150. At least a fluid change up front will help a lot until you decide if you are going to do anything to the front end.

This is only my opinion- suspension is THE area to improve on a bike. I can ride around a crappy motor, I can deal with the OEM bars, and an MX style rear fender don't do much for me.

I've wasted money on a shiny new exhaust when what I really needed were all the bearings in the rear linkage replaced!

Just my opinion, mind you....

Even your tires look good enough for now if money is an issue.

I can tell you the front end if sprung for a 125lb person. I weigh somewhere around double that so the forks bottoming was an everyride occurance. They don't make our sized front fork springs aftermarket. I bought a pair of cutdown KX forks for a good price and am much happier. The stock front end used marshmallow fluff for springs which made the back hard to balance, when the bike was sagging under its own weight a few inches.

Mr. Wibbens wrote:Come on down to SW Orygun and ride some decomposed granite

Donut really matter if'n it worked fine for you

The tire SUCKED for our conditions here

I never even wore the corners off the knobs.

I gave that crappy tire away a couple months ago to some poor sap

I'll trade ya, I'll haul my bike up to Or to ride in the summer and you are welcome to visit SoCal during the winter. :)

They don't make our sized front fork springs aftermarket

It appears race-tech sells them! However, yes, a KX front end would be the ticket. Springs are the cheapest.

I talked to the local race tech shop and he quoted me $150 + parts for the shock and $240 + parts to do the forks so I'm looking at around $500 by the time it is all said and done, I'm thinking that is a little to spendy for my cheap ass, think I'll put on some new tires and see how that works out and maybe try and retrofit a later model shock to it.

SVandal wrote:

Mr. Wibbens wrote:Come on down to SW Orygun and ride some decomposed granite

Donut really matter if'n it worked fine for you

The tire SUCKED for our conditions here

I never even wore the corners off the knobs.

I gave that crappy tire away a couple months ago to some poor sap

I'll trade ya, I'll haul my bike up to Or to ride in the summer and you are welcome to visit SoCal during the winter. :)

Come on up, might wait awhile though. Twas a little frigid out there last weekend. Even my Camelback froze up

Mr. Wibbens wrote:

SVandal wrote:

Mr. Wibbens wrote:Come on down to SW Orygun and ride some decomposed granite

Donut really matter if'n it worked fine for you

The tire SUCKED for our conditions here

I never even wore the corners off the knobs.

I gave that crappy tire away a couple months ago to some poor sap

I'll trade ya, I'll haul my bike up to Or to ride in the summer and you are welcome to visit SoCal during the winter. :)

Come on up, might wait awhile though. Twas a little frigid out there last weekend. Even my Camelback froze up

Me and a friend are actually hoping to get a ride in this weekend. No snow, weather in the 60's during the day, and I may finally not have a weekend that is pre-booked. Then again, maybe not.