KDXRIDER.NET

I'm a 52 year old novice trail rider, with a 2001 KDX 200.
I’ve been thinking of having the front and rear suspension lowered (1” to 1.5”)
The reason is that at 5’8”, I sometimes find myself in situations on the trail where
I have a hard time getting my foot down to keep from dumping the bike.

So now I’m wondering whether I should upgrade to better quality suspension before I do any
lowering. Or based on my riding style (slow) and ability (novice) would it be better stick with the stock front
and rear and just have them serviced and lowered. I’m probably over thinking this but I could
use some help with this decision.

Personally I would reshape the seat by cutting away a few inches off the foam & try that first before spending $$$ on suspension mods

You can lower the rear end by fitting longer dog bone links like Kouba links or just make your own. The front end can be lowered by raising the fork tubes in the triple clamps.

The nice things about these mods is they're easy to do, and just as easily reversible.

Depending on how aggressive a rider you are, or become, these mods could cause the tires to contact the fenders. Suspension changes would then be needed.

I would go with pumpguy suggestion. When I returned to trail riding after 35 years of road riding we were doing a bit of cross country exploring with out trails. So I made my own lowering links and dropped the front. Now it's more faster mixed trail riding we do so I am beginning to see the advantages of a bit more height in the turns and whoops which I still don't have a answer for.

Hi, I bought a link off eBay for 35 bucks, did the shim stack mod, raised the fork tubes 1inch and am very happy. I'm like you, only older. 5'8", 57, getting back into riding, I couldn't be happier.

jjavaman, could you elaborate on the "did the ship stack mod", or tell me where I can find these posts?

Thanks,