Fork Swap Recommendation for Short Folks

[HeyItRuns]

Hey guys,

I have an E3 that I just got plated. My suspension is cooked. I hit some new England potholes at 50 and it tried to throw me into the other lane. I think it's time for new suspension, and it seems like it makes more sense to do a front end swap.
Im 5'8" in my boots and I was already planning on dropping this thing an inch. I'm concerned most mx forks are going to be long enough I won't be able to accomplish this.
Does anyone know of any forks that will work with the Amazon conversion bearing that are likely to be about stock length?

Thanks

[KDXGarage]

MX fork travel is generally about an inch more than trail bike forks back then. Just get them shortened 2 inches instead of 1.

Be safe out there.

[Chuck78]

That's good advice that KDX garage gave you there, but also, I would advise that the 1990s through 2009 or so at minimum KLX 300 forks will be a very easy bolt-on and are actually just a hair shorter than the stock KDX forks by perhaps 1/8 of an inch. Nearly all forks that you could find are going to be longer aside from that.
Another good bolt-on would be some Honda xr400r forks, however, unless you are about 160 lbs or more, you might perhaps find the spring offerings a bit on the firm side if you can't get anything softer than stock. 1997-1999 Suzuki DR350 & 350SE bikes came with virtually the same forks as the Honda XR 400R. They are 43 mm right side up Showa conventional forks with gold anodized tubes with silver aluminum axle lugs. They will slide right into your KDX triples although I would recommend 95-06 KDX triples over 89-92. You would need the XR400 wheel and axle, as they have larger diameter axles, which is a good thing compared to the stock KDX KLX axle that is very small in comparison to anything else modern, at 15 mm. Early KX and these XR 400 and DR350 last generation forks use a 17mm axle. Anything modern uses 20 mm or larger.

One other thing to consider, the motocross and modern woods bike forks will have at least 1" or 1.5" taller height with around 1" more travel than what the KDX has, so generally speaking if you buy a fork that's 1"+ taller but has 1" more travel, lowering it 2" would leave you with still roughly the same amount of travel as what the stock fork lowered 1" would have. Generally any fork lowering is going to require that you buy shorter springs if you can find something to the right specifications of inside versus outside diameter and correct length for your needs or slightly shorter (+ preload spacers), but not too short, as you don't want to bottom out the coils all against each other prior to the fork reaching its full travel.
Some older forks will have preload spacers of varying lengths, so you might be able to get away with running the springs currently in them or a different spring rate to suit but still stock length spring, just by removing the preload spacers and having the suspension shop make up the same length of spacer but one installed as a damping rod top out spring spacer which will lower the bike by changing or shortening the fork's fully extended position.

[billie_morini]

HeyItRuns,
I have a 1999 KDX 220 and a 2003 DRZ 400S. I'm short, old, and 153 lbs. I shortened the suspension for both of these bikes by 2 inches (50 mm). It is not difficult to do and is reversible. In addition to shortening the suspension travel, I got springs for my weight, how I ride, and where I ride. All in all, it was not expensive. Importantly, these changes increased my fun by 200%! It's so good that I wished I'd done it sooner.

[Chuck78]

HeyItRuns,
I have a 1999 KDX 220 and a 2003 DRZ 400S. I'm short, old, and 153 lbs. I shortened the suspension for both of these bikes by 2 inches (50 mm). It is not difficult to do and is reversible. In addition to shortening the suspension travel, I got springs for my weight, how I ride, and where I ride. All in all, it was not expensive. Importantly, these changes increased my fun by 200%! It's so good that I wished I'd done it sooner.

Those 2000-2024 DRZ400/DRZ400E (& 2002+ DRZ400S but not the cheaper internals '00-'01 400S) forks share the title with the identical looking 1997 - 1998 Suzuki RM 125 and 250 forks as being the best Woods forks of all time. They definitely need a revalve to be great, & resprung when swapping onto a much lighter weight compact chassis 2-stroke like the KDX, but a 49mm right side up "conventional" fork is an incredible thing for woods riding, although they are only 1.0 lbs lighter than stock '95+ KDX forks, versus newer closed chamber forks like the current 2019 and up Showa 49mm twin chamber forks on the CRF 450/250 (2017+ 450 & 2005+ CRF250), and KX450 (&2025+ KX250F) are 2lbs lighter than the stock KDX forks. I'm not sure about the late 2010s versions, but the 2017 and up 49 mm show a twin Chambers measure at least two lbs lighter than the stock KDX forks. The 48mm open chamber KYB forks take the crown at up to 4 lbs lighter than the stock forks while being substantially larger diameter. They weigh about the same as the 43 mm KLX 300 forks surprisingly, and are substantially better although there's KLX forks are a fantastic bargain upgrade for someone who weighs 135-170 lbs or somewhere a few pounds closer to the middle of that range, as then the stock springs are great and the stock valving is an upgrade over the KDX but a revalve can be done DIY for free to improve it further. They still flex a lot due to the KDX KLX axle size, but they don't flex as much as the stock KDX forks, so even those are a pretty nice upgrade for minimal effort.

[SS109]

I am (was?) only 5'8" and 147lbs. I'm running '06 KX250F Showa 47mm forks on my KDX220. I never have internally shortened them and just slid them up in the clamps to get it balanced out. I have no issues reaching the ground with the proper springs and sag.