KDXRIDER.NET

This seemed the best place to post the question despite it being a "KX USD" section.

Anybody tried or considered replacing their stock forks with WP forks vs. KX forks? The ones under consideration are 43mm forks for '00-'02 model KTMs.

I searched the site a good bit last night and see no mention of WPs. It does look like YZ forks have been considered.

I'm figuring worst case is there's a fitment problem with the stem, etc and I end up getting some KX triples.

Thoughts?

AFAIK WP's have alot of issues to get 'just right'. If I recall right my suspension guy invented some sort of telescoping needle or something to aid in getting them sorted.

As I recall on my 98 KTM, they were 50mm... more than buffy enough. What came with 43mm?

Aparently a Chuck Waggoner kit is a must. KTMtalk has a wealth of info about his kits.

Or email him direct at waggoner<at>cafes<dot>net

Indawoods wrote:As I recall on my 98 KTM, they were 50mm... more than buffy enough. What came with 43mm?

A fair few actually. Alot of the 00-01-02 range, if you want specifics let me know. 2000 being the first year for 43s and 03 they went to 48s.

The 50mm jobs are conventionals, no ??

Yup! And they worked great!

WP 50mm Extreme Fork
The 50mm tubes on these stanchions are the most rigid, flex-free components yet offered by any suspension manufacturer. With increased rigidity, front end imprecision is a thing of the past. The new forks are lighter and have less underhang than any other conventional model. Razor-sharp steering control will allow the new KTM rider to slice to the front of the pack like never before.

Extreme is appropriate for these newly developed 50mm diameter conventional forks from WP. Extremely lightweight, rigid, compliant and adjustable, with a range of adjustment broad enough to meet the personal preferences of most any rider, in any track conditions.

Nevermind.....

One fork was compression and one was rebound... weird!

So . . . potential candidate for a KDX?

From KTMTalk, the WP forks off of KTMs, '99 and after, are "magic" . . .

I dunno Jeb. I see alot of them over there raising hell about their WP forks, especially after they ride someones Honda w/ Showas or something. I didn't mind them at all on my Katoom, but it seems the big 4 have a one up on the KTM's when it comes to suspension. I would probably do it myself though. If it wouldn't be a major hassle to get them to work, I think they would work great, especially compared to the stock kdx forks. If you look in the suspension section over there, you'll see some of them putting Honda forks on their KTM's, kind of like we're putting KX and other USD forks on our KDX's.

stringburner wrote: . . . If you look in the suspension section over there, you'll see some of them putting Honda forks on their KTM's . . .

WOW - that I DIDN'T catch!

From what I can gather, like just about any fork/shock, the White Power extreme 50mm forks can be made to work extremely well.

My 98 KTM 380 came with the 50mm conventials and they could be set-up to be magical IMHO. The idea that one fork was strictly compression with the other fork strictly rebound is NOT true but often misunderstood even by the magazine guys.

Both forks had compression and rebound stacks for tuning. CLICKER (free bleed) adjustability for rebound was on one fork and only affected that fork leg - and the CLICKER (free bleed) adjustability for compression was on the other and only affected that fork leg. The orfices were larger per click and it was nice to be able to change both settings from the top.

There were differences internally within each leg and many people mixed up parts - part availably was also somewhat limited... I had the first Chuck Waggoner (FABTECH) kit installed on the 98 conventials - we reworked the shim stack 6 or 7 times to get it good.

FAB TECH kits are enjoyed by many with the WP 43mm forks for off-road conditions.

I personnally think the 43mm KYBs and 43mm WPs are fairly comparable and I would stick with the KYBs because of the availability and cheapness of parts.

IdahoCharley wrote: . . . I personnally think the 43mm KYBs and 43mm WPs are fairly comparable and I would stick with the KYBs because of the availability and cheapness of parts.

Point well taken - thanks!!

I agree with you Foots - The 49 mm Showas are a step-up from either the WP or KYB 43mm. They are also a step-up from at least the 02-05 WP 48 mm also - not sure on the 06 and up WPs.

KYBs are generally nice (IMO) in that they are readily available, tuners understand them, parts are readily available from a hugh number of sources, etc. OEM parts for WPs can be very hard to come by due to more limited production.

There are some 'one fork rebound, one fork compression' setups out there.

Marazuchinni made one........well...I think I read that years back.

I've preferred Showas over the KYBs and WPs I've ridden.

But...what IC said.