Fighting with a 08 450 Suspension Tuning

[Lucifer2466]

2008 te450 uncorked,

Ok putting all the bullshit aside, I rode a little when I was a kid, Though I was a real bad-ass cause I never dropped a bike or wrecked. But now im 26 and have bought this TE 450 and have been struggling ever since. Just rebuilt the suspension "due to leaky fork seals" got 7.5 weight put in shocks at slightly higher then stock oil height. I haven't really set the sag yet, I just kinda realized that the static sag was too low so I tightened the spring down almost as much as it would go. Feels kinda stiff. I weight 182 LBS and am 5 , 11' .
Here is the skinny, Last time I rode was at a "last man standing style track, alot of big technical rocky terrain. Emma long park austin texas. I fell like 6 times and was off my bike for a month due to a strained back. I mainly just considered it to be due to inexperience.

Yesterday There was a very nice ride at powell ranch and after rebuilding the front forks, I was a little skeptical of going all out. The first lap well, my youth got the better of me, It felt like I was on fire. Was hauling ass I left a pro rider that was approaching me in my wake , but the whole time It was such a workout I felt like I was dying.
I had to repair a front flat then went back out. This time, wore the hell out, I managed to wreck 8 times, The front end instead of soaking up the bumps, just felt like it was digging into them and deflecting off of them. It took everything I had just to ride the thing slow, When I got back to my truck. I put the bike on a center stand, realigned my front end and lowered the front a tad to help cornering.

It felt like everything was going ok, for the first 2 min, Then I as chasing a girl on a ktm and she went through a muddy section. I came in a little hotter and when my front end hit the bump in the mud, It deflected again and sent my front into the next rut, my front end instantly laid me on the ground. Bruised my lung and my ribs.


Now question time.

Is this bike mabe just too much for my experience?
Did I mabe set my clickers wrong?
Was I just wore out after the first lap, and should I have just called it a day?

also what is a good start point for the front and rear clicker settings?

race sag for my weight ??

Is it possible that the flat tire getting slightly warped from the ride back caused my to deflect off of the bumps?


I'm not really sure what is going on, I just know when I got wore out , it seemed like the bike was bouncing ever which way. Mabe I just no longer had the strength to deal with the bikes tuning problems. .... I must say I'm kind of scared to go out again, but my pride and the fact that I don't want to make my husky feel let down again is making me try again. Falling trying to keep up with a girl on a ktm face down in the mud is pretty fucked up..
Im just hoping that I didn't make a poor bike choice.


Any!!! feedback Would be great

 

[JasonfromMN]

Wow, I have the exact same bike, am the exact same height and weight as you, have been riding for many years, and by the sounds of your post, you have many things wrong.(just my honest opinion)

To start with, what bikes did you ride when you were younger? If you are anything like me they were 2-strokes to mess around in pits and tracks with. If thats so, your TE is like trying to use a Bradly Tank to mow your lawn. Wrong bike for the job, and much heavier than what you rode previously. If Im wrong, the comparison still applies. The TE is not an MX bike. MX bikes are lighter, faster, and suspended better for a track.

Suspension is everything. If its not dialed in, the motor and weight do not matter much. Having the same bike as you, I know that our stock forks suck. Now if you had yours revlaved during your rebuild, that I cannot speak to. If you just re-coated and put in new oil, then Im sorry to say that your forks still suck. They need to be revalved. Ive also had nothing but struggles with my forks and have concluded with certainty that mine need a revalve. Next suspension set up is key.(preferably after a revalve) You need start with setting the race sag.(around 4" warm?) Maxing your shock preload would be like riding a 2"x4" with no suspension. That will also make your front suspension act differently.(off balance) As far as your clickers go, have a test day. Go trail riding on some rougher stuff, set your front rebound and compression at full hard, test, then full soft, test, then the same for your shock. This should give you the feel of what your clickers are able to do. Then set them all back to stock(somewhere around 10 clicks from full hard, check your manual) Then test again. This should give you an idea of what it could feel like and what you like best. After that I only recommend adjusting 1 or 2 clicks at a time and write down what you've done so you dont get lost in click madness. B.T.W, your shock preload, fork oil height and fork weight are all at odds against you for rocky terrain, especially with the stock forks

Motorwise. This bike rips PU'ed. Especially when your tired. You might want to look into a different throttle cam until you get some more seat time. If your not in good fit shape, It will wreak you when your tired. Even at 26 you need to be in shape for racing>(strong and good cardio shape) Research work out suggestions. It will make a huge difference. I do not race organized events, but woods race with others. Ive got many years riding under my belt(31 years old) and still get wiped out because Im in nowhere near as good shape as I should be in. +, a heavier bike like this will tire you faster, not to mention many people cannot handle all the juice a 250 has to give let alone a 450. The bigger the motor the more it will tire you or, the much better shape you'll need to be in to handle it- at race pace.

Race the track not the people. You'll just get yourself hurt trying to be as fast or faster than the next guy/girl. No matter how fast you are, their'll ALWAYS be someone faster. Ride your pace and build experience. Getting fast comes with track time/ experience.

If your a newb at racing, its a big leap to go from trail riding years ago to racing a 450 class. You flat out might just need to experience a slower class first.

I think this bike turns amazingly well. I just think the problems are in the forks, which deflect and make the turning to "seem" poor.

Lastly Id recommend getting a lot of track "practice time", Use that and physical fitness to get you use to turning many laps, but w/o all the hype of competition.

Once again, this is just my honest opinion, I dont mean to offend. I have been through some of the problems you have and this is my thoughts on th situation.

 

[Dirtdame]

Dampening curves aren't ideal on the stock suspension. They tend to be harsh on the initial part of the stroke and then too soft through the deeper part of the stroke. First I set my TE450 (which is an 07, but same forks and slightly different lever ratio on the rear shock) up with the right fork and shock springs for my weight and set the sag correctly. Turning the clickers back on the forks and shocks didn't fix the problems as much as it just made different ones. I had a suspension tuner restack the shims so the the forks and shock moved more freely at the beginning of the stroke, but firmed up as the stroke travel increased. I run lots of dampening now, because the shims are set up correctly and together this makes a nice plush yet firm ride with no deflection on rocks and ruts. The oil level was also increased by about 15 mm. My bike is a great trail bike now and still handles big whoops with ease.

 

[bmxerdude2087]

the shims are set up correctly and together this makes a nice plush yet firm ride with no deflection on rocks and ruts. My bike is a great trail bike now and still handles big whoops with ease.

Where did you have your suspension tuned?? i am having similar problems... too harsh... leaky seals...
lol, my seals are completely blown and im pretty sure there is barely any oil left in the forks. funny thing is i like the forks better without any oil.

 

[Dirtdame]

Where did you have your suspension tuned?? i am having similar problems... too harsh... leaky seals...
lol, my seals are completely blown and im pretty sure there is barely any oil left in the forks. funny thing is i like the forks better without any oil.

Closest competent tuner to me is Bob Bell's Precision Concepts in Riverside. Don't let your fork guts get all worn out from not having enough oil in them.

 

[oregon_rider]

Suspension wizard and Cafe Husky sponsor :

Les Tinius
LT-Racing
www.lt-racing.com

jeff

 

[Lucifer2466]

Yea but sending my suspension to Les is out of question, taking a month to ship my suspension, this far into race season is out of the question. I live in texas, thats practically half way across the planet... I need realistic options, Like "DIRTDAME" gave. I just need to be able to speak the tuners language. There is a local guy close to me, that works with Race Tech parts. He is very good, very friendly and seems to know what he is talking about. But what DirtDame Described is pretty realistic. It does seem like the first quarter of the stroke is deflecting me all over the place but actually softens up a whole lot toward the bottom. Its still sinking 2 inches from the bottom, on the bigger downhill stuff and woops. But "all" of the smaller stuff, Is forcing me to fight to keep up, bouncing me left and right, "right into trees". It is really embarrassing.
Do you think taking the oil level back down might at least help?
of coarse along with setting my sag right.

 

[JasonfromMN]

No, I don't. I just experimented with the oil level last weekend, went much lower than stock and couldn't tell the difference. Our valving is just not right.

Setting your sag will help with the overall ride, but not do much about your fork problems.

 

[Mattias R]

I don't think the standard suspension is that bad... if you put a lot of preload on the springs and added a little oil, then for sure it will feel harsher than before. I have added some preload and oil and then backed 6-8 clicks on the compression. Ok I am not as heavy but I also do a bit of motocross so my advice is to back out compression a bit first. And it helps a lot to be able to tell a tuner what you want to change! I mean, I rearly like the same suspension settings as my brother and we are very alike in both weight and speed on the track.
Good luck!

 

[Mattias R]

I don't think the standard suspension is that bad... if you put a lot of preload on the springs and added a little oil, then for sure it will feel harsher than before. I have added some preload and oil and then backed 6-8 clicks on the compression. Ok I am not as heavy but I also do a bit of motocross so my advice is to back out compression a bit first. And it helps a lot to be able to tell a tuner what you want to change! I mean, I rearly like the same suspension settings as my brother and we are very alike in both weight and speed on the track.
Good luck!

 

[Dirtdame]

I need realistic options, Like "DIRTDAME" gave. I just need to be able to speak the tuners language. There is a local guy close to me, that works with Race Tech parts. He is very good, very friendly and seems to know what he is talking about.

Racetech Goldvalve kits work very well, they just didn't have the shim stack formula set up for the 07 TE450 shock so I went with my other option. They do have the formula for the 08 however. I have installed Gold Valve kits on two Kawasakis, and they turned out very plush. If I can install and set up those kits and get a good ride out of them, then certainly your experienced tuner will be able to set you up with something that will work really well with Race Tech valving.

 

[racedesert_]

I have a 09 TE 450, at this point I would say this bike has the best over all out of the box suspension of any bike I've owned or raced. Set your sag. It's the first thing you need to do and it may require changing the springs. Second check your clickers to make sure they are at the very least the same from side to side. Then ride the bike with in your ability untill the suspension is broken in. Make additional adjustment two clicks at a time for different track conditions. Don't make more than one adjustment between rides as this make it hard to determine what over all differance your changes may have made. Then if you are unable to adjust the suspension to fit you send it out for revalve, but be very honest about your ability with the tuner or you will not be happy. Last, ride with in your ability and slowly pick up your skills. The last part is the most important.

 

[Mattias R]

Yes you have to be honest, I mean you have to be rather good to ride over the stock suspension limit. It is an expensive way to change settings on you r suspension to send it away. And changes to settings, sag, oil height, springs and even oil can make a huge difference. Well it takes a lot of experimentation and you will have to learn what to change, but it is for FREE... and before you have done this, if you do not tell the tuner hounestly about everything then you might end up with something worse...

 

[Slowpoke]

Something tells me that 'pro' wasn't in your 'wake', but was following, waiting for you to pile it & he would have a front row view(they do that sometimes).
Sounds to me like you are riding way beyond your skill level, ability and physical condition. It takes ~5 years to become competent(ie. expert level) on a dirt bike- doesn't sound like you're anywhere near that.

Like others posted, you need to get your sag set, get your suspension set up properly and ride within your skill level. I'll suggest you take some good off-road courses. It doesn't matter that your going to lose the bike for a few weeks getting the suspension done cause, going by the way you describe it, you're going to end up in the hospital for a few weeks anyways.

Sorry for the bluntness....

 

[Lucifer2466]

lolz, you might be right. (-: I like blunt. The front row seat comment was for lack of a better word, priceless... I just don't want to make husqvarna look that bad again, especially to a ktm rider. The guy that built my front forks is coming out to the track this weekend to tune my suspension as good as it can be without valves. Odds are I just need to loosen the rear spring to get my sag somewhat right and lower the compression a whole bunch of clicks. It was already out 15 clicks . But for the future we will need valves and probably springs. And of coarse I need alot of practice and training. I'll be the first to admit that I am very out of shape, due to not retraining after a martial arts injury.... Got a problem now with my cluch" leaky master cylinder and slave that doesn't feel like it is doing it's job, looks like only one option for those though.


sent from my palm pre

 

[Motosportz]

Buy a 125. Enjoy.

 

[Klas]

There is som importent nowhow about TC/TE new chassie from 2008-

Linkage is very linear and soft. You need a stiffer shockspring. Theere is no possibility to get right sag. around 35 mm / 100-110 mm
Stock may work for a rider with 65-70 weight.

Try a 60 Nm spring Öhlins have one that fit right in. . This is importent. revalve reboundstack. So it can handle the stronger springforce.

Fork: There is also a bit to much preload in forks springs, (4,5 std ) You can also put in ONE 4,8 and try. If you ride alot MX or big whopps, sand etc.


Klas

 

[Slowpoke]

lolz, you might be right. (-: I like blunt. The front row seat comment was for lack of a better word, priceless... I just don't want to make husqvarna look that bad again, especially to a ktm rider. The guy that built my front forks is coming out to the track this weekend to tune my suspension as good as it can be without valves. Odds are I just need to loosen the rear spring to get my sag somewhat right and lower the compression a whole bunch of clicks. It was already out 15 clicks . But for the future we will need valves and probably springs. And of coarse I need alot of practice and training. I'll be the first to admit that I am very out of shape, due to not retraining after a martial arts injury.... Got a problem now with my cluch" leaky master cylinder and slave that doesn't feel like it is doing it's job, looks like only one option for those though.


sent from my palm pre

Glad you didn't take it personal, as nobody wants to see you get in over your head and end up using joystick control to get around or something.......Lot's of good advice from these folks.

 

[MudWalker]

New to Husky too.....coming from a KDX200 the suspension on my 07TE 250 is very harsh. I've spent time going from near full hard to near full soft and then switched back and forth to the old KDX. My son who has inherited the KDX agrees, the Husky needs to be softer in the terribly bony stuff we ride on. Problem I have is, I spent my savings on this bike and can't see giving up the time or the $ to get the suspension professionally modified. Maybe this winter but not now.

Until then, help me out. The OP is correct the front end rebound tends to throw the front end off track. To correct this as much as possible with stock forks, please advise if I'm all wrong, I'm same size as OP.

Raise forks in to 3rd line, about 1/2", this is spring preload yes?

I'm thinking looking at my fork travel I was not using enough to deal with rough terrain so I started adusting forks to full soft, They were one click from full hard. Please verify compression dampning is on top of forks right? With rebound on full soft things are better but still getting the front end thrown around when hitting big rocks/roots. Is it ok to crank up fork rebound say 8 to 10 clicks leaving compression at say 2 or do the two adjustments need to match each other?

My shock spring was set at full preload so I backed that off and sag is ok, maybe a little long and I'm getting comfortable with the rear. Is it just me or do you have to partially remove the linkage dogbone to adjust shock rebound dampning at the bottom of the shock?

Thanks for posting, I'm with you on this being pretty frustrating as I didn't know before buying this bike that I would be not so happy with the suspension. I'll get it sorted, I just know this bike will grow on me.

 

[Coffee]

Hi, I just noticed this thread.

I purchased my TE250 early 2006, I have not read the thread so if this does not apply please ignore. The suspension changed *huge* between when it was new and about 700 miles on it. Initially it was incredibly stiff.

After much experimenting I noticed that the weight of the rider made a big difference. Heavier people that took test rides on my bike liked it a lot, and when I artificially added weight to the bike even I could notice the difference.

Then I balanced the wheels, first with wheel weights from a Automotive shop, then with a 2nd rim lock front and back - that made things much better.

At about 400 miles on the bike I contacted a suspension person and he recommended the following:
Stock suspension – best settings:
Screw top and bottom clickers on forks all the way in
Rear: HSC=-18, LSC=-18, rebound=-22

HSC=-18 means that setting screwed all the way in, then backed out 18 clicks. Which screw does what is in the owners manual.

Eventually I had the suspension re-done, and all was well. The stock valving is a bit strange from what I recall.

So I don't know if that helps in this thread or not, but thought I would pass it along.