125-200cc Fork Height

[Last Lap]

I have a question on where most of you guys are running your forks at. Drew Swith told me to set them up on the third line down. If I want more stability to slide the forks down to the second line. This is on the 11' WR150. Drew lightened up my front spring to a .40kg and revalved everything. I set my sag a 95mm. I'm pretty happy with it...but I missing something on the handling. Looking at other bikes and I see the forks are flush with the top tripple.

The good news is I beat up on some orange 200 bikes and got first last week and second this week in the B 200 class for the East Coast Enduros.

I'm still working on engine and carb set up.

 

[TROFFER88]

2nd line

 

[dirt-dude]

Mine are usually on the 2nd line. But i think if you got first, the guys with the flush mounted forks should be looking at yours.

 

[Vinduro]

2nd line is where mine is at. I also have .40kg fork springs and they are more than enough for my 180+lbs. Static fork sag is 40mm and rider sag is 75mm.
BUT the rear shock spring I had to go from a 5kg to a 6kg. But it works great. My rider sag is 101mm. My static rear sag is 30mm (30-35mm OK)

 

[Last Lap]

Thanks for your help. I'll try the second line and adjust my sag. One problem I have had with both my Husky's(310/150) is the front end tucks in the corners. I'm not crashing but I have to hold the bike up in the turns to prevent going down (mid to high speed stuff). And the second problem is the front does not seem connected to the ground(slow tight stuff). I'm going lock to lock in the where it fells like the tire is barley touching the ground. If that makes any sense. I'm just missing something that will make me feel more confident and not wear me out as quick. Note: I run S-12's front and back. Tubliss rear @ 8 psi front 12 psi for sand.

Jeff

 

[Norman Foley]

You're doing well! I always dropped my forks a line on my WR125's for South Jersey enduros and then back up for PA and NY ones. I'd increase sag to 100-105mm and increase front air pressure to 10-12 lbs. When you get it right WR150 will have almost 4 stroke like front end traction. If you had the same problem with your 310, you didn't have it set up right.

 

[Last Lap]

I noticed your forks in your avatar are down pretty far.

 

[Norman Foley]

I noticed your forks in your avatar are down pretty far.

Second line at top of the clamps for home and first line for South Jersey. This is second line....

 

[Drew Smith]

Be sure you are following the sag set procedure as discribed in the suspension instruction sheet we provided if you have any questions please call me. I'm happy on the third line second is fine for more stability. If it is tucking in turns i suspect the rear spring is over tensioned.

 

[Torrmentor]

May want to consider your rebound settings, too.

 

[Last Lap]

I'm going to do some testing comming up and I'll report back. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[smoke229]

we go from the 2nd line down to almost flush depending on how the bike is doing. we always run 12psi in the tires.

 

[smoke229]

Thanks for your help. I'll try the second line and adjust my sag. One problem I have had with both my Husky's(310/150) is the front end tucks in the corners. I'm not crashing but I have to hold the bike up in the turns to prevent going down (mid to high speed stuff). And the second problem is the front does not seem connected to the ground(slow tight stuff). I'm going lock to lock in the where it fells like the tire is barley touching the ground. If that makes any sense. I'm just missing something that will make me feel more confident and not wear me out as quick. Note: I run S-12's front and back. Tubliss rear @ 8 psi front 12 psi for sand.

Jeff

Jeff,
have you tried a pirelli front? i never have liked the s12 front tire for anything other than 100% mud. the s12 seems nervous and weird on anything else to me - kinda like "not connected to the ground". to low a front tire pressure will make your knobs roll over instead of bite or so ive been told....

 

[Last Lap]

I checked the sag today and it was at 100mm so I adjusted it to 95mm. Which pirelli are you using? I like the s-12 for sand but hate it over roots. I guess it's a trade off. I actually had the same front end problems with the stock front tire... both bikes. I'm a front braker most of the times getting into a corner but mid corner off the brakes is where my issue is.

 

[Vinduro]

95mm is a bit tight for the Husky. You need more like 100mm rider sag with 30mm static. I run 101mm on my personal bike ( I am running a 6kg spring). Make sure you have the correct fork sag numbers also. Makes a big difference on how the bike handles and turns. You want 75mm rider sag with about 42mm static (+ - 2-3mm). mind is set at 40mm static with the 4.0kg fork springs.

I checked the sag today and it was at 100mm so I adjusted it to 95mm. Which pirelli are you using? I like the s-12 for sand but hate it over roots. I guess it's a trade off. I actually had the same front end problems with the stock front tire... both bikes. I'm a front braker most of the times getting into a corner but mid corner off the brakes is where my issue is.

 

[Last Lap]

Can you change fork sag? I've never heard of checking fork sag. I'm going back to 100mm. I'm riding this weekend with the forks down to the first line to see how big as difference it is. With the forks down in the clamps I'm able to remove the extra spacers that I put in so I could reach the bars while standing. I also removed the Flexx bars and I'll be trying the stock one's for the first time.

Jeff

 

[ohmygewd]

On a Street/racebike the front sag is critical due to turn in characteristics, weight transfer and the ability to maintain a consistent smooth contact patch therefore keeping momentum

But on a dirtbike, there is no hard and fast rule nor is it critical let alone as important as the most important suspension unit in the rear shock which controls the amount of power you can get to the dirt on a constant changing terrain as it will determine your overall amount of travel vs bump absorption, again keeping that contact patch (you tend to steer from the rear on a dirtbike as oppose to a roadbike).
However, setting an "appropriate" sag on the front is really focusing on the fork oil air gap or commonly referred to as fork oil level which is between 80 to 110mm. Different fork oil weight will determine the viscosity or the rebound action of the fork but the fork oil level will determine the air gap or air pressure which effects the how much of the stroke is used before bottoming out and it's action. With this in mind, setting the appropriate air gap or fork level allows you the rider to able to tune your forks correctly via the clickers.

Place a ziptie around one of the legs and record how much the forks travel and feel the rebound of the front end over a track that is pretty consistent in it's terrain - too soft, the forks bottom out to quickly/frequently or is just plain to loose or rebounds slowly increase the oil level therefore decreasing the air gap creating but creating greater air pressure and reverse applies if its too hard etc, you would decrease the oil level.

This is a great article to explain it all http://www.4strokes.com/tech/ktm/forkoil.asp or http://www.gasgas.com/Pages/Technical/trials-suspension-tips.html

The best phrase I've come across to describe sag is "Sag adjustment just puts you statically in the optimal point of spring compression so you have just the right amount of travel".

PS. Dropping the forks up and down the clamps only effects the speed of steering response whilst reducing stability of the bike which you will need to dial out via suspension but not completely (again l have my roadracing suspension brain on)...on the dirt it's the same, if you raise the forks up the yoke's, you get a quicker steering bike but won't be as stable at high speeds and you are now susceptible to lowsides (front end tuck).