Sparked
Husqvarna
AA Class
I just bought a new te250, and since I'm a bit heavier than the average rider (alright, a lot heavier) I replaced the springs. I'm new to Huskies, but not to suspension. It turned out to be a fairly easy job. Here's how I did it.
To start with, I ordered springs from Racetech.com. They have an online calculator that tells you the spring rates you should go with. I ordered a set of .50 springs for the forks, a 6.0 spring for the rear, and an adapter collar for the rear spring. The collar is necessary because the Racetech shock spring is not the same diameter as the stock spring.
The parts arrived and I got started.
First off I removed the front wheel so I could work on one fork leg at a time. Next I moved the handlebar out of the way of the top of the forks.
Then unscrew the top cap from the fork tube. Once it is unscrewed, the fork lower can be lifted up. Lift it and tie it up as high as it will go.
Unscrew the fork cap from the damper rod. The nut on the rod is 19mm.
Remove the top spring collar and the spring. Hook something around the damper rod so it doesn't drop down into the forks. The bungee that I used isn't under any tension.
I like to mark my springs. They have a number painted on them but it often rubs off.
Measure the oil level, just because I'm there.
Installation is the reverse of removal. Pretty much. The Racetech springs are 5mm shorter than the stock springs, but included spacers. The spacers are meant to go down in the bowels of the forks, so I didn't install them. The springs aren't loose in the forks, so I'll just slide the forks in the tubes to tune it. Spacers are easy to add to the top later if necessary.
The one gotcha is screwing the fork caps back on to the damper rods. The 19mm nut is just a jam nut- it's not fixed to the damper rod so you have to make sure to thread the damper rod all the way (lightly) into the fork cap before tightening the jam nut.
On to the shock. The hardest part of this is removing and reinstalling the shock. The first time I adjusted the preload I couldn't get a hook wrench in to move the rings, and so lifted the subframe to get at it, which required removing the gas tank. Not again. It turns out the shock can be removed out the bottom of the bike.
Although I didn't do this, I highly recommend removing the rear wheel and suspending the swingarm from the tail of the bike with a tiedown.
Remove the bolt connecting the suspension linkage to the swingarm.
Rotate the linkage to gain access to the lower shock bolt and remove it too, letting the linkage hang free.
Remove the top shock bolt. This is easiest if you remove the left side panel, and use a two 14mm sockets on extensions, one from each side.
To get the shock out, rotate it so the reservoir is to the left side of the bike and it will fit down through the swingarm.
In order to make it fit you have to lift the swingarm while lowering the shock.
I measured the preload on the old spring in order to be able to figure out about how much preload
to put on the new spring. Not necessary, but time saving.
Back off the two shock rings all the way. It's much easier if you've cleaned and oiled the shock body first.
Then remove the collar from the other end of the shock. The bottoming bumper required a bit of a push to get it down out of the way.
Wash out all the gunk that accumulates down there.
These are spring collars that came from Racetech.
They're not quite the same size. The small one, which wasn't needed, was included in the box with the spring. The larger one I ordered separately (the part is shown when you look up the springs on the website).
The collar is a press fit into the spring.
I used the clamp to hold everything in position while using the channel locks to force the collar into the spring. The spring is only compressed a fraction of an inch. Any more and there's a risk of it violently popping out of the clamp.
The Racetech spring was a little longer than the stock spring, but it went on the shock without a compressor or levers. The collar went on the top side of the spring, although I don't suppose it matters. It did make the spring label right side up, though.
I had guessed that I should give the new spring half the preload of the old one. Once I got it back together and measured the sag, it turned out to be not quite enough. One turn tighter with the 8oz universal tool and a soft drift made it just right.
I'll need some riding to get it just right, but it already feels way better. It's hard to believe that stiffer springs can make a bike feel plusher, but they do.
To start with, I ordered springs from Racetech.com. They have an online calculator that tells you the spring rates you should go with. I ordered a set of .50 springs for the forks, a 6.0 spring for the rear, and an adapter collar for the rear spring. The collar is necessary because the Racetech shock spring is not the same diameter as the stock spring.
The parts arrived and I got started.
First off I removed the front wheel so I could work on one fork leg at a time. Next I moved the handlebar out of the way of the top of the forks.
Then unscrew the top cap from the fork tube. Once it is unscrewed, the fork lower can be lifted up. Lift it and tie it up as high as it will go.
Unscrew the fork cap from the damper rod. The nut on the rod is 19mm.
Remove the top spring collar and the spring. Hook something around the damper rod so it doesn't drop down into the forks. The bungee that I used isn't under any tension.
I like to mark my springs. They have a number painted on them but it often rubs off.
Measure the oil level, just because I'm there.
Installation is the reverse of removal. Pretty much. The Racetech springs are 5mm shorter than the stock springs, but included spacers. The spacers are meant to go down in the bowels of the forks, so I didn't install them. The springs aren't loose in the forks, so I'll just slide the forks in the tubes to tune it. Spacers are easy to add to the top later if necessary.
The one gotcha is screwing the fork caps back on to the damper rods. The 19mm nut is just a jam nut- it's not fixed to the damper rod so you have to make sure to thread the damper rod all the way (lightly) into the fork cap before tightening the jam nut.
On to the shock. The hardest part of this is removing and reinstalling the shock. The first time I adjusted the preload I couldn't get a hook wrench in to move the rings, and so lifted the subframe to get at it, which required removing the gas tank. Not again. It turns out the shock can be removed out the bottom of the bike.
Although I didn't do this, I highly recommend removing the rear wheel and suspending the swingarm from the tail of the bike with a tiedown.
Remove the bolt connecting the suspension linkage to the swingarm.
Rotate the linkage to gain access to the lower shock bolt and remove it too, letting the linkage hang free.
Remove the top shock bolt. This is easiest if you remove the left side panel, and use a two 14mm sockets on extensions, one from each side.
To get the shock out, rotate it so the reservoir is to the left side of the bike and it will fit down through the swingarm.
In order to make it fit you have to lift the swingarm while lowering the shock.
I measured the preload on the old spring in order to be able to figure out about how much preload
to put on the new spring. Not necessary, but time saving.
Back off the two shock rings all the way. It's much easier if you've cleaned and oiled the shock body first.
Then remove the collar from the other end of the shock. The bottoming bumper required a bit of a push to get it down out of the way.
Wash out all the gunk that accumulates down there.
These are spring collars that came from Racetech.
They're not quite the same size. The small one, which wasn't needed, was included in the box with the spring. The larger one I ordered separately (the part is shown when you look up the springs on the website).
The collar is a press fit into the spring.
I used the clamp to hold everything in position while using the channel locks to force the collar into the spring. The spring is only compressed a fraction of an inch. Any more and there's a risk of it violently popping out of the clamp.
The Racetech spring was a little longer than the stock spring, but it went on the shock without a compressor or levers. The collar went on the top side of the spring, although I don't suppose it matters. It did make the spring label right side up, though.
I had guessed that I should give the new spring half the preload of the old one. Once I got it back together and measured the sag, it turned out to be not quite enough. One turn tighter with the 8oz universal tool and a soft drift made it just right.
I'll need some riding to get it just right, but it already feels way better. It's hard to believe that stiffer springs can make a bike feel plusher, but they do.
. When I pulled my shock off to send to Les, I had to lift the subframe a bit and move the airbox to get the shock out. Nice to see that it can be done without that step, I'm not sure why I had to now...
