KX Riders
Maintenance & Technical => KX500 Original => Topic started by: ballzoutkx500 on December 03, 2007, 12:19:01 PM
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I have a 95 kx5 when i ride the rear suspenion is really soft, it is so soft that when i hit a dip or bump my rearend comes up and hits my plastics i was wondering if there is any way to tighten it up or do i need to re-build it. i plastic is screwed i want to fix the suspenion before i replace the plastic
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How about some details. Your weight with gear, spring rate, have you set the sag etc. It's generaly quite easy to get it working right. Cam.
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How about some details. Your weight with gear, spring rate, have you set the sag etc. It's generaly quite easy to get it working right. Cam.
I am 6'5 weight is 240 with gear, i have no clue what you are talking about spring rate or setting my sag sorry.
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spring rate is simply the amount of force in KG it takes to compress the spring 1mm. The stock spring is generally about right. The sag is the important setting. With the bike on a stand, measure from axle center to seat bolt & record it. Then sit on the bike with your riding gear on and measures again from the same spots. The difference is called the "sag". Because it's progressive system, having the right sag is very important. At the top of the shock spring you will see two treaded rings with slots on the outside. The one closes to the spring is the adjuster and the other is a lock ring to keep the adjuster from moving. With the bike on a stand, using a long punch and hammer, tap the top ring to move it CCW the do the same for the adjuster ring, tapping it CW. Do about 2 turns then sit on the bike again to check the "sag". Keep doing this until the sag is 4". When dont, tighten the top ring CW to hlod the adjuster in place. Hope this helps. Cam.
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Generally speaking Cam is right, however he did not mention free sag, this is another measurement that is important. Generally speaking you should have about 4" of race sag and about 1-1 1/4" free sag. Both free sag and race sag are importanat to determine whether the spring is to stiff or to soft, I would guess that at 240 the stock spring is probably soft. If the race sag is correct, but the free sag is to little the spring is to soft, if race sag is right and free sag is to great, the spring is to hard. All these measurements come into play making your suspension work good.