what is going on here
[/color][color=#000000] Funny stuff Rev....sorry to hear about ribs. Come to Texas for ribs (Bar-B-Que). Criswell putting my bike away Sent from my iPad On Oct 5, 2014, at 3:43 PM, "Martin Earl mjearl4@... [DSN_KLR650]" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Background-- I am not a suspension expert, but I do have some opinions based on experience...and I am always willing to learn something new! I have 2 KLR's in the stable (father/son) equipped as: (1998/685) One KLR has progressive F/R springs appropriate for my weight (ask Fred for advice) plus Gold Valves (the front springs/vales were there when I bought it.) (2001/650) One KLR has Progressive F, no valves. OEM shock. cough (replaced 3x) First: We also need to confess, the KLR650 is not a 'full-time' trail bike for the average joe. smile. now, don't we all feel better? Your question first needs to address, where/how does Robert ride? The most useful article I ever read, addresses the primary question of: q. Are you hitting the bottom of your forks and rear springs multiple times each ride? a.1 Yes. You are not stiff enough. a.2 No. You are to stiff. 1. In my experience (IME) Progressive Springs (PS) are NOT a cure all; but they can cure specific riding 'problems'. I have them in my high-speed "prairie bike" where we ride fairly clean =very small ruts, stutter stretches of gravel/dirt at higher speeds. This suspension is also very appropriate for the long distance KLR multi-surface riding. Usually, I love the way this bike is set up, cough- However, The PS sucks on a trail where full deflection is best/needed 90% of the time; crossing multiple washes, small boulder fields, ruts, repeat. I installed the PS front/rear because I was hitting the bottom of the forks and rear spring multiple times... and made it a joy to ride, but when I moved TO the Black Hills, where there are more-different surfaces, the present suspension made the bike nearly useless = less pleasant for riding off road in the Black Hills. That is why they make the KLX. shrug. Short term cures: Switching back and forth on the front springs is not difficult...I still have the OEM front springs, but switching the rear spring is problematic. grin. I also know you can fine tune the oil weight, as well as the volume...and I wish I knew more or had a tutorial on the fine arts of that 'tuning' as well. A recent discussion of the Gen 1 KLR was 190mm oil level in the front forks. yada, yada, yada. IME, that should be 'interpreted' as a starting point; such as 21psi F 28psi R tire pressures. = it is all an average, you know, a 160# rider that rides sanely. shrug. Not sure I ever met one of those.... I am presently tink ering with change of oil volumes, = change of airspace making the KLR more trail worthy. I am also going to detune the 2001 to OEM springs, 5w oil as the offroad, off pavement KLR to compliment the KLX250. I also ride the intermediate trails with 14psi F/R which makes the KLR650 a much better bike, especially around rocks. AS you pursue the suspension tuning, I would also suggest that you make JUST ONE correction at a time; just one of course unless you have 'adult supervision' by someone who is a suspension exert. shrug. Anyway, 1 change the springs, use same oil weight etc. 2 change oil weight 3 add cartridges etc 4 change oil weight It is amazing what just changing the fork oil will do. = new, or weight change. Another unsolicited data points. If your bike has more than 30K on the forks, the inner bushings are likely shot or nearly so = good time to replace them. Fred has them in stock. Will be on your bench on Wednesday (if not sooner). IME, the only fork seals I would (EVER) buy/replacement are OEM. Fred has them as well...never met another dealer that had them in stock, no not one. and one last point: the best upgrade to the KLR650 I have ever made was the KLX250, and it opened up a whole new world of 'enjoyable' riding. Lighter, better suspension, appropriate/adequate amount of power and I can pick it up (usually) by myself. What I also noticed-- With the 650, I broke ribs; with the 250, I only separated ribs. blush. uh, in more, remote places. YMMV. revmaaatin. On Sun, Oct 5, 2014 at 9:53 AM, RobertWichert http://mailt o:robert@..." >robert@... [DSN_KLR650] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote: So I have a fork seal leak on the right fork. I think it is out of oil. Based on all that came out and it stopped. Is it worthwhile, in your esteemed opinion, to switch to different springs, emulators, imitators, anything at all worth doing when I am changing the seals, which are probably shot at 31,000 miles. Is that too soon? Thanks for thinking about this... -- Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP BD&C HERS I/II CEPE CEA BPI CERTIFIED SF/MF GREEN POINT RATER +1 916 966 9060 FAX +1 916 966 9068 =============================================== ------------------------------------ Posted by: RobertWichert ------------------------------------ List Sponsors - Dual Sport News: http://www.dualsportnews.com Arrowhead Motorsports: http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok: http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Members Map https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212558560286766214899.0004d0fa9f1732283bb6f&msa=0&ll=38.522384,-109.489746&spn=6.831383,9.624023 ------------------------------------ Yahoo Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/ Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/join (Yahoo! 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