Kx Fork Swap Report

Questions and comments about converting to beefier forks..
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doakley
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Kx Fork Swap Report

Post by doakley »

I had promised a report on my fork conversion.
My bike is a pretty stock 1999 kdx 220. I purchased a set of 2001 kx250 forks via eBay for 190 incl freight. They included bar mounts and front axle. I also located a wheel with brake disc, set of fork protectors, new Pivot Works wheel bearing kit including collars and caps. I was able to use my kdx brake caliper. I also decided it was time for a new front tire so went with a Shinko Fatty. That left two potentially expensive things (1) swapping stems and (2) fork rebuild and revalved. Another KdxRider member, who just happens to be a darn good mechanic and had already done his own fork swap, agreed to do the stem swap. (I’m not going to identify him here as I don’t know if he wants to do more. He will speak up if he does I am sure.). I got SR1, a suspension shop in NC, to tear down the forks, replace and service the forks and revolve and tune specific to my needs. He talked to me about what I did not like about the stock forks and what problems I was hoping to solve. A complete rebuild and revalve wound up costing me $272-.This was by far the single most expensive part of the project but, I thought it was fair. It also didn’t make sense to me to go to the expense of making the swap and not having a professional who knew what he was doing and had done this conversion before give me a set of forks that would be right. I got really lucky in that when they tore down the kx forks they discovered the PO had already installed Gold Valves. Jared Daniels at SR1 set the forks up so that all I had to do was bolt them on. He told me exactly how far he wanted the forks to protrude above the triple clamp and where to start off with the clickers. Since I had never owned forks with adjustable rebound, Jared talked to
Me about adjusting rebound and compression for various terrain. Turns out you would typically adjust both compression and rebound as they are inter-related. I didn’t know that but it makes sense. In my
Opinion it was well worth the money to work with a pro on the forks themselves.

I went on a short ride today and was astounded at the difference! I should have done this a long time ago instead of continuing to fart around with the kx forks myself! I have my first race with the new forks next Sunday. I can’t wait to hear the starter call out “tennnnnnnnnn seconds”!
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Kx Fork Swap Report

Post by thirdgenlxi »

Awesome..... Glad again to hear that you like them!! Definitely a worthwhile upgrade, IMHO. Now hopefully mother nature takes her meds for Hawk Creek next weekend! I'm gonna be looking for a nice big wheelie and a holeshot off the starting line with that new pipe too :lol:

And no worries..... I don't mind a bit, I'll do some more stems! Haha. Gotta put my press to good use.... At least something other than bending my rear brake pedal back straight (again) or smashing random things, lol
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Kx Fork Swap Report

Post by SS109 »

Awesome! Don't forget to recheck your rear sag before the race. A lot of times it will change after a fork has been resprung/revalved as the fork will rest in a different part of the stroke. Same goes for sliding the forks up/down in the triples. All of it affects your rear sag and sag also affects your forks. You can't properly tune your forks if the sag isn't correct.

Also, don't be afraid to play with your clickers. You don't have to adjust the compression and rebound together. Your suspension guy is correct that they affect each other but you can and should adjust one at a time until that one is set (or doesn't help) and then adjust the other. There are some really good suspension tuning guides on how to dial things in out there. Here is a decent basic one that gives you the symptom and the possible corrections for it: http://dirtbikeresources.com/dirtbikere ... uningGuide Here is a downloadable .pdf from Enduro Engineering on how to actually tune it on your terrain: http://www.enduroeng.com/storage/pdfs/S ... LOWRES.pdf Also, here is an article on setting sag on the KDX from Pro Circuit...
Setting sag.jpg
Setting sag.jpg (247.5 KiB) Viewed 3712 times
Setting sag 2.jpg
Setting sag 2.jpg (233.41 KiB) Viewed 3712 times
A lot of people just don't realize how bad the stock forks are until they ride it with some properly setup KX (or equivalent) forks. The adjustability is worth it alone but add in the high speed safety factor and there is just no question as to which is the better setup.
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Re: Kx Fork Swap Report

Post by doakley »

I was aware I needed to recheck my sag but haven’t had a helper and couldn’t wait any longer to take a test spin. That’s about the best and most concise article I’ve seen. Thanks for posting that.p
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Re: Kx Fork Swap Report

Post by doakley »

Just a follow up ride report from my first race with the KX250 forks. In short yeeeehawwww!!! I love them! It is really hard to describe the improvement over the stock kdx forks. Very plush without harsh bottoming. The bike tracks well and is not deflected nearly so much by roots, rocks, etc. a much more secure feeling . There were several rooted up hills but not once was my front wheel knocked off line!
In the tight single track woods sections I didn’t notice any reduction in the turning qualities that make these bikes so great I’m the tight stuff. Well worth the money!
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Re: Kx Fork Swap Report

Post by KDXGarage »

Thanks for the additional report!
Thank you for participating on kdxrider.net. :bravo:
To post pictures from a device: viewtopic.php?f=88&t=24128
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