KDXRIDER.NET

Instead of Kuobo link, would adjusting the sag be a better way to lower the seat height?

For example, install a stronger shock spring and set the race sag to 5". This puts the seat
height 1 inch lower without an aftermarket link. And no worry about tire hitting the fender crashing.

your bike will most likely handle like crap...

scheckaet wrote:your bike will most likely handle like crap...

Even if I slide the forks up 1" on the triple clamp?

terminatr wrote:

scheckaet wrote:your bike will most likely handle like crap...

Even if I slide the forks up 1" on the triple clamp?

Yes. Sag is the preload adjustment for the spring. If you screw with that the handling will suck.

Hmmm. I disagree, to some extent. You can lower your bike using "sag", but you need to be prepared to adjust to the new geometry. I always am playing with my suspension, and the bikes stance ranges form a chopper (rear low, front high) to a stink bug (rear high, front low). As long as you can ride around the changes, you are fine. Not all of us are "AA" level riders, and a lot of the set-up information out there is really only a starting point.

Adjusting the sag more than the typical 10mm spread is considered extreme and with good reason. You can adjust to the "new" geometry but is it worth it when you can end up with dangerous handling traits than could cause a serious injury? I'm not an AA rider by any means but even I can feel the difference of raising/lowering the forks only 1mm. It is always a trade off between stability and corning ability. More stink bug and it can turn on a dime but it can also knife on you really easy and welcome to high side city! Too choppered and you have great stability but the bike won't turn for crap and will push through turns possibly causing either a low or high side. How the forks and shock react to the terrain also be affected. Traction in corners, on hill climbs, and other varied obstacles will all change as well.

OP, I guess I should clarify my earlier statement. If your going to slide the forks up 1" then, yes, you can adjust the rear with sag but you will still end up with some very strange handling quirks. Be prepared and you have been warned so take it real easy until you figure out how the bike handles with the new geometry.

Yes. I know it'll affect the handling. My point is just that why spend $80 for a Kuobo link when you can adjust the sag and have the same effect? Or is it not the same?

not the same.

80 bux seems like a lot...however how much is an ER visit for broken bones...

It's made out of material stronger than steel but lighter.

I'm somewhat vertically challenged myself. I would never consider adjusting sag and I ruled out lowering links as I ride some pretty rough terrain and need as much ground clearance as I can get. The only option to me that's viable is shaving the seat. I have learned to live with one foot on the ground at a time. I'm also a constant source of amusement to my riding buddies when we stop and I misjudge just how far the ground slopes away from my foot....

Needless to say I pick my bike up a fair amount.

It sucks to be short, but I won't impair my handling for that reason.

Or just get a smaller bike....

Pete

Yep, shave the seat and/or buy a Kouba link in the size drop you need (they offer three different sizes), follow Kouba's install/setup instructions and you will be all set.

I got lucky and bought my kdx from a guy whose 100 lb daughter rode the bike. Needless to say, with my 260 lbs the forks compress about three inches as well as the rear. So it's balanced. I'm just puttering around behind quads in first or second gear so I don't need the full extension of the suspension. I've been riding my 1980 CT70 lately and enjoying what got me hooked on the dirt in the beginning. Well, I really started on a 1970 mini trail 50 but found the ct70 seven years ago.

Man, I'm an old fart now!

Good luck with the suspension

Sag is in effect the pre-load on the rear spring. Lessening pre-load enough to lower the rear beyond spec has much more affect than a change in geometry. You are changing the action of the rear suspension as well. It is.... not recommended.

My seat is shaved. But I am switching back to unshaved, because shaved is really uncomfortable. And I feel like I'm trapped in the shaved part of the seat. I sit down a lot, so comfort is important to me. I use the bike as dualsport also. Some people are bad azss, can stand up all day long. Not me.

I am switching back to unshaved, because shaved is really uncomfortable

bahahahaha!!!

Even a shaved KDX seat is better than any factory KTM, or any current bike for that matter, seat. KDX's are known as sofas on wheels!

Well, it looks like you have a few choices...

Modify the suspension the correct way and you can have a comfy yet safe bike to ride. Or...
Mod/change the suspension the half-assed way and have a bike you can ride but will have potentially dangerous handling traits. Or...
Learn to stand more and leave the seat the way it. Or...
Get a smaller bike like a KLX140L or CRF150.

Much ado about nothing.
The 100 mm is a guideline assuming the spring rate is ideal for your weight, and riding style. It's only a guideline and definitely not cast in stone. I went the kouba link route for 2 reasons. My legs are short, and the spring rate was too heavy for my weight and riding style, and the bike works beautifully. You can get lowering links cheaper than the Kouba's that work fine. I started a thread about lowering links here that should give you all the info you need.
Increasing or decreasing your sag may make the bike handle better for you, and surely won't be any more unusual or dangerous than the majority of KDX riders riding around on under/over sprung, and under/overdamped suspension now. Want to talk preload? Look inside the stock forks

Agreed, it's not set in stone. Going to far either way will result in some iffy handling characteristics. Very valid point about most riders and their suspension, can't argue that!

I'm thinking I buy a KX100 and use it to hone skills and keep the KDX in the corner of the garage until I'm ready.

The 100 is pretty cheap. Dealers still have new 2011 on showroom.