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5033
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8/1/2013
Location
Avondale, PA
US
Edited Date/Time
4/16/2017 1:57pm
Just got a 15 that had maybe 15 minutes on it.
I'm b class, 220lbs first efi bike and first 450 in 10 years last one was an 03 yz450 that I hated lol. Too brutal, too fast, too tiring, shock sucked too.
Anyways got this bike and looking for suspension recommendations. Got settings for the forks from my local tuner, he suggested a 5.5 rear spring.
I'm temped to sell the forks and go onlins. Any advice? Air forks sound like extra drama and issues from everything I've read and talking even to the suspension shop. He converted his own forks to spring.
What says you guys? Any other set up tips. Going to get a chain as the stock one I'm sure will wear like rubber.
I'm b class, 220lbs first efi bike and first 450 in 10 years last one was an 03 yz450 that I hated lol. Too brutal, too fast, too tiring, shock sucked too.
Anyways got this bike and looking for suspension recommendations. Got settings for the forks from my local tuner, he suggested a 5.5 rear spring.
I'm temped to sell the forks and go onlins. Any advice? Air forks sound like extra drama and issues from everything I've read and talking even to the suspension shop. He converted his own forks to spring.
What says you guys? Any other set up tips. Going to get a chain as the stock one I'm sure will wear like rubber.
Buy those 3 oem parts then get race techs spring and bottom plug
Granted not everyone will agree with me and if the extra time and setup steps are going to put a damper on your riding routine then yes ditch them and get the race tech conversion, all their parts and settings are generally spot on, but.......for what its worth I just went from a bike with sff spring forks to the TAC air fork and I think it is a much better fork. When properly dialed in that is.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
I'm an off road guy so I Had TBT revalve them, but they worked really good stock. Their recommended air pressure settings work awesome, and I only check the pressure of there is drastic air temp or altitude changes (I used to check them ever ride, but the pressures just didnt move that often, so I stopped doing it...in fact, I rode at 2000 ft and 70 degrees one weekend, the next was at 4500 and 50 degrees and the internal was right where I wanted it to be and the balance was only off by a few pounds).
In my opinion people that check them all the time are splitting hairs.
But give the air forks an honest shot before you spend money on something else, they just might surprise you!
Keep in mind that Kawasaki spent millions of dollars making that bike work the best it can work with air forks..
Ride the bike for a few hours and test different settings(i'm sure you can find lots of info on the TAC fork).
If you're set on spring conversion, I'd suggest the SDI kit. It comes with an external preload adjuster and is priced competitively:
http://www.suspensiondirect.com/shop/dfastac-kit
I'm running mellow coupler as I'm a long time 250 rider, a mellow 450 is plenty while I adjust.
Got the sag dialed in.
Forks running
187 inner
6 outer
220 balance.
Struggling in choppy braking bumps into corners. Any tips what to try from here? I went from 16psi in the outer down incrementally and it's better , much better, but still feel there's much more room for plushness into and thru corners.
225 lbs, intermediate desert, novice MX
Sag: 5.9 kg spring, 105mm
Fork: 5 mm
Inner: 174, Outer: 10, Balance: 180
10 Comp 12 Rebound
Was pretty good, except at turn-in where the front end felt like it wanted to wash away. Sent to TBT and now has much more grip at turn in and through exit of turns. It just sticks.
Check the Showa app to model various settings.
Pit Row
I am the ideal weight for the stock bike though.
From what I can feel it's hard to get a wide window of where the forks work well. Get them soft enough to handle the small stuff they have nothing left for big hits like going a little long or short. Get them stiffer for that, now you suffer thru small bumps, cornering, and basically everywhere.
I just dropped them off to get spring conversion. Will report back on my review.
As far as the bike goes, I think I am gelling with it really well. I think it suits me very well and I am going to be faster on it than I ever was before IF I can get the Suspension to work for me.
The power is pretty awesome, brakes are great, riding position is awesome.
Build quality overall seems a touch below the Yamaha's I'm used to. The pegs although adjustable, are tiny, and poorly designed and trap mud compared to the Yamaha. And just many of the parts you can tell aren't machined as smoothly as the Yamaha. Also it has 10 hours on it and looks like I've ridden it for just about two seasons at times.
It looked absolutely amazing when new, but that wore off quick! All in all,if it is reliable and holds up none of that matters too much, just was pretty evident to me so far.
Post a reply to: New 15 kx450 questions