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Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
i pulled some mint condition first gen (widely disliked) upside downs from a kx125 which were twitchy and unsettled on the kx and put them on my kdx220 and they worked really well, the change in weight, weight distribution, geometry etc just made them work....
i was taken aback by the difference with no changes other than clickers...
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DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Additionally, if you do decide to send your suspension to this so-called Slipdog character, be sure and pack it with at least 50,000 foam peanuts. He claims it polishes the external parts while in transit.
After studying all fork internals recently, l find that the earlier Showa 47mm twin chambers work just as the KYB SSS fork, they just need to be set-up better.
Suspension isn't all shim stacks - or damping. The chassis is MORE important to feel than the valving.
Remember reeds two two racer x article - commenting how PLUSH the factory clamps felt. Not multiply that across the entire chassis.
The yz is plush because the yamaha testing department puts emphasis on that OVER "connectedness"
The 14+ yz250f vs the 14 yz450 were totally different bikes in feel. We chased our ASS for 4 months trying to mimic the nice plush character the 250f had on the 450 - with a rider of mine.
We swapped forks, shocks, tons of valving etc......
Ultimately - after it always felt harsh - we ended up HUGELY stiffer in the forks than the 250f - and it was night and day better in feel and plush character - but never as good as the 250f.
I owned an 11 kx450 that had the SSS - coming off yamaha's previously my whole life. HATED the kawi at first. Valved forks exactly to my yz setting as a baseline - HATED them. I must have tested different fork settings literally every day I rode for 3 months
Gave up - and went to the shock - which didn't bother me much - and BOOM. 2 shock settings later - with just about ANY fork setting - I loved the bike - and what amazed me was from local pro speed at 150-160 lbs - to vet amatuer at 200-210 lbs - people loved it. It still felt a little firmer than a yzf - but it had some advantages over the yzf.
Bones has an article about this - if you get the balance right - the bike works well for a wide range of people.
MXA has propogated huge bullshit about the "SSS" fork. continuing to propogate the reason it's good on yz is because of a magical shim stack setting only yamaha can run - total bull.
Yamaha's 2006 shim settings are a far departure of 2019 - and they have made changes over the years - all of which test riders still "love" despite being quite different in settings.
Yamaha should be applauded for this - and until this year, has been scolded for it in ratings. Every customer of mine says - "just make my non blue bike feel like a blue bike" - and they spend all year and lots of money chasing that - they should have just bought a blue bike if plush character was their number 1 priority.
You don't buy a race car with low profile tires and magnesium rims to drive on pothole roads - most of us dont buy bikes to race sx - and very few of us buy 450's and use all the power they have - so buying a bike off what your nuts like (big HP) vs what your hands like (plush) is stupid - yet we do it year after year - myself included being the worst offfender - who doesn't smile when your bike rips your arms off.
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