RMZ450 steering issues

Offset clamps possibly. RG3 has really good clamps if your willing to spend the coin, or Ride Eng. has good offsets at a more reasonable price. They make a huge difference, and you can fine tune the clamps by raising or lowering the forks in the clamp.

I have been struggling with my 09 RMZ450. My last bike was a CRF250, so I switched brands and went up in size. Once I got my CRF250 dialed in, it really didn't matter what track I went to the thing just worked.

With this RMZ, I am having to go through changes at every track. Not just clicker changes either, but moving the forks up and down in the triple clamps as well. I talked to my suspension guy at the track yesterday day, he suggested I get a notepad and pen and write down my settings at every track, and use that as a base to start with when I revisit those tracks. I probably should do that, just never had to in the past. He also suggested possibly changing triple clamps.

Yesterday the front end was knifing out from under me in turns, not a good feeling. I raised the forks up in the clamps, then it started standing up on me in the corners, so I messed with the compression clickers and finally got it dialed in for my last 2 practices. Of course if I go somewhere else to practice next weekend I will have to go through the same drill all over again.

So raising the forks in the clamps (so the tops are closer to the handlebars) worked with the knifing problem for me, if that helps at all.

This bike just seems like a lot of work, and is very finicky.

I would say you have a major issue somewhere in the internals if its clanking on the downstroke. The RMZ may have a few shortcomings but turning isn't one of them.

You said you had the suspension done please get it to someone else to see what was done you may find they may have tore something up or went the wrong way with spring rates ect. Try to be there when they pull it apart and ask questions about what was done previously.

I would do this asap before you get hurt because something sounds very wrong.

Ironically this exact same thing happened to my sons bike. We tore into it to find a dampening rod had been damaged by a local shop who changed a fork seal.

Good luck

No problems here... My 09 RMZ450 with RG3 suspension turns like it's on rails.!! It is the best turning 4 stroke i've ever owened by far!! I agree with "rocrac" if it's "clanking" somewere in the mid/lower stroke range then something must be going on with the internials? I would recommend you contact Rob @ RG3, Ziggy @ Factory Connection or Mike @ MB1 Suspension & have it checked out by a certified SHOWA suspension professional.

my 09 rmz knifes bad as well, ive done the same; raised and lowered forks in clamps and adjusted clickers, it seems like an uphill battle however. My 07 rmz450 handled much better.

Thanks for the tip. I went harder on the fork compression at the practice track today and it helped.

If your forks are making noise anywhere in the stroke (other than truly bottoming) something is wrong. Call your suspension guy and tell him whats going on.
Other options; Make sure that when you put your front wheel on that you let the forks take their natural (parrallel) position to each other, if you miss this step your forks bind and make a bike handle poorly and unpredictably. You mentioned that the bike was crashed hard, are you sure that the fork legs are straight? How about the steering stem?
Make sure that you have the same suspension adjustments both sides (same # of clicks out) Make sure you do not have too much rebound dampening overall as this tends to make a bike feel washy. This is the short list of the common things I have found that ruin a bikes handling.
I would check all these things as well as take your forks back to a suspension guy to check out again.
I had my suspension done by a reputable Cali shop and had the nut that holds the piston to the shock shaft come off during the first ride.... Even the best mechanics make mistakes sometimes.

Change the wheel base, try a longer chain and run the axle to the rear or try it up front. It made my 09 KX450F turn much better I raised the forks tubes all the way up and then shortened the wheelbase. The clank issue is another story.

I agree that the clank issue is another story. You need to call your suspension guy and get that figured out.
I do have a tip that works for me when setting my fork tube height. So many people forget about practicing and just ride and click when messing with their suspension, especially if you change your bar height or position, tighten your chain (move your axle) or change your fork tube height or adjust your sag.
You might look like a goon but I do all my tuning for turns on a wide flat grass or dirt surface. For me it is in my yard where nobody will laugh at me but you might find a place at the track. I'll do some figure 8's and play how low can you go, mostly in first gear. I'll roll in a right turn, wheelie out and set my wheel down into a left turn. Sometimes I'll go around a couple of times trying to get lower and lower before wheeling out to change directions. Its good practice but it also lets you know when and where your bike is going to push the front end on a flat controlled surface.
You can adjust your body position and figure out what you need to do to really get low and this helps a lot when you get on the track. If your bike pushes way earlier than you think it should then you can change your tube height and try again. You will know immediately if it is better or worse once again on a controlled surface and adjust accordingly until you are happy.
Everything else, compression, rebound, setting up for a rutted track or jump behavior can be done on the track.
Its just a tip and it works for me. Even when I do have my setups I'll do this every so often just to get the mojo going. Its also kinda fun and you'll be surprised how low you can go when you get everything right (rider and bike). Just think Fonzi. He kicked ass at this.

Just hold the sucker WFO.