Dirtbike bounces after landing

jamesdry
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jamesdry
Hey everyone,

After landing a jump (clearing it) my bike seems to bounce (not that much) but looks really unprofessional in a sense even when clearing a jump. Anyone have any advice so i can set my suspension up so it does not do this while being predictable and not unsafe.

Thanks!
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Johnny89superbike 7/30/2018 3:25am
7/30/2018 3:25am
What bike? What settings? My 2011 RMZ450 does that if l run too little rebound damping, or too little rear spring sag (too much spring preload).
jamesdry
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jamesdry 7/30/2018 3:51am
7/30/2018 3:51am
Johnny89superbike wrote:
What bike? What settings? My 2011 RMZ450 does that if l run too little rebound damping, or too little rear spring sag (too much spring preload).
Its an 04 KTM 125SX, Not too sure what settings hence why i made this post. I dont really wanna play with it too much as it is very forgiving at the moment if i case or something like that. I would like to prevent what is happening but dont want to stuff the settings around so if i case a jump or go up the face of the jump it will do something unpredictable. Any advise on what settings can stuff you around and make certain things dangerous? Hopefully this made sense
kb228
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kb228 7/30/2018 4:18am
7/30/2018 4:18am
I would think if your compression is too low and youre bottoming out and your rebound is too fast, youll get a bounce. I experience this on my 250 which is set up for someone 70 lbs lighter than myself
jamesdry
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jamesdry 7/30/2018 5:35am
7/30/2018 5:35am Edited Date/Time 7/30/2018 5:36am
kb228 wrote:
I would think if your compression is too low and youre bottoming out and your rebound is too fast, youll get a bounce. I experience this...
I would think if your compression is too low and youre bottoming out and your rebound is too fast, youll get a bounce. I experience this on my 250 which is set up for someone 70 lbs lighter than myself
could you recommend anything? did you do anything on your 250 that helped change it?

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kb228
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kb228 7/30/2018 6:10am
7/30/2018 6:10am
kb228 wrote:
I would think if your compression is too low and youre bottoming out and your rebound is too fast, youll get a bounce. I experience this...
I would think if your compression is too low and youre bottoming out and your rebound is too fast, youll get a bounce. I experience this on my 250 which is set up for someone 70 lbs lighter than myself
jamesdry wrote:
could you recommend anything? did you do anything on your 250 that helped change it?
No my 250 is set up for my brother to ride. He doesnt have any issues so i dont mess with it.
lumpy790
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lumpy790 7/30/2018 7:08am
7/30/2018 7:08am
Bike sitting on ground not on stand. One hand on bars holding bike up and other hand Push down on seat hard and release quickly.

Does it bounce? Any visible fluid at bottom of shock shaft/bumper?
jamesdry
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jamesdry 7/30/2018 3:21pm
7/30/2018 3:21pm
lumpy790 wrote:
Bike sitting on ground not on stand. One hand on bars holding bike up and other hand Push down on seat hard and release quickly. Does...
Bike sitting on ground not on stand. One hand on bars holding bike up and other hand Push down on seat hard and release quickly.

Does it bounce? Any visible fluid at bottom of shock shaft/bumper?
I’ll get back to you when I try this! If it does bounce what should I do?
You-n-Gs-town born & bred 7/30/2018 3:58pm
7/30/2018 3:58pm
Did you buy your bike used.... if so you really need to check both forks for the proper amount of suspension fluid.

A co-worker of mine bought a used kx250f and I commented that his forks really rebound too quickly and felt like they blew through the stroke too easily.

Turns out one of his forks was pretty much empty due to a blown fork seal the previous owner never fixed and just cleaned up before selling the bike.

If everything checks out you really need to slow your rebound down by adjusting the clickers. It will actually make the bike even better if you're at the point in your ability that you're casing things regularly because it's going to be less apt to spitting you off if you come up short on a table or double with short or steep landings etc. Just be sure you count the clicks going either all the way in or all the way out and write it down then you can always put it back to where it was before.

Everything you read will tell you to adjust things slowly and to not make more than a one to two click change at most.......personally I tell people to just adjust one thing at a time.....if it's rebound just mess with rebound and nothing else.. find where you're set and write it down like I mentioned above then go all the way in and ride it around for a bit while being cautious until you know how it's reacting and then go all the way and ride it around that way you'll have a better mental picture of what it is your adjusting and its effect on the bike as well as the breadth or range you have to work within.

Good luck.... but check those forks!
Hondas4Life3
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Hondas4Life3 7/30/2018 5:02pm
7/30/2018 5:02pm
Suspension probably just needs rebuilt. Set all the clickers to factory settings and set your sag. If it still does it it needs serviced.
jamesdry
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jamesdry 7/30/2018 5:27pm
7/30/2018 5:27pm
You-n-Gs-town born & bred wrote:
Did you buy your bike used.... if so you really need to check both forks for the proper amount of suspension fluid. A co-worker of mine...
Did you buy your bike used.... if so you really need to check both forks for the proper amount of suspension fluid.

A co-worker of mine bought a used kx250f and I commented that his forks really rebound too quickly and felt like they blew through the stroke too easily.

Turns out one of his forks was pretty much empty due to a blown fork seal the previous owner never fixed and just cleaned up before selling the bike.

If everything checks out you really need to slow your rebound down by adjusting the clickers. It will actually make the bike even better if you're at the point in your ability that you're casing things regularly because it's going to be less apt to spitting you off if you come up short on a table or double with short or steep landings etc. Just be sure you count the clicks going either all the way in or all the way out and write it down then you can always put it back to where it was before.

Everything you read will tell you to adjust things slowly and to not make more than a one to two click change at most.......personally I tell people to just adjust one thing at a time.....if it's rebound just mess with rebound and nothing else.. find where you're set and write it down like I mentioned above then go all the way in and ride it around for a bit while being cautious until you know how it's reacting and then go all the way and ride it around that way you'll have a better mental picture of what it is your adjusting and its effect on the bike as well as the breadth or range you have to work within.

Good luck.... but check those forks!
Thanks, ill just adjust the rebound then. Now that i think of it logically that would be the cause. The front forks have a small leak however after using a plastic shim they have virtually stopped leaking but leak more after a ride. Im going to look into getting the whole suspension rebuilt as they have other small issues.

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