WR250R suspension set-up thread

I would like to dedicate this thread for setting up our suspensions. Seems to me for alot of people suspensions are not the strong suit(me included). Im thinking if we could post our weight and what we have done(spring preload, front and rear dampening and compression settings), what type of riding we do, and if we like what we have done. That way some of the smarter ones can help some of us others diagnose real life issues.(swapping, studder bumps, catapulting ect).??

I like it.....very good start up thread. Just sharing

info based on experience.

As of now I dont have anything to list, as I just

made some suspension changes last night with

the info I got from reading here. Havent gotten

to ride yet. I will let you know.

Ill start. I weigh 185 w/o gear, ride mostly off-road with alot of deep sand whoops lately. I previously made some changes that started getting way off base and ended up wose than I started. I then went back to stock.

-Currently my spring preload is stock(not sure of the sag)

-My rear rebound and compression screws are stock.

-My front felt a little sloppy compared to my rear(balancing?) so I up-ed the front fork rebound and compression screws 1-turn each.

Resault? Even though the balance felt a little off it semed to track good and I liked it. I think I can get better though. Will post on my next ride on the up-ed fork settings.

I would like to dedicate this thread for setting up our suspensions. Seems to me for alot of people suspensions are not the strong suit(me included). Im thinking if we could post our weight and what we have done(spring preload, front and rear dampening and compression settings), what type of riding we do, and if we like what we have done. That way some of the smarter ones can help some of us others diagnose real life issues.(swapping, studder bumps, catapulting ect).??

Took mine to a shop and let the pros do it...Best $350 I ever spent on the bike. New springs and dialed in for 6'3" ~ 260lbs

http://www.le-suspension.com/

Took mine to a shop and let the pros do it...Best $350 I ever spent on the bike. New springs and dialed in for 6'3" ~ 260lbs

http://www.le-suspension.com/

for 350 bucks I assume they did some actual suspension work, not

just set it up?

for 350 bucks I assume they did some actual suspension work, not

just set it up?

They installed the new stiffer springs and set it up too... I thought that was very reasonable. Race tech wants $220 for a new set of springs alone

I am a very experienced, aggressive off-road rider who's old and feeble. Here's my take on the suspension for a 165 lb person who might also be aggressive and doesn't want to sample dirt too often.

The stock springs are in the ballpark, tho' the rear is a little stiff.

The damping is way off both ends.

The bike has most of the weight biased to the front end which complicates

things with the stock damping settings.

Here's what I did to get it ridable.

*Back off the rear shock preload to nearly nothing (which for me was a little more sag than I normally run on my dirt bikes), the thing still turns well, so the shock spring is clearly on the stiff side. Where it works best for me is when I can actually turn the adjuster ring set by hand before locking it.

*Set the rear shock all the way to full rebound damping - it'll still be a little shy of optimum for rougher terrain.

*Set the fork compression to full damping. There's not enough to control dive when hitting downhill obstructions.

*Set the fork rebound to very light so it will return quickly, allowing bike to stay level off of jumps, during braking stutters, etc.

*As far as shock compression settings go, I'm at stock pretty much; with the spring being fairly stiff you don't need much compression damping control for most things; personal preference rules.

Even with these settings the bike is still a handfull especially on quick rough downhills during braking. The ass-end often wants to kick up and come around, which then over loads the already struggling front end. For my next off-road ride I plan to move the handlebars back some to try to do a little more weight transfer to the rear by my own arse. Since it is an exceptional turning machine as-is, I am going to drop the forks in the T-clamps a little over an eighth of an inch to see if that helps keep the bike more stable in such situations.

The more time I get on this bike the more promise it has for hard off-road riding. I like it.

Notice I don't give exact clicker settings as none of us ride exactly the same.

My settings are almost identical to SPUTTER's. My fork rebound is a little more toward the slow side (almost max). These setting are decent but, if you ride in very rocky terrain, be shure to lower fork compression a bit and slow the rebound to the max else your front wheel will dart and launch off every rock...and that gets you into trouble quick.

Great thread.

Anyone have recommended setup for a 200# (in gear) trail rider on rocky terrain?

Ill start. I weigh 185 w/o gear, ride mostly off-road with alot of deep sand whoops lately. I previously made some changes that started getting way off base and ended up wose than I started. I then went back to stock.

-Currently my spring preload is stock(not sure of the sag)

-My rear rebound and compression screws are stock.

-My front felt a little sloppy compared to my rear(balancing?) so I up-ed the front fork rebound and compression screws 1-turn each.

Resault? Even though the balance felt a little off it semed to track good and I liked it. I think I can get better though. Will post on my next ride on the up-ed fork settings.

Alots changed since this post. I took many of your suggestions and reduce my rear spring to nearly bottomed-soft, maxed my rear rebound, left my rear compression stock, added 2-clicks to front fork compression and left the front rebound alone.

My rear suspension seems ok on the rough stuff(BTY, id rather set up my suspension for agressive riding and be a little less comfortable on the roads), but is too soft now. Ive added a little more spring tension to the rear and will continue to do so til its satisfactory. The front, im not sure about. It felt soft when the rear was stiffer, and now it feels a little stiff now that the rear is softer. Both feel a little bouncy still...... Is that from weak rebound settings? Plus, when I riding through deep whoops, the bike seems to not want to stay straight.

Any suggestions on where to go from here? Ill probally just keep on the clickers until get what I think is going to be the best. Im just worried ill get the front to rear ballance totally off!

Coments welcomed! (from experianced only please)

Remember sag is first. Most riders start with 90 to 100mm (4") (full gear)...if the spring is right for your weight you should be compressing it somewhere between 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches to get that sag (as a rough indicator...I've never had a bike that runs such a high spring rate/leverage ratio either, so I'm not sure how that impacts the picture.).

If the sag is close to that 4 inches +/- and the bike front end doesn't tend to wash in flat turns you're probably in the ball park. You can further fine tune the sag based on the type of riding you do and how the rear end tracks and conforms to the terrain. Hooking up is what it's all about. If so, and it still feels to soft over some kinds of rough areas, try bumping up the shock compression settings, two clicks at a time. I don't think you can get a suspension to work perfectly under all conditions, you need to set it up for the kinds of trails you ride. For example, I tend to ride single track, really rough stuff with stutters, ruts, square-edged holes, and most is at lower speed, 3rd gear or less. I tend to run a lot of shock rebound, less compression, and set the sag to a little more than I'd like for higher speed stuff - otherwise I get beat up too much. If I was running higher speeds, it would be set up firmer.

If you are in good shape and experienced you will tend to like the firmer settings for control at higher speeds, however, I'm not sure the WRR is the kind of bike you want to push too hard. Trial and error is key, go out test, reset, go out again until you get it the way you like it. You'll learn how all these settings work - just don't back off the shock rebound all the way and go jumping off a 10 foot table top LOL.

How do you adjust the fork preload? All I see in the manual are compression and rebound damping.

Thanks,

Eric

How do you adjust the fork preload? All I see in the manual are compression and rebound damping.

Thanks,

Eric

You usually have to change fork springs if a change is necessary.

Alots changed since this post. I took many of your suggestions and reduce my rear spring to nearly bottomed-soft, maxed my rear rebound, left my rear compression stock, added 2-clicks to front fork compression and left the front rebound alone.

My rear suspension seems ok on the rough stuff(BTY, id rather set up my suspension for agressive riding and be a little less comfortable on the roads), but is too soft now. Ive added a little more spring tension to the rear and will continue to do so til its satisfactory. The front, im not sure about. It felt soft when the rear was stiffer, and now it feels a little stiff now that the rear is softer. Both feel a little bouncy still...... Is that from weak rebound settings? Plus, when I riding through deep whoops, the bike seems to not want to stay straight.

Any suggestions on where to go from here? Ill probally just keep on the clickers until get what I think is going to be the best. Im just worried ill get the front to rear ballance totally off!

Coments welcomed! (from experianced only please)

After adding some rear spring tension the bike is much better. Ive also decided to reduce the front compression a few clicks and stiffen the rebound a few clicks. So far this it the best Ive gotten it. The front to rear ballance seems good to.

Anybody else want to add their settings/rider wight to this thread?

I bought a used WR250X. I'm 6'1" and 210. I feel like I need to tighten the rear suspension, but I'm brand new to motorcycles and don't have a clue how to do it. I posted a question on another thread, but I need step by step advice. Thanks.

I bought a used WR250X. I'm 6'1" and 210. I feel like I need to tighten the rear suspension, but I'm brand new to motorcycles and don't have a clue how to do it. I posted a question on another thread, but I need step by step advice. Thanks.

To tighten the rear spring, take off your plastic cover that access's your air filter. Just to the right of your air filter box you will see your spring/shock. On top of the spring their will be 2- steel rings with about 2" of threads. Loosen the top ring enough to get a screw driver or spanner wrench between them. tighten the lower ring to compress the spring tension. I use a screw dirver and a hammer against the notches in the ring, not the recomended way but it works. Do little adjustments at a time as they make a big difference. BTW, you should have the bike on a stand to reduce the tension on the spring to make it much easier. When your done with the botton ring, tighten the top ring against it to lock them together.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the suspension advice Sputter. I got the distinct impression from your posts that you really knew what you were talking about, so I used your suspension settings this weekend. The bike worked really well. It definitely was a whole lot easier to control. I have a pretty extensive background in sportbikes and roadracing, but off-road is totally new to me. You saved me probably about a year of trial-and-error!

Now I just need to work on my off-road riding skills!

Cheers

Thanks for the suspension advice Sputter. I got the distinct impression from your posts that you really knew what you were talking about, so I used your suspension settings this weekend. The bike worked really well. It definitely was a whole lot easier to control. I have a pretty extensive background in sportbikes and roadracing, but off-road is totally new to me. You saved me probably about a year of trial-and-error!

Now I just need to work on my off-road riding skills!

Cheers

I 2nd that. SPUTTER is right on the money! His settings are great for an "all-around" setting and for what this bike is made for, you won't have to change it much unless your riding conditions really change. When I ride the local MX track (on my MX bike), I have to change settings throughout the day as the track gets chopped up by all the riders. Sometimes, I change them after every two laps (after an hour of track riding I need the break anyway)! For trails, the conditions don't generally change much in the course of a day although you may hit rocky sections where you might want to soften the compression a little so you'll be able to get out of bed the next morning. I always bring a small screw driver with me just in case.

Well, tonight I did the "bounce" check on my WRR anf WRF to compare. I have my shock rebound set to full slow and it is a pogo stick compared to the F in about the middle. Very noticeable even in the garage. The front forks, the same. I will be setting the rebound on them to full slow too.

Well, tonight I did the "bounce" check on my WRR anf WRF to compare. I have my shock rebound set to full slow and it is a pogo stick compared to the F in about the middle. Very noticeable even in the garage. The front forks, the same. I will be setting the rebound on them to full slow too.

This is a very interesting development. How does compression damping effect the rebound? It would seem that the increasing the compression damping would reduce the compression of the spring, and make the rebound damping valve's job easier.

I guess is it harder to get a feel for compression damping? How do you get the F and R "equal" on compression so you know you are comparing apples to apples. Or?

thanks again for the info!

/dh