Fork Help - 2012WR250F Help

[Shemy]

I recently purchased a new 2012 WR250F, its a great bike, perfect for trails and not bad on the track.

 

That said - with my confidence level rising, I'm noticing that the front forks are not quite built for the track/bottoming out.

 

I need to know if there's anyway I can replace these with a set of YZ forks? - wishing for a simple swap, hopefully.

 

If this is true - what year/and or what set of forks(YZ125/250/450) will fit my WR??

 

Thank you,

V/R

Shemy

 

 

 

[Shemy]

Anyone?

 

 

[MidlifeCrisisGuy]

I have a 2012 WR450F as well. Love it.

The forks are 48mm Kybs, so as far as fit goes, I think that just about any 48mm Kybs will fit, thought the Yamaha axle and brake mounts appear to be Yamaha specific.

Before you ditch those forks, you might consider revalving them. That is about the only difference between the WR forks and YZ forks. Well, the bottoms are a bit different as well, but still pretty similar.

FYI, I plan to use Restackor to figure out how to revalve mine for better woods operation. I'll be posting my measurements and curves. There are other people on this board that are trying to revalve YZ forks to be more like WRs.

FYI, the WR and newer YZs are twin chamber (TC) SSS forks.

[MidlifeCrisisGuy]

You might be interested in these threads.

https://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/1048520-restackor-measurements-for-the-12-forks-and-shock/

https://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/1043102-2012-wr450f-shim-stacks/

[Shemy]

I have a 2012 WR450F as well. Love it.

The forks are 48mm Kybs, so as far as fit goes, I think that just about any 48mm Kybs will fit, thought the Yamaha axle and brake mounts appear to be Yamaha specific.

Before you ditch those forks, you might consider revalving them. That is about the only difference between the WR forks and YZ forks. Well, the bottoms are a bit different as well, but still pretty similar.

FYI, I plan to use Restackor to figure out how to revalve mine for better woods operation. I'll be posting my measurements and curves. There are other people on this board that are trying to revalve YZ forks to be more like WRs.

FYI, the WR and newer YZs are twin chamber (TC) SSS forks.

 

Thank you so much for the information.  I think I'll revalve them first then and see if this makes a difference.  Keep me updated on the meas. and specs please

Edited September 29, 2013 by Shemy

[MidlifeCrisisGuy]

Thank you so much for the information.  I think I'll revalve them first then and see if this makes a difference.  Keep me updated on the meas. and specs please

It shouldn't be too hard to find the stack setup for a YZ250F. Just copy it in your forks and you'll pretty much have YZ suspension as far as the forks go.

BTW, I removed 20+ pounds from my WR450F. It handles way better.

[YZEtc]

I'm going by memory so I may be wrong, but I think the spacing of the fork legs (distance in width from left to right) is different between the WR-250F you own and a YZ using 48mm forks.

I've read about it being done, but also remember some kind of head-scratching engineering/parts swapping needing to be done because of the different width.

 

Not sure you guys realize a WR-250F of any model year has an open chamber (AKA open bath) cartridge fork, similar to how forks were in the early 1990s.

The YZs since 2006, as well as the 2012 and 2013 WR-450F, use a much newer twin-chamber design called the KYB SSS fork.

I don't see how copying shim stacks will give the WR-250F YZ forks, even if there was some kind of improvement.

The main things the forks share are outside appearances, the 48mm tube diameters, and being made by KYB.

 

Don't forget about retaining decent chassis balance, as changing one end of the bike will effect how the other end works.

Edited September 30, 2013 by YZEtc

[MidlifeCrisisGuy]

I'm going by memory so I may be wrong, but I think the spacing of the fork legs (distance in width from left to right) is different between the WR-250F you own and a YZ using 48mm forks.

I've read about it being done, but also remember some kind of head-scratching engineering/parts swapping needing to be done because of the different width.

Sounds like something that can be overcome with different spacers, using the stock triple clamps. I'm removing the speedo computer drive from my WR450F and having to do the same thing.

 

Not sure you guys realize a WR-250F of any model year has an open chamber (AKA open bath) cartridge fork, similar to how forks were in the early 1990s.

I was not aware of this. I assumed the WR250 and the WR450 shared the same forks. My bad.

I don't see how copying shim stacks will give the WR-250F YZ forks, even if there was some kind of improvement.

It won't if they aren't the same fork.

[grayracer513]

The 2012 WR450 has the twin chamber 48mm KYB fork as used on YZ450's from '06-13.  They do not use the old open bath fork any longer, so there is nothing to gain from the replacement.  Essentially, apart from valving and the relationship of the springs to the bike's weight, they already are YZ forks.

 

Just respring/revalve as you need to. 

[riggy]

I added 20cc oil to forks and some preload and my forks where much better . I have same bike .

[RT_Chris448]

As said above, you can make the WR forks work really well.  We've done some testing with Dirt Bike magazine on both a 2002 and 2012 WR and they were blown away on both sets on the offroad side and even with a full offroad setup in there, they were working really well on a full on MX track with some great riders on them.

 

Race Tech also has a 20% off TTalk discount, and I'd love to personally help get you setup and ensure you are 100% happy with your setup.

[YZEtc]

As said above, you can make the WR forks work really well.  We've done some testing with Dirt Bike magazine on both a 2002 and 2012 WR and they were blown away on both sets on the offroad side and even with a full offroad setup in there, they were working really well on a full on MX track with some great riders on them.

 

Race Tech also has a 20% off TTalk discount, and I'd love to personally help get you setup and ensure you are 100% happy with your setup.

I rode, for two years, a 2009 WR-250F, which is the exact same machine as the 2012 WR-250F, the machine that this thread is about.

I now own and ride a 2002 WR-250F.

My feelings of the suspension on both of these bikes I've owned is similar:

The rear works much better than the front in rocky Connecticut terrain that has lots of squared-edged hits, and on both bikes, making the front fork better at absorbing these sharp bumps was desired.

The fork worked well over more MX-type terrain that had a lack of square-edged bumps.

 

What is commonly done to make these forks work better with square-edged bumps on the trail?

[WR 911]

I ride a 2012 WR450 and it has stock suspension except for Race Tech Gold valves. The forks you have are YZ stile forks (Twin chamber - SSS) no need to change over. I ride mostly track on my bike because its my B/U track bike while my KX is down for maintenance. The stock valving is soft so I tuned my forks on the stiffer side using Race Tech G2-R (vary tunable vale) and went up a size or two on the springs. I keep up with all the big boys and land 80' jumps just fine.

 

By the way, 2009 and 2012 are totally different bikes. 2009's are carbureted and have open cartridge forks but the 2012's are EFI, use twin chamber SSS forks, and use a 2012 YZ250F frame.

Edited October 3, 2013 by WR 911

[MidlifeCrisisGuy]

As said above, you can make the WR forks work really well.  We've done some testing with Dirt Bike magazine on both a 2002 and 2012 WR and they were blown away on both sets on the offroad side and even with a full offroad setup in there, they were working really well on a full on MX track with some great riders on them.

 

Race Tech also has a 20% off TTalk discount, and I'd love to personally help get you setup and ensure you are 100% happy with your setup.

Care to share what parts went into the 2012 WR you did for Dirt Bike ? Gold valves ? I can't send my forks in, but I'd love to replicate what you did for them.

[beezer]

I'd make sure I had the right springs in the bike before I spent any money on them.

 

The WR250 is sprung on the soft side.

 

Once I had put the correct springs in mine it worked pretty well.

 

I had it re-valved by 2 different shim shufflers and they didn't make it any better.

[RT_Chris448]

Care to share what parts went into the 2012 WR you did for Dirt Bike ? Gold valves ? I can't send my forks in, but I'd love to replicate what you did for them.

 

We setup both WR's with proper rate springs, Gold Valves, valving, and Race Tech fluids.  If you'd like, shoot me an email to chris@racetech.com with your weight, skill level, and intended use (tight off road, desert, motocross, etc.) and I can get you a quote with a listing of the parts we recommend.  As a member of TTalk, I'm sure you've read, many are do it yourself suspension installers, and our GV kits are made so you can do just that.