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CRF250X forks

By Piney Woods,
in CRF250X

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Kawabuggy

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George have you ever ridden an X? I'm asking because I think you are going to be uninspired by them. I can only imagine that you are looking for a set that you will then re-valve before use. In stock form, they leave a LOT to be desired. They will be super-active on almost any type of terrain and soft beyond belief. Even when sprung correctly they will feel like you are riding with marshmallows at either end. Just my own personal experience. From what I remember reading about them the mid-valve float is opened up more than the R specs. This softens everything up. They have a very vague feeling in that you get very little feed-back.. If you dial in the compression then they start to deflect off obstacles long before you actually get any positive feedback.

 

What was your plan for them?

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Grand Master

Piney Woods

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George - the Showa TCs are great forks.  What are they doing or not doing that you want fixed?

 

 

George - the Showa TCs are great forks.  What are they doing or not doing that you want fixed?

After revalving multiple times they are still harsh, then too soft, then too stiff. Bounce across roots at slow speeds then wallow in rollers then too stiff leaving about 2.5 in travel unused. More fork compression  to calm the wallowing creates more harshness and deflection in roots. Bike refuses to "set" in a turn and does not want to turn, makes it tough in tight woods. Rear end wants to bury the front, very difficult to "float" the front end when needed. I could go on.  One last shot by the current tuner who is a great guy, if not successful I will be selling the bike. Have decided to not try another set of forks.  Thanks to all.

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Grand Master

Piney Woods

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I'm sure your tuner has the right springs for your weight and the right sag for the rear.  If so, the amount of rebound and compression damping required should be minimal - almost full out.  Good luck with that suspension.

Thanks but with different valving from stock, the clicker settings are quite different. Springs seem to be correct going by the sag numbers. Its a mystery. Thanks for your input.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

motrock93b

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I hated these forks also. I tried Dukesilver's recommendation to "emulate" subtanks with great results. Basically, I've replaced my bleed screws with just the hollow body of pushbutton bleeders (pushbuttons removed) leaving just the tiny bleed holes open. I ran rubber lines to a filter to keep things clean. The forks have improved slow speed plushness as well as bottoming resistance. A former pro riding buddy has run this setup for quite a while with no problems. I was sceptical at first, but this inexpensive mod saved me from selling my 250X, as you are considering.

I have a more detailed post about this for your reference.

Good luck.

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Grand Master

motrock93b

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I've been through numerous motocross bikes due to harsh, deflection prone suspension. I've had three different tuners revalve many bikes leaving me with stiff suspension and more money required to chase a plush setup. I've heard good things about subtanks and how well they add low speed plushness without ruining bottoming resistance. I hated my new 250X forks for their harshness, thinking I could finally avoid moto suspension ills by purchasing a dedicated off road bike. No such luck

I then rode a friend's bike wuth the mods I described above. Huge difference. Very plush with great bottoming resistance. You might benefit by trying it since it's so easy and inexpensive to do. If you already have pushbutton bleeders, you simply need to remove the internals and renstall just the hollow base which screw into the bleed hole. For a simple test, just zip tie some sort of "filter" to these to keep things clean. Maybe a small piece of foam or? Then go for a ride. I was impressed. This system can eventually be closed with some form of air cannister (some use subtanks). This is far simpler than repeated motorcycle purchases, revalves, and sales. I wish I had tried this on my moto bikes. I believe it would have fixed my issues with them.

Besides. You can always reinstall the bleed screws in a couple minutes to reconfigure. Revalving can't be so easily reverse engineered.

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DukeSilver

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People say the fluid level only effects the bottom of the travel but it was one of the best felt things to help in the slower roots and gnar,

 

Ya, that's what the oil level does - the air gap is a seperate matter.  It's a linear spring which acts over the entire travel and has it's greatest effect early on. 

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Grand Master

Piney Woods

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I've been through numerous motocross bikes due to harsh, deflection prone suspension. I've had three different tuners revalve many bikes leaving me with stiff suspension and more money required to chase a plush setup. I've heard good things about subtanks and how well they add low speed plushness without ruining bottoming resistance. I hated my new 250X forks for their harshness, thinking I could finally avoid moto suspension ills by purchasing a dedicated off road bike. No such luck

I then rode a friend's bike wuth the mods I described above. Huge difference. Very plush with great bottoming resistance. You might benefit by trying it since it's so easy and inexpensive to do. If you already have pushbutton bleeders, you simply need to remove the internals and renstall just the hollow base which screw into the bleed hole. For a simple test, just zip tie some sort of "filter" to these to keep things clean. Maybe a small piece of foam or? Then go for a ride. I was impressed. This system can eventually be closed with some form of air cannister (some use subtanks). This is far simpler than repeated motorcycle purchases, revalves, and sales. I wish I had tried this on my moto bikes. I believe it would have fixed my issues with them.

Besides. You can always reinstall the bleed screws in a couple minutes to reconfigure. Revalving can't be so easily reverse engineered.

You have no idea how big your last seven words are! And expensive!!!!!!!  Very accurate young man.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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twigster

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i have re-builts my crf 250x 04 front end new bush's  and seals pushed the oil to the max level (5 weight) i still feel a lack of confidence when cornering its just not planted ,feels vague almost like a wheel bearing is loose (its not ) ! I only have my cr 250 00 as a reference which is inspiring in the bends...sorry for the bad interpretation of my problems i have not ridden the bike as much as i would have liked so its a bit sketchy !!but i would like a little more info mayby a pic or two about the bleeders which i have and the sub tanks i.e mounting etc what size the usual things to ensure a dummy like me can try it thanks guys this is an interesting and new (for me ) direction in which to try so please some pics or more info

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twigster

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to ensure the best info i went out yesterday 5 degrees so quite chilly first time out on a trail in some time the ground had a soft top coat bit like a virgin track after the rain so grip was not at a premium i  am 5mm down on the fork in the yokes and the sag on the rear is as the book states  like i said i have new oil ,i think its 365cc 5wt new seal and bush's new tyres etc all the bearings head stock wheels front and rear seem good swingarm good also ...right onto the ride ruts made the steering feel very vague like the front had a mind of its own it always felt like it was going to go from under me really like the front wheel bearing had some play in it,even in a straight line the bike felt like the front didnt want to change direction quickly and would not go over small lips i.e ruts without making it feel unsafe ( hinged ) i totally lost confidence in the front end almost turning around and going home it felt like i had a front or back puncture and i got off the bike many times to check this!!! ..on really smooth surfaces it was less noticeable as you would expect but stil tipping into bends gave me the feeling it would not stop tipping not really washing  to try and help this problem i rode it from the back using the throttle trying to keep the front as light as poss this sometimes helps but in the muddier sections on straight etc i still had that vague feeling that the front was less than well mannered thats why i thought the air bleeders may well be a solution so i would like some more info on that pics if poss as confidence and enjoyment are of importance to me i am not happy to ride this bike the way it is i am think of putting my cr 250 oo front end on it and seeing where that takes me as this bike which i bought to ride enduros is not cutting it i am not enjoying the ride at all any help would be soooo appreciated

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twigster

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ok had some time did not sleep well things about this crf were bothering me i .started at the beginning i.e tyre pressures good ,handle bar mounts good forks good (no leaks) bolts all tight to torque good wheels bearings back good, front doh !!!!!!its minute but its play whichever way you shake it small play can translate into bad feeling at the handle bar so i have quickly got a cheap set of bearings and i will try em out asap and go from there i am not sure how i missed that first time round but i did i am still interested in the fork bleeder thing ...if i can get the thing to turn half as good as my cr 250 00 i would be happy i dont pretend to be any good on a bike but i do at least lke to have things working the way they should

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