Stock Springs

[GoonMX]

I was just wondering if the stock spring is good for a 175-180lb(w/o gear) rider. I plan to save for a revalve but i was wondering if ill need springs or anything else for my weight. For now ill adjust the clickers and all because it is a little soft.

[MXMac]

Well, if you go to Race Tech or Factory Connection's web sites, they "say" the fork springs of the CRF250r are actually stiff and harsh for the claimed 150-160 lb rider that Honda set the bike up for.

You be the judge. I am right in your weight range and ride basically stock clickers. I think it's too stiff or not quick enough in the small stuff like braking bumps etc, but on a scale of 1-10 I am probably a 5 or 6 in terms of riding ability and speed. I do like it on big landings though.....

Getting the suspension right for you has to be worth the money though. That's why I checked this post....

[therapture]

I am 200lbs w/o gear and I am using one step stiffer (.47 and 5.5) springs than stock (.44 and 5.3). Sag settings are perfect. Suspension works awesome with minor revalving and some front subtanks courtesy of ShawnMC ?

At 175 to 180...stock springs should be pretty close...a faster rider might need some additional low/mid speed damping though to stop the wallow in the deep rollers......

[MrGadget]

I weigh 190# (w/o gear), and was able to set the proper sag on my 250X rear shock with the stock spring. 25mm static sag (bike weight only) and 110mm race sag, and spring is still at acceptable length (245mm).

I can't get anymore than that though, or the spring will be less than the minumum length (245mm).

I still need to check the fork springs. Haven't done that yet.

GoonMX, you might be ok with the stock springs. Have a friend help you with the sag and you'll know for sure.

[therapture]

I weigh 190# (w/o gear), and was able to set the proper sag on my 250X rear shock with the stock spring. 25mm static sag (bike weight only) and 110mm race sag, and spring is still at acceptable length (245mm).

GoonMX, you might be ok with the stock springs. Have a friend help you with the sag and you'll know for sure.

Yeah but if you ran that sag at 100mm...you would probably be a bit shy on free sag. Like you noted you are right at the line on stock spring rate...

I always prefer to the stiffer side of the range of things, I like the bike to ride a bit higher. I could see offroad though I would need to soften things up a bit.

[frankrizzo]

I am 200# without gear and just had $420 of revalve and susp. work done on my 250R. I was advised to keep the stock springs with the revalve and I feel that for my novice level MX riding, it was the right choice. A faster rider might need new springs.

[therapture]

Don't forget stock springs can and do vary a fair amount in rate. I used stock CRF450 springs and I set sag to 97mm which nets me a free sag of 25mm-26mm....

200lb without gear is an easy 225 with gear on...maybe more...

Regardless of the spring that is on the bike, one needs to check rider vs. free sag settings to be sure you are in the ballpark. I see many riders that never touch the preload collars when the bike is new, and don't have a clue that they are even supposed to set the sag to a specific target range... ?