Fork spring rates and other suspension tips

[Backcountry_Rider]

I couldn't find any recent posts on what people have learned over the snow season on setting up front suspension for the snow. I have an '05 CRF450R and '15 MH ST and finally made it out for my first ride today. My suspension is set up for racing, not snow. I have 48 springs, running 5wt, I really had to take it easy to not bottom. I would like to get some feedback from riders with similar bikes on what they found to work well and not work well. Spring rate, fluid level and wt, etc. I'm 180-190lbs. Thanks.

 

[Backcountry_Rider]

Any input is appreciated

 

[wwillf01]

I have a 15 lt on a cr500 with 06 450r forks.. .52 with 10w filled pretty high.. Dialed to the hardest setting and my rebound clickers in the middle... If you rebound is too low I find the front will wash out.. I set my rear tss to 250 pounds and the springs on the skid to the stock position .. I am 190 without gear .. I think you need .62 rate springs or better valving to stop the bottoming... I just have not got to that yet. Maybe over the summer..

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Backcountry_Rider]

That's on par with what I have heard from a few people, .58 or stiffer springs. I could not find anything that stiff online so I'll call some shops tomorrow to see what they can make. Thoughts on progressive rate springs?

 

[egesledder]

Valving is the best way to stop bottoming. Big springs help a bit for sure, but no spring is going to hold up to a big hit (or even a medium size hit with light valving). Springs help more with ride height than anything. If you're still bottoming with heavy oil and the highest oil height, its time for more valving.

My setup on my kx500 with a '16 ST and stock valving is .54 springs, 20wt oil at max height, and clickers cranked all the way. Its decent in soft snow, and marginal in spring stuff.

 

[wwillf01]

That's on par with what I have heard from a few people, .58 or stiffer springs. I could not find anything that stiff online so I'll call some shops tomorrow to see what they can make. Thoughts on progressive rate springs?

I would agree on valving that way it stays plush in the top of the stroke but keeps the bottoming to a minimum...

 

[Backcountry_Rider]

I just ordered .58kg springs from Cannon Racecraft. They said to try running 7-7.5wt fluid at the stock level. I'll start there. I won't have the springs for a couple weeks because they have to make them but there should still be decent snow on Baker to get some testing done. For now I'll try changing to heavier weight fluid and raising the level.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

I know switching to a TSS made a WORLD of difference in how much less work the forks seemed to need. But stiff springs is handy, and I just max out clickers since I don't want to do a revalve on my forks.

 

[sierraclimber]

From the guys at Yeti "You need too put a new set of springs in it. I weigh 150lbs and run 5.4 spring rate. Most the guys we ride with run 5.4 to 6.0 at least, that will change your experience completely! Get the valving done to match the new springs, you will love that!"

I just got my forks back with .60 springs and new valving. I weigh 180, no gear. I'll post up the results in a few days. I love popping off snow pillows and with the spring snow it will be a good test. 2004 525 ktm.

http://slavensracing.com/ has the heavier springs.

I used Dicks Racing in Utah and he turned them around in one day! He recommended filling the oil to the max which will help a bit with bottoming out.
http://www.dicksracing.com/

UPDATE: First ride went awesome! Huge improvement on handling and jumping. Super hard snow and didn't bottom out once, but felt plush on the hard bumps. The full stroke of the fork is being used on big hits. .60 is the minimum I would go for my weight if you like to jump.

 

[AKdragon700]

Snowbike Specific Build

https://www.facebook.com/Motion-Sports-RG3-NW-Suspension-Center-181655111861559/?sk=posts_to_page

I shipped my forks off to Chaun at Motion Sports this summer and had him do a Snowbike Specific Build. I believe he puts custom cut .65 springs in them, and then of course valving and oil.

Talk about a world of difference!! I love them so much and trust my front end through anything now.

The other day I was able to do flat ground hop turns on my bike with the 2.5 convex track, TSS, and these forks. I was able to push the front end in, then wheelie over into my next turn without the ski touching, such a cool feeling.

 

[Backcountry_Rider]

I'm glad we finally got some good feedback after I already ordered new springs. Looks like I'm on the right track at least. I'm going to try to find a second set of fork tubes so I don't have to mess with my current set up. I was also thinking about progressive springs, I wonder if there would be an advantage there, maybe if someone has tried them they can give us feedback. Thanks for the input so far. Let's keep it coming to help the rest of the snowbikers.

 

[Grr]

One thing that would really help is to scale it and see how much weight is on the ski along with what has been changed

 

[MFJ]

Anyone know where to find springs stiffer than .52kg for a 05 Honda CRF450 or would they have to be custom made?

 

[honkuscracker]

Anyone know where to find springs stiffer than .52kg for a 05 Honda CRF450 or would they have to be custom made?

I don't know about the Honda but I got mine at Slavens Racing. He also posted a bunch of videos on YouTube for those of us that don't know too much in this regard. I got 0.64 springs and use 10wt oil. It made a world of difference. Definitely worth the $$. I'm 190lb on a ktm 450sxf...

 

[Backcountry_Rider]

Anyone know where to find springs stiffer than .52kg for a 05 Honda CRF450 or would they have to be custom made?

I have the same bike and ordered .58kg springs from Cannon Racecraft on monday.