Am I Too Big For A Stock YZ125?

[emiller]

I'm just getting back into riding after about 10 years away. I ride striclty MX and I bought a really great 2003 YZ125 that maybe had about 25 hours on it. Long story short, I noticed I had a leaky fork seal after a few rides out.

I'm 5'11", 180 lbs. without gear. I know the bike is bone stock and when I ride, it bottoms out big time on table tops and I have some difficulty in the step up triple at my local track. On my friends 250, no problems.

Am I way to big for this bike? I bought the 125 becuase it was a great deal and in my opinion a better bike to train on until I'm comfortable moving up to a 250 again.

I contacted my local Pro-Action shop and he quoted me about $780 to go through the bike, re-valve, new shocks, springs, bushings, seals, washers, etc. to set the bike up specifically for my riding style and size.

I intend on keeping the bike after I get my 250 or 450F. Would it be a good idea to go the Pro-Action route and is $780 fair or too much?

[AJ_YFZ]

Personally, I would have the suspension redone for sure.....Especially if you plan to keep it..

[emiller]

Thanks for the input, I was reading a lot of other threads and it looks like the $680 - $780 price Pro-Action quoted me is in the normal expected range for a full suspension job.

[Woody_393]

If it were me, I'd just go with stiffer springs and then decide if you want to get everything else done.

You can change the seals and springs quite easily yourself if you have the time and desire to learn. Especially since you have the older style (non-twin chamber) forks. They are a lot easier then the twin-chamber.

I've had PA stuff, and I wasn't thrilled with it. A lot of that had to do with the PA guy not caring a lick about whether I was happy or not too, but that's a different story.

IMOP, the springs made the biggest difference in my ride.

[Macho393]

I would see if your sag is set correct and adjust your spring load according ,then adjust your clickers to in crease or decrease damping and rebound. I would think they need adjusted to you. A rear psring at the most is all you will need imo.

[Dell30rb]

You are too big for the stock suspension setup... a 125 is normally setup for about a 140 or 150 lb rider.

To do the fork seals you need a fork seal driver, thin/ground down wrench (16 or 17mm I can't remember) air impact wrench and a 16mm hex head impact socket. If you have all the tools and a good manual its not that difficult. You will definitely see an improvement with just re-springing the bike but you will probably still have bottoming issues when landing if you leave the valving stock, as you are not only too heavy for the stock springs but too heavy for the stock valving.

You can band aid it a little by running your clickers a bit stiffer, but that only affects low speed damping, and you need mid and hi-speed damping adjustments as well.

$780 is a little ridiculous.

[DRGSin393]

Ok, ok, ok..I see dell is being modest here. He's our resident suspension guru thats not comfortable bragging about himself. Tell the man what you can do for him and for how much. The truth of the matter is he'll customize your suspension to your weight and skill level, AND, more importantly, be there after the sale to help you dial it in. The problem is thet having the work done is 1/2 the battle. If you dont have any knowledgeable helping you in setting it all up/adjusting it afterwards, you havent gained much.

[lucahemi]

i agree with drgsin393