2005 YZ250 turning options

[brcrk]

Originally Posted by NoNumber

My forks were incredibly stiff for probably about 10 hours of riding time after I bought the bike new. The thing handled like a tank. After they broke in, they were fine. Then, I changed the oil, and wow, they were incredible. The oil looked like transmission oil with tons of aluminum flakes. New oil is about as thick as water, and the oil I took out was about 10W30 consistency.

After about another 20 hours, I changed the oil again along with the seals, sliders, and metal, and again the performance dramatically improved for a few hours. The oil was cleaner, but still much thicker than new oil. The dropoff has been much less noticable this time, so I think all the gunk is done wearing down.

My impression is that these forks love super clean oil. With new oil, my forks are like magic.

Now, if I can just get the turning solved ...

You need to carry that bike back.....if you are seeing that big a difference in the oil....something is BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD did I say BAD wrong....that fork oil should be cleaner than the spoon you feed your baby with.

You have problems my man.....you need to start over...with a new set of fork..(I suggest DEMANDING a set of '06 forks)

Good Luck my man

Tim

[stimps]

I've actually got an 05' and the suspension is brilliant. I find it really strange how one minute it wins all the shootouts with one of the best suspension set ups of 2005 and then the next it's trash. The forks are much better than previous years, mine are revalved and everyone that has tried it is of the opinion that it is pretty damn fine. If it's not at least good, you either have a big problem or they are set-up by a Monkey. Anyone else that knocks this suspension is either brand loyal and blinkered too another make or Jealous cos they don't have one.
Get them serviced, revalved if you feel the need and enjoy.

[mx702]

I still think it's funny how forks are still an issue with mx bikes these days. When i used to ride in the early 90's, each year they would say how much better suspension is. Ok so 15 years later and it's the same problems. If they supposedly improve each year, what is happening? Are they experimenting with technology so much that they will never master it? Maybe if they didn't f... with it every year and instead just focus on mastering the current technology, we wouldn't have to debate on forks. It's like going around in circles.

And yes I do agree that today's forks are better than 15 years ago.

[RaptorRacer888]

I agree with all the tips Satch mentioned, and also make sure to bleed your forks(those little screws on the top caps) after riding(before also does nto hurt).

My setup:

Caps flush with lines on the forks.
Millville front tire at 15 PSI. (Getting Dunlop 756 after riding friends bike with it)
MCR suspesion revalve and springs.

My bike turns pretty darn well, only probally I have with my forks is seals.(twice they have been leaking)

[NoNumber]

Originally Posted by brcrk

I have a suggestion....

THROW THOSE STOCK FORKS IN THE TRASH!!!!!!!!!!!

Tim

These forks are much, much better than the forks on my 2003 YZ125. Many good riders of all types of bikes have ridden my bone stock bike, and they are all very complementary. Brand and 4-stroke loyalty keeps them on other bikes, but no one is critical of the bike.

A friend with a CR250, Athena big bore, Factory Connection forks, RG3 triple clamps, Talon hubs, ... you get the picture, rode it. He came back and stood over it saying in disbelief, "This bike is stock?! This bike is stock?!"

I think I'm almost there on the turning. Based on comments on this thread, I will be trying 13lb in the front, and then I will try some on the rebound clickers. After that, it is just my skills that need work.

[brcrk]

Originally Posted by NoNumber

These forks are much, much better than the forks on my 2003 YZ125. Many good riders of all types of bikes have ridden my bone stock bike, and they are all very complementary. Brand and 4-stroke loyalty keeps them on other bikes, but no one is critical of the bike.

A friend with a CR250, Athena big bore, Factory Connection forks, RG3 triple clamps, Talon hubs, ... you get the picture, rode it. He came back and stood over it saying in disbelief, "This bike is stock?! This bike is stock?!"

I think I'm almost there on the turning. Based on comments on this thread, I will be trying 13lb in the front, and then I will try some on the rebound clickers. After that, it is just my skills that need work.

OK...that is fine if you are ok with those forks.....more power to you.

When you get some rubber under you, you will find that they wash out in the turns, inconsistent in whoops, bottom out on any dbl over 40 ft....believe me, if you could ride my bike(which I might add is nothing compared to "works forks" )you would throw those forks in the trash

[stimps]

O.k. I get it, your older forks are brilliant and ours are not. Then that must be a fact then. You hate the new ones so much it's lucky you don't actually have them. Good on you for liking your old forks, more power to you.
If you are happy with a steel frame and all then thats great too. When you get some rubber under you the realisation that the new frame is great will have your old one in the trash.
I'm sure your bike is brilliant but don't knock other peoples stuff when you know nothing about how it is set-up or there riding ability. They might just be a lot faster than you and have better forks......

[brcrk]

Originally Posted by stimps

O.k. I get it, your older forks are brilliant and ours are not. Then that must be a fact then. You hate the new ones so much it's lucky you don't actually have them. Good on you for liking your old forks, more power to you.
If you are happy with a steel frame and all then thats great too. When you get some rubber under you the realisation that the new frame is great will have your old one in the trash.
I'm sure your bike is brilliant but don't knock other peoples stuff when you know nothing about how it is set-up or there riding ability. They might just be a lot faster than you and have better forks......

Myforks have been thru thru the "rigger" from Factory Connection because my old "2004" forks are just not up to par.. those "stock" forks are crap.....if you like the new ones....more power to you

i Am sorry for the soelling ...I cant see straight right now

[Blue 250]

Well, I'm quite happy with my forks and there stone stock and I'm a C rider and 150lbs. I think the suspension is one of the best out of the bikes I've owned and I've had quite a few. I have 756's and I run 9 or 10 in the front and 10 or 11 in the back but thats in sand. I haven't even raised the forks either. They're at stock height. I think I'm running 11 on compression and 12 for rebound. I forgot what the back is set at but I'm running around 100mm for sag. I'm sending mine to Enzo for a revalve/respring and rebuild. The only reason I'm doing this is because I blew out a fork seal and plus the backs a bit stiff for my weight/ability. I was quoted $500 for it all plus shipping. I have an 06 YZ125 but havent even rode it yet. The suspension is supposed to rock and be even better than 05 and I thought the 05 suspension was damn good. Good luck on your set-up.

[NoNumber]

Update. I went to Crosscreek this weekend, which is not my usual track, although I have ridden there about a dozen times. I dropped the tire pressure to 13lb from my prior setup (recap: 100mm sag, 3mm fork height adjustment, 13 lb front and rear). I had been reading about rebound settings and how they affect the way the wheel is pushed into the ground, and that got me thinking. As I got more careful trying to get the bike to turn well, I was getting my braking done ever earlier, so the rebound was probably finished by the time I turned. I decided to try braking hard and letting off the brake right as I started to turn. That seemed to work very well. Overall, I was happy with the way the bike turned. It seems that my setup and lack of confidence in turning caused me to lose aggressiveness, which caused more problems. New setup + aggressive riding is working.

[Satch0922]

[NoNumber]

I finally got around to putting on a Dunlop 756 front tire, and that makes a big difference, too. No turning issues at all now. Its amazing how many variables, optimizations, and techniques go into handling.

[Rcannon]

The 22mm offset clamps are magic for the YZ's. If you ever try a set, you wont enjoy riding without them. I cannot even begin to describe how much they help. There are some excellent suggestions in the previous posts. Try those first. Before you give up on the bike, change the clamps.

I just bought an 06. My first change will be the 22mm offset clamps.

[NoNumber]

Which clamps are you going to get? I spent a lot of time looking at clamps and was just about to go for the offset RG3's when I started having a lot of success with the other things I tried.

[brcrk]

Originally Posted by NoNumber

Which clamps are you going to get? I spent a lot of time looking at clamps and was just about to go for the offset RG3's when I started having a lot of success with the other things I tried.

I dont know about the RG3'S but you cant go wrong with the Applied set.

I cased a triple and my bike landed upside down on one corner of the bar(I am also running Pro-Taper bars) and the clamps with-held their position. When I got out of the hospital 2 months later...that was the first thing I noticed...my bike had withstead the crash....the only thing that was hurt was my grips

I would recommend Applied to anyone

[Rcannon]

I am going with the applied clamps. They are a lot less money than anything else.

I also like the company. I had an occasion to call them a year or so ago. A lady answers. This is ALWAYS trouble. Well, not at applied. She starts offering me jettign advise on my yz. I was thinking....."What the hell, she is smart". The lady then said..."My husband had one. He's always trying to find the perfect jets. This is what he is using." She then asked me to hold and passed me to their technical guy. We talked for probably 30 minutes. He helped me learn to safety wire some parts. It was a great experience and really sold me on the company.

[brcrk]

Originally Posted by Rcannon

I am going with the applied clamps. They are a lot less money than anything else.
I also like the company. I had an occasion to call them a year or so ago. A lady answers. This is ALWAYS trouble. Well, not at applied. She starts offering me jettign advise on my yz. I was thinking....."What the hell, she is smart". The lady then said..."My husband had one. He's always trying to find the perfect jets. This is what he is using." She then asked me to hold and passed me to their technical guy. We talked for probably 30 minutes. He helped me learn to safety wire some parts. It was a great experience and really sold me on the company.

You see that tear on the left grip...that is the only outcome of this bike landing on its bars from 20ft in the air......I am sure other clamps are just as good...but you cant go wrong with Applied

Tim

[paul reed]

OK,i got it all down now - set sag and raise tubes,install a scotts steering stabilizer,experiment with tire pressure after chucking the 739 in the trash where it belongs,squeeze tank with knees,throw them nasty forks in the trash or send`em to Bob,read MXTech site,demand 06 forks or at least make sure they were not set up by a monkey,be more aggressive and get a set of Applied racing clamps - oh yeah and don`t talk smack about something you don`t have especially if you`re a lapper...WOW i can hardly wait to try all this out as it ALL sounds like good advise to me,the guy i got my bike from kinda looked like a monkey,should i be worried?

[Satch0922]