YZ Handeling Help Dreaded Push

[SGcatdaddy]

Great Forum !!!

I did a search but might have missed this topic.

I have both 2006 YZ125 and YZ250. I am looking for help with Handling. Pushing really bad in sandy inside rutted turns.

I am heavy and have not replaced springs yet. I have my sag set at 100mm. Is this causing me to be too low in the front making me under cut the ruts?

Any suggestions such as Fork Height and Sag?
Has anyone tried different offset triple clamps? I don't want to lay down $500 to find out they don't help.

Anything at all would help
Thanks
Sam

[MotoMan]

Here is what I did on my '06 YZ450.

Slide your forks up in the clamps to the first adjustment line.

If you havent trashed the POS front tire in favor of a 756 yet, do it, thats ALOT of the problem, especially on sandy tracks.

Sag around 100mm is ok, but you need to have the correct spring rate for your weight for this to work correctly.

This is a start.

[yzernie]

Originally Posted by MotoMan

Here is what I did on my '06 YZ450.

Slide your forks up in the clamps to the first adjustment line.

If you havent trashed the POS front tire in favor of a 756 yet, do it, thats ALOT of the problem, especially on sandy tracks.

Sag around 100mm is ok, but you need to have the correct spring rate for your weight for this to work correctly.

This is a start.

All of the above. If you are heavy and the sag is set at 100mm then the rear will be riding to low making the forks have less degree of angle towards the ground. The best start is to get the suspension set as far as spring rates go then work from there with motoman's above tips.

[joe346CBMX]

I run 100mm sag, forks at 12 out comp and 9 out rebound, slid forks up in the top clamp about 5-6mm. I weigh 185-190 lb.

I try to focus on my technique too. I'm not the fastest guy in the world but I study a lot and I did stay in a holiday inn express last night. lol

I try to get my weight forward so I can almost see my front number plate as I lean forward a little, I get my braking done before the apex of the turn, and sit down about that time, then try to get back on the gas as soon as i get off the brakes. I try to keep my outside elbow up, sit on the outside corner of the seat, weight the outside peg, get my leg out near the front wheel, sqeeze the shrouds lightly between the knees..lets' see I'm sure I forgot something because that is a lot to remember for an old guy. pushing 39 in a couple weeks. you +40 guys, no throwing rocks, I'm just kidding.

good luck, joe

[4strkepwr660R]

How does you raise up the forks?

I am experiencing alot of front tire push on my YZ250 (05)....yet, i havent replaced that XR100 front tire lol

[MotoMan]

Originally Posted by 4strkepwr660R

How does you raise up the forks?

I am experiencing alot of front tire push on my YZ250 (05)....yet, i havent replaced that XR100 front tire lol

Get rid of the tire if you ride in intermediate to soft terrian...its garbage IMO.

As for rasing the forks, just loosen your top and bottom triple clamp and slide the forks up to the first line.

[SGcatdaddy]

We ride in Red Clay one weekend and Sand the next. On some tracks we have both.

I am running the Dunlop 952 as a trade off. It has a nice row of tread with a bigger gap between than the 739.

I need another set of wheels I guess.

[Vintage Dave393]

The Dunlop 956 is the best front tire for those conditions. We have the same terrain here in Texas. Except our clay doesn't get sticky when it's wet. It just gets slimey.

The other front tire that would work well for you is the Michelin M12.

[SGcatdaddy]

Thanks for all the advice.

Goal: I wanted to get my 06 YZ250 to handle as my son's 06 YZ125 (hands down the best handling bike I have ever ridden).

New Front Tire a must.

New Bars- The stock renthals were a little narrow for me.

New springs for my weight. This balaced out the front and back of the bike. The old springs had so much preload to get the rear sag... it just felt odd. This helped on a scale from 1-10, I would say... 3.

New Clamps-- I replaced the stock 25mm offset clamps with TriStar 22-1/2 mm clamps. Super Nice Clamps and they can be easily relocated forward or back.

WOW Feels like a completely different bike for me. The front end is hooked up like never before. I feel like I can run any line through any turn. The worst the traction the bigger the improvement. I have not yet been on any rough high speed tracks yet so I can't say annthing about Head Shake.
Amazing!!! Why doesn't the factory send them out with this offset.?

End result:
Awesome. My bike now handles as good if not better than the 125. Very Pleased with the result.

[SGcatdaddy]

Since changing to heavier springs on this bike I put all the fork and shock clickers in the middle.

Any suggestions on adjustment?

It jumps a little low but with front wheel high. It doesn't feel like I get any help out of preloading or seat bouncing?

Even chopping the throttle helps little to nose into a landing.
But other wise feels good.

[yzernie]

Originally Posted by SGcatdaddy

Amazing!!! Why doesn't the factory send them out with this offset.?

The factory has to build and deliver the bike for the masses because not everyone rides the same terrain or has the same riding styles. As a result, there has to be a happy medium when setting up the bikes.

Originally Posted by SGcatdaddy

End result:
Awesome. My bike now handles as good if not better than the 125. Very Pleased with the result.

Glad to hear that. The changes you made are solid and proven. Now get out there and enjoy that bike!!!

[yzernie]

[Jumping low isn't necessarily a bad thing. Are you clearing the jumps?

[Florida 393]

You got great advice here,as usual from these guys. I did the same things to my 02 YZ426F, including the heavier springs and 756 tire. One thing you can work with to get the handling down to fine tuning is working with the oil height in the fork tubes. When I put in the Race Tech springs I went to a slightky higher oil level and I am experimenting between Yamaha 01 and BelRay 7wt oil. The springs, front and rear and taking a day to work with the clickers made a big difference for me. Best of luck to you.

Bill