Verle writes in response to "Edgy Drifter":
> > Have you done any suspension mods? Was
> > wondering if there was a practical way to make it more stable
in the dirt,
> > besides experimenting with tires.
>
> My springs are stock, front and rear. I don't know what you
weigh, but
> here's a good way to judge whether or not your stock suspension
is adequate.
> If you bottom the suspension occasionally during hard
off-pavement riding,
> then that means the suspension is working for you and you don't
need stiffer
> springs. Why have long travel suspension if you can't use it
because it's
> too stiff? If you bottom the suspension repeatedly during hard
off-pavement
> riding, then you may want to consider stiffer springs. Before I
bought new
> rear springs, though, I would try increasing the spring
preload. If you do
> increase the rear spring preload, increase the rebound
dampening as well or
> you may experience a "bouncy" rear end.
>
> As for making the KLR more stable in the dirt, I'm not sure
where or what
> kind of dirt you find it unstable. I thought it handled rather
well. It does
> have problems in soft dirt or sand. The small, narrow 21 inch
front tire on
> such a heavy motorcycle sinks quickly causing the tire contact
patch to move
> forward, reducing trail, possibly even to negative, and you end
up trying to
> push a caster backwards -- in other words, the front end
wobbles. But this
> is a characteristic rather than a design flaw. Suspension
geometry is always
> a compromise. The solution is in riding style but difficult and
perhaps
> inappropriate to discuss too casually because it can also be
dangerous.
>
> In my opinion, the best improvement you can make to the KLR's
handling does
> not involve the KLR at all. Beg, borrow or buy a small,
low-geared trail
> bike, or better yet a trials bike from the seventies, and
practice observed
> trials-type riding -- not the extreme trials of today, but
something more
> like vintage trials. I can almost guarantee that such practice
will make you
> a better and faster rider on the KLR, or any thing else for
that matter.
>
> Verle Nelson
> Cedaredge, CO
After farting around with off-road racing for
years, I've seen that a good general rule of thumb for rear
suspension is that the rear end should sag about 1/2~1" under the
bike's weight alone; with rider/load, rear sag should be about
30~35% of total suspension travel (for KLR with 9" travel that
should be about 3"). If you adjust Loaded Sag to 3" and Unloaded
Sag is less than 1/2", your rear spring is too soft; more than 1"
unladen sag and the spring is too stiff (under same test
conditions). Similar rules apply to front fork springs. Unless
you're under 170pounds, KLR suspension is too soft which is
probly why Progressive springs are so popular: it seems most of
us haven't seen the low side of 170 in a while..... At a
dressed-out weight of , I find the Progressive LR
series fork and shock springs to be a damned good compromise -
not too soft, not too stiff - with 15W fork oil at 175mm and rear
rebound setting on "2".
Verle is dead right that if suspension is so stiff that only a
portion is used under your riding conditions the unused portion
is wasted. On most every trail I ride there are a thousand small
bumps for every big one, and I'd rather slow down for the big
hits and make time and be comfy on the rest. The one caveat to
the "Soft Is Better" idea is that the big bumps seem to sneak up
on me on those same trails I ride, and with a beefier spring set
those don't put me in as much jeopardy of a Close Encounter with
the scenery.
Tom Bowman
Atlanta
A14