When should jlv release 450's?

[Ballsfalsky]

Same geometry, but if the weight distribution of the KX250 was goofy as, I'm still going to blame it on Kawasaki .

Its from the KX. My 06 handled like crap. They ride very stinkbug (back end super high and the front end fairly low).

[yzmxer608]

I really don't have too much of a problem with the way it handles though, stiffening the forks like jlv said did help. But going from a 450 directly to a 250 2t you can definitely tell it doesn't "feel" as good.

[SOAB_465]

Yep yep yep. The chassis definitely feels off.

I also went on a mission to get the rear shock to pack up, without being so soft that it bottoms everywhere, and that helped the handling too. Super slow rebound, not much preload and a little more spring rate and compression. It gives quite a bit less preload/seatbounce but it stays straighter in the whoops or if you clip a peak in a rhythm lane, and doesn't skate and bite quite as hard braking into a berm.

Basically I've gone for the deadest feeling shock I can make, and the stiffest useable forks I could come up with, and that's as forgiving as I can get it.

[yzmxer608]

Might have to try that. When I did my forks I maxed both the compression and spring rate, I wonder how it would react if only the spring rate was increased and the compression wasn't so high.

[SOAB_465]

I've gone down to 90 on the spring rate, but upped the oil level to make it more progressive... It makes it rideable in sand and on top of over/under bridges, but it definitely bounces back up if you OJ a triple

[DJ99X]

Same geometry, but if the weight distribution of the KX250 was goofy as, I'm still going to blame it on Kawasaki .

I very much doubt the weight distribution is 'goofy'. The lower fork, upper fork and swingarm would pretty much have the same weight for each bike type, so the only thing that really changes is the frame/engine weight.

[Garasaki]

Dirt Rider has been posting weight bias as part of their bike shootouts lately.

*Note, the above statement may or may not have any releavance whatsoever to the discussion at hand, thank you

[blackbeard]

DJ the weight can make a huge difference, I believe the kx and rm headsets are only separated by a degree or so if memory serves but my 06 rm rides 200% better than the same year kx. Even my brothers cr250 (05) can't compete In the handling department. Something's definitely amiss.

[yzmxer608]

Dirt Rider has been posting weight bias as part of their bike shootouts lately.

*Note, the above statement may or may not have any releavance whatsoever to the discussion at hand, thank you

Just looked at the newest issue, they list the front and rear weight bias. I think jlv said he got his numbers from an older issue of Dirt Rider, so they must have listed more info then.

[Shadow]

I've gone down to 90 on the spring rate, but upped the oil level to make it more progressive... It makes it rideable in sand and on top of over/under bridges, but it definitely bounces back up if you OJ a triple

So, first you upped the spring rate to get the forks as close to an exponential curve as possible, and THEN you killed the suspensions' travel in the last parts of its stroke by filling it with oil? How much movement do you get out of that fork when casing a triple, 5mm?

[SOAB_465]

That's the really crazy thing, I still use all the travel, and still have trouble loading the shock when I'm clipping a 3-5-3 or blitzing whoops. The 2stroke chassis, or the 50% suspension settings in the game are somehow skewed from real life. Because IRL on my 250, when I add 10cc of oil to the forks and leave every other variable stock, the shock bottoms first 10 times out of 10.

In game if you run a 250 2T with all the settings in the middle and raise the oil height, you will never get the shock to bottom first. Dirt rider must have botched a measurement, or else that Kawi is not something I'd wanna try on a rough out door track IRL

[blackbeard]

Keep to your kx statement. I always read about their horrible chassis but knocked it off. That is until my riding buddy bought an 06 from an ex race team. Granted this bike had full suspension work I rode it for two hours and never asked for those pegs again. The handling between my rm250 and that is unreal. Even the Cr chassis I feel is too ridgid. The rm has the perfect blend of flex and feel