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Tire to fender distance

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Hi. I put the KDX220 up on stand. Then I measured the nearest distance between the front tire and the underside of the fender. Here's what I got.

(1) Stock configuration: 11.25"
(2) Fork raised .75" up triple clamp: 10.5"

The KDX manual says the front suspension travel is 11.4". I'm confused. So if I bottom out the front suspension, even the stock configuration would lock up the front wheel (less than 11.4"). I'm trying to figure out if 10.5" is safe.
 
I am trying to figure out a more accurate way of measuring that without disassembling the forks. :ponder: But all I can think of is remove 1 fork tube, remove the cap and spring, collapse the fork. Of coarse, the spring may be some of the limiting factor. These are traditional forks right?
Maybe, try to remove both fork tube caps, remove the springs and move the front wheel thru its travel.
While the springs are out, measure there overall length. Then install them, measure how much sticks out of the tube. Can the total collapsed length be calculated?
I am still thinking on this. :scratch:
Help anyone?
Sam
 
I guess I could measure the thickness of each coil and multiply that by the number of coils to get the spring length under full compression. Subtract that measurement from the displacement of the fork without the spring. Not sure though.

Okay maybe there's a simple solution. What if I strap the bike on my trailer as if I was going to haul it, and crank down on the racheting straps until the suspension is fully bottomed out? I might need to get extra duty straps and a beefier front wheel choke.


P.s. I was jumping my XR200, and on sloppy landings I could feel the suspension close to bottoming out. KDX is suppose to have soft fork. Hence my concern.
 
Uhh just loop the straps through your bars and down to the bottoms of the tubes. No need to worry about chocks or any of that nonsense. Sport bikes used to do this to pull all of the travel on the front and change the balance (for launching on drag strip)

You could also get somebody to balance (or stick the tire in a rut) and jump down on the bars with the wrath of God and see if it hits.

eta: your wheel shouldn't lock up either even if it does hit. The contact will be extremely short lived as the fender will flex and the tire will rebound away from it as well.
 
I have to agree with Stealthcrf in that if you jump it and land real hard on the front wheel, it will leave a witness mark and I dought it would cause a crash. Just go out and ride it real hard, when you think you have bottomed it, get off and check for rubber marks on the underside of the fender.
Not sure about cranking it down with a ratchet strap though. Lots of pressure! But it would be easier than disassembling the forks. Sam
 
I like the put it back to stock, then put a zip tie on the fork and see where it ends up method.


Btw heard stories of street bikes getting seals blown out by tow trucks using the straps method. Of course they weren't testing the suspension either.
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Put the bike on a center stand. Remove the handle bars, & the top fork caps. Push the front end down all the way. Check out the clearance of the tire to the fender. Adjust the fork height until you get a clearance you are comfortable with.
Or just go ride as I don't think it will present the problem of bottoming & causing a crash. Most likely you would get some indication like a rubbing sound & dark tire marks under the fender if anything & that would let you know you may want to lower the forks back down a bit.
However with forks raised as much as you may have them a more likely scenario is head shake that could lead to a crash. Depending on how the shock & back end is set up.
 
The front fork is currently raised by .75".
The rear linkage has a Kubo link that supposedly lowers the bike by 1.5".
I set the static sag (without rider) to 1.".
I set the racer sag (with rider) to 3".
 
Should not get head shake from raising the forks since you lowered the rear. However with the sag & free sag measurements it looks like your spring is too stiff for your weight. And this could cause head shake. But without feeling the bike's suspension this is just reasonable assumption.
I do feel sure you could get a much better ride with a lighter spring & measurements more like .75" & 4".
 
What is "headshake"?

In short, bad. Lol
Its when your front end starts shaking uncontrollably. Usually because of suspension, geometry or tire related issues. It tends to match the bikes harmonics, building on itself until it tosses you from the bike if left alone. Once is starts, change your speed (usually slower) and fix the issue asap.

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If you did not get head shake at TAR, do not worry about it.

Both my finders on both bikes have black marks. If the tire hits you will hear a brrrrrrrup. If you are not on the ground after that, not a problem.

Just :rider:
 
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