Fighting with a 08 450 Suspension Tuning

mudwalker- you have alot of misinformation- I don't have the time to point you in the right direction- but someone probably will. you have to know what clickers do what before turning them- also know what preload is versus fork height in tripple clams (effects rake). I assume you have seriously maladjusted your bike- not as you intended. Get a manual or even an owners manual- or find the stock settings again and start from there. Read some basic tuning and set up threads. Make adjustments as needed-

btw- I love my stock 09TE450 suspension- completed set up for me - took out some compression- added some rebound. Much better than my KTM.

I don't think I'm that far from what I need.....as you said, take out some compression add some rebound to control the front end after hitting an obsticle. My question was is it uncommon to be 2 clicks from full soft on compression and say 8-10 clicks (near the middle) on rebound? Are the number of clicks compression and rebound supossed to remain the same?

I got the bike with the forks moved up in the triple clamps, PO did that and the dealer who also rides a TE250 suggested leaving that setting. My shock spring was set max tight. All the clickers were set to full hard, he must have been jumping the thing! I'm riding steep goat trails in 2nd and 3rd gear and rarely get off the ground!

I tried all stock settings from my manual and still the front end wants to bounce off rocks/roots thus I am now set near full soft which I am liking better but I want to try increasing front rebound dampning. Also as I only have 500 miles, it's now clear I may not even be broken-in yet, thus my overly stiff complaint.

I asked if compression adjustment was on top of the fork because the manual wasn't completely clear and with upside down forks my brain was making assumptions......my KDX compression clickers are on top but the forks are regular old style (not upside down) so I figured I better ask just to be safe.

Thanks.

after MudWalker's speech, I feel like a flipping genius, Good show MudWalker

Great post and you will be a suspension genius after this
You have to set the front and rear sag correctly on any bike or nothing else you do will be correct ...

First, the TE is a street and trail bike ... It is never gonna too good on a track due to the jumps if nothing else as they will start bottoming out the suspension once you do any jumps of any size ... You can revalve for the track and then you are messing up the trail riding ... You'll have to make up UR mind here on what you want ... Not that you can't ride it on a track, it'll do well in certain sections but you'll just finally run into suspension issues there due to what the bike was meant to be used for ... Same as if you take a track bike to the trails...suspension issues will arise ...

I'm riding my TXC on tracks also and increasing the oil amount in the forks help on bottoming but this can cause other side effects so you must be careful in this balancing act ...

Now, for the trail riding...
Set the sag, front and rear, set the clickers back to the default settings and start from there. Trail riding means you can use about the entire front and rear suspensions strokes to soak up the roots, bumps, and rocks, so after the sag is set, the clickers are usually set very soft ...

My 08 TXC250 manual states the compression is on the bottom and the extension is ADJ on the top ...

These links will give you some ideas on setting and sag suspension stuff in general ..

http://www.cafehusky.com/forums/showthread.php?p=34365#post34365

http://www.cafehusky.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8094

http://www.cafehusky.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9103&highlight=setting sag

http://www.cafehusky.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2911&highlight=sag front forks

You have to set the front and rear sag correctly or nothing else you do will be correct ... I'd check it all again .. front and back ... This is first thing that has to be set ... You will never get UR bike right unless this is correct ... Everything else will just be trying to cover up the invalid sag setting if they are wrong.

Sliding the forks up in the triple clamps help a bike turn but is not the preload .... Sliding them down helps the bike stay stable in a straight line ... Think about a chopper here with a front end sticking way out ... U think it is gonna turn or go better in a straight line ... These things make a big difference in the handling of these bikes ...

I slide mine down in the clamps for the woods ....it is easy to do and you should try moving them around... 3 rings up is alot I'd say ...

No, on my bike, I can get at the rebound ADJ with out any issue but you might have to compress URs or whatever ...

Rebound is on the top of my 08 TXC250 forks ... and I set the pre-load internally with some clips .... I'm not sure what forks your bike has so I'm not sure how U set it on yours ...

UR gonna be a suspension genius here also I feel

Thanks for the reply Ray, just the kind of insight I'm looking for!

Now, I have some wrenching to do.....if I only didn't have to work.

Keep the info coming folks, this is a great thread!

I have a TC 250 2008 with 50 mm Marzocchi on it and I have done the following;
Preload 1 clip lower(5 mm more preload wich means almoast 10 mm preload)
20-25 cc more oil in each fork leg (5 v)
3 clicks in on rebound and about stock on comp for hard tracks and 6 more on sand tracks.
It works great for me. I am only 70 kg, but rather quick:-)

Its worth a try before valving! And if you are heavier than me you probably need stiffer fork springs...

Hey .... Did UR crash count continue to rise or have you leveled off ?

No more crashing! The forks are still slightly stiff but I have to wait, they tell me they will soften up with time.

I started over from scratch.....got happy with sag front and rear then setup to fine tune on the soft side for rocks/roots. Problem now is the kickstand is just slightly too long as static sag rests the bike ever so slightly lower so when it sits on the stand, the bike is pretty much standing up straight so the slightest nuge/wind will send her to the floor. I lean her to the wall now.