Many of you know i sent my suspesnion off my 09 WR125 to Richard at House of Horsepower. i have known Richard for many years, he used to do work here in Oregon and is now in Oklahoma. I asked for a simple revalve to make the suspesnion plusher and more compliant. i said i wanted trail plush but controlled. he called me back and said he wanted to do a full on top of the line job with DLC fork coating, hard anodizing, shock spring binding eliminator etc. What the heck, go ahead. So i wait about a month and get it all back. Looks fantastic. Hope it works as well. So i bolt it all up and if feels good on the stand but the rear feels stiff. I take it on a quick ride in crappy conditions, rain, slick clay, rocks, night ride. I came away kinda unimpressed and scratching my head. The forks felt good but the rear felt tight and firm. so next ride is at my favorite place, killer single track for miles. Lots of big root wads and rock step-ups to slam into. I'm liking the forks but the rear is still unforgiving, good but not plush. At one stop I'm fiddling and thing, "you know what, these forks got shipped across the US, I should bleed the air out" WOW, it was like it had 15 PSI in there. From that point forward i was in love with the forks. plush and controlled just liked I asked. They have the amazing ability to soak up trail trash and roots / rocks yet stay up in the travel and very composed as things get faster and nastier. I could not be more happy with the forks at this point. Amazing control and plushness at the same time. Did not know this was possible, I always felt you needed to choose plush or controlled he delivered both. The rear I was still semi unhappy with. I was expecting a lot from this fancy suspension job, the forks are delivering but the rear seems stiffer and worse than stock which was actually getting very good. So i called Richard and explained my delema. He said "no way, it is a good 25% softer valving and was afraid he made it to soft" He was sure my sag needed set (which i did not do, my bad) and that i have way to much preload. I checked it and was just short of 4 inches but almost no static sag. The rear of the 1 2 5 weighs almost nothing so static sag is hard to get. I backed the shock spring off a lot and got to almost 4.5 sag which is on the high side. Flash forward to the next ride. WOW, these bikes are sensitive to sag. All of a sudden the rear was SOFT and compliant as all get out. So soft i had to start turning in the adjusters I had all the way out. After sorting what settings i liked I could not be happier. The rear is PERFECT as in everything disappears and yet the bike is still very controlled and never hops / deflects. It took a little setup to get where i wanted it but the suspesnion is excellent. Not good, but GREAT. i feel so confident on this bike now. Right now i am so happy with the little 125. The suspesnion is working PERFECT, the changes I have made with the jetting not only fixed the mid hole but now have a mid surge in power and the Motoz with low pressure are rocking. The whole package is amazing. So fun to ride, climbs almost anything, turns better than any bike i have ever ridden, the faster you go the better the bike gets. Always urging you to wick it up and then rewarding you for doing so. The last few rides have been nirvana. Just railing in a zone on a truly great machine.
Euro bikes like lots of sag. I always have only about 8 mm of preload on the rear shock spring from the lessons I learned with my KTM. I even applied the "lotsa sag" setting to my J model bikes. People don't tend to pay too much attention to preload, but it is as important as anything else in the suspension setup. Always start by having the correct spring and preload first, before messing with damping settings or revalving. If you don't start there, nothing else will fall into place. I'd say that most riders end up having too little sag in the back end and too much in the front on average.
Totally agree and knew this just overlooked it in my hurry to try it out. Plus it was close but that last 1/2 inch made all the difference in the world. I think the ultra light 125 is even more sensitive to preload.
Kelly, That's great. Looks assume too. How long did it take your stock suspension to break in? I just don't want to make a bunch of adjustments prematurely. What did you change on your jetting? Always looking to make the scoot as good as it can get when I get healthy enough to ride again. Thanks, Walt
Took about 700 miles for it to break in. Was very good at that point. It is a good bit better now. In fact fantastic. As for jetting I went back tot he 4.0 slide and richened the needle one rich from center. Went to a 460 main but might go smaller as it still has to clear it's throat once after not being on the pipe for a while. Makes such nice power now I am not on the pipe a lot.
that thing must rock! This is a valuable lesson about how much better pro level suspension is, but also a lesson to all about how important baseline set up is and then moving into personal dialing in. good report, keep on rippin'
If you are going to spend money upgrading a bike always start with suspension. The gains there are better than anything you could do with the motor. I could not be more happy with my little 1 2 5 right now. It's Perfect. Glad i stuck it out with this bike.
Sag setup is absolutely the first thing that one should do on any new bike. Continually checking it to see if it's still where you put it is also wise. I once had House of Horsepower do my suspension on a '96 WXC 125. That may date me, but it was new at the time, and the shock was brutal, a Showa. What I got back was absolutely atrocious. He asked a few questions, but must not have believed me when I told him my riding ability, because it bottomed on discarded tear offs (okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit). Later, I was at a national race where Pro Circuit was there providing services. I handed them my suspension and was horrified when the dude told me I needed a new valve in my shock, and he asked if I had been in there with a dremmel tool?! I know that Richard can and does do a fantastic job on suspension, but I wonder if it's only for people he really knows, and assumes everyone else is just slow.
i think he has got a LOT better in the last 5-10 years. I remember many years ago hearing mixed opinions. Some loved his work some hated it. I have heard nothing but good stuff lately and one A class racer friend of mine had his KTM done and said it was the best he has ever rode. this one is also fantastic. i think he has it sorted. BTW hogging out the base valve / piston is still a method many use as the huskys supposedly do not flow enough. I guess some guys are putting in KYB pistons.
Another option in the Northwest is Tom Watson at Watson Performance in Hood River. I know people who have had work done by both Richard and Tom; and they tell me they prefer Tom's suspension work. Tom is also an active OMRA rider/racer so he has to face those he does work for every time he enters the pits. http://www.watsonperformance.com/
How does Richards tuning on your 125 compare to the tuning Les did on your TXC ? You made a similar rave after Les did your TXC. R
hey Russ. Thats a tough one as they are such different bikes. The TXC was VERY good as well. More plush and a little less control. Was EZer to bottom but then again weighed a lot more. Forks... LTR was really good trail setup, super plush and smooth. Richards is a little stiffer yet never harsh and feels like you can push it a lot further. Not sure if this is because of the bike or what. feels like there is no limit to waht you can toss at it and it goes right through no drama. the big TXC I could get to a point where it just started to loose control. Less overall damping. Again, very different bikes in every way. Shock... LTR was very good, stock was pretty good. Sachs does a good job IMHO. I have to say Richards shock is freaking magic though. I did not think the ultra light 125 would ever be planted and plush. Light bikes just get kicked around more as it is less mass to knock off coarse. This 125 shock is amazing, everything disappears and it never deflects. Can HAMMMER through most anything and come out the other side straight as you came in. The whole setup is very confidence inspiring and really makes you want to push it harder and harder. For a racer Richards setup is better but again, this is on a 125, a really good 125 to begin with. The TXC was a large semi heavy E-start 4 stroke. it is really hard to compare. So all that said LTR was probably a better trail soft suspension and Richards is a race suspension that works great on the trail. Richards service, not including the fancy stuff is a good bit more than what Les charges so there is that factor as well. I will say what Richard did to my 125 has made it make me want to ride it that much more. I feel invincible on it and really flow / in a groove with that bike right now. I have found, what is for me, and where I like to ride, a rewarding combination of suspension, motor, tires and handling that just works.
Very good explanation. Sounds like Richards set up would be more noticeable to faster A or better riders. As much as I love my 310. You have me lusting for a 125. Hopefully I can add the 125 by January. Sounds like it would be the perfect Tahuya bike. R
It really is. Ridding my 04 CR125 husky there last year convinced me to get the 09 WR125. On top of that i LOVE my 125 for Gifford as well. Hell, i love that little bike everywhere. Taking it out to the 25 hr race this weekend to give it a flogging on the open flowing fast stuff. bet it works great there too. It is an amazing little bike. the only place it struggle a little is on big technical slow uphills. It will do them, actually quite well but not very fast. You loose bigger bikes on big technicaly climbs but if it is mild climb, flat or down hill your making it all back and more. This bike on downhills is ridiculous. So light and you can put the tires anywhere on the trail with precision and avoid stuff instantly that other bikes would simple have to smash though. Make the trail feel twice as wide. Snow level is dropping so Befair is on the list will let you know when heading that way so you can try it.
