[CRFrider04]

As you have or will see, i have a ton of questions about suspenison in this forum.

Well...I am a 14 year old, 120 lb rider at 5'7", How should i set up my suspension? I ride everything from whoops to jumps to smooth trails or rocky trails. When i ride my whoops (about 1.5-2 ft tall and 5 ft apart) my bike seems to bottom out, n then bounce.

Also, how do i adjust rider sag w.o having to tighten or loosen the suspension

[huskysm450r]

As you have or will see, i have a ton of questions about suspenison in this forum.

Well...I am a 14 year old, 120 lb rider at 5'7", How should i set up my suspension? I ride everything from whoops to jumps to smooth trails or rocky trails. When i ride my whoops (about 1.5-2 ft tall and 5 ft apart) my bike seems to bottom out, n then bounce.

Also, how do i adjust rider sag w.o having to tighten or loosen the suspension

What you describe is in part due to the low budget suspension components Honda uses on the CRF150. If your sag settings are off, it just makes it worse.

First thing to do is to set your rear race sag with you on your bike wearing your gear. This should be set at around 3 inches. You do this by adjusting the spring preload on your rear shock.

Put the bike on a stand with the rear wheel off the ground and measure from the rear axle to a fixed point like where the side cover meets the rear fender. Take the bike off the stand and sit on it and have someone measure the distance between the same two points. The difference between the two measurements is your sag.

Once you have your rear sag set, you can play around with the forks. At 120lbs, you can try adding some preload to the front fork springs using some washers of the appropriate size and/or adding a little more fork oil to each fork. Better yet, try some heavier fork oil, like some 15 wt at around 4.8 inches from the top, with the forks fully compressed. If you haven't already, invest in a shop manual for your bike and it will provide some instructions on how to change the fork oil.

Hope this helps.

[CRFrider04]

How do i go about adding washers. What do i open to put in these washers and where can i get them.

Also how much would it cost me to put 15wt fork oil in?
(not at a shop)

[huskysm450r]

How do i go about adding washers. What do i open to put in these washers and where can i get them.

Also how much would it cost me to put 15wt fork oil in?
(not at a shop)

Dude, I would suggest you go order a shop manual first so you can learn to do this on your own. In the long run, its important for you to really understand what you are doing rather than blindly rely on some guy on the internet.

[CRFrider04]

I rode today and realized that my suspension is WAY off ballence. my sag is dialed in at 3.5 inches which im going to change to 3. The front is another story, I can almost bottom out the suspension by simply pushing down on it with the bike just standing there, so i deffinitely need to stiffen up the front, I also noticed the front was bottoming out on my whoops.

thx for all the previous advice huskysm450r, im planning to get the service manual tomorrow and hopefully do the work this weekend.

How much is 15wt fork oil goin to cost me and where can i get the washers.

THANKS ALOT!! everyone on this website is an awesome help, Ive learned alot form a lot of you

[huskysm450r]

I rode today and realized that my suspension is WAY off ballence. my sag is dialed in at 3.5 inches which im going to change to 3. The front is another story, I can almost bottom out the suspension by simply pushing down on it with the bike just standing there, so i deffinitely need to stiffen up the front, I also noticed the front was bottoming out on my whoops.

thx for all the
previous advice huskysm450r, im planning to get the service manual tomorrow and hopefully do the work this weekend.

How much is 15wt fork oil goin to cost me and where can i get the washers.

THANKS ALOT!! everyone on this website is an awesome help, Ive learned alot form a lot of you

The stuff I use, Bel Ray, costs around $8 for a quart. One quart should be enough, but it might be a good idea to get two. As for the washers, you can get those at a hardward store. Get some with an outside diamter of 1 or 1.125"

[CRFrider04]

What will a heavier fork oil do for me?

[crfsonly]

a heavier/thicker oil will create more resistance ...this will require more force to get the shock moving. the challenge is getting everything working together, the valving, oil, and spring rate. changing the oil weight will only help to a point.

ken

[willflyforfood]

I am still riding my bike with the rear set from the factory, I haven't even checked the sag. Where should I sit on the bike to measure the sag? Obviously if you sit further back the bike will ride lower on the suspension.

[crfsonly]

willflyforfood....sit in your normal riding position WITH all your riding gear on and feet on the pegs. you want the rear loaded just like it would be while riding.

[Toneconsultant]

Hello Folks. I'm new to the site. Thought I'd pop in. My weblink might answer a few questions. Hope that helps.

Hope it shows up since this is my first post here.

[CRFrider04]

Hey on your site it says u were using 1 stock spring and 1 BBR spring. I just bought bbr springs and im waitin to install them. What did that do for you? is it 'bad' for the forks and would it be good for a 125 pound rider(me)

[crfsonly]

having a stiffer spring in one fork tube than the other is not recommended. think about what happens when the tire impacts something...that force is sent through the wheel to the axle and to both forks tubes. one will offer greater resistance to that force than the other...energy typically travels the course of least resistance. i can't help but think this would cause significant deflection of the wheel/axle which would in turn have a significant impact on control.

am i missing something?

[CRFrider04]

you've got a great point, i installed both springs n it turned out to be perfect, i use most of the travel on whoops n jumps without bottoming out. I could use much more power tho, i think a smaller front sprocket would give me more wheelie power n a power up jet kit would "wake up" the motor, am i right?

Also...the 2 adjustment rings on my rear shock are really tight, is there anything i can do to loosen them up? (ex: spray somthing (wd40) to loosen it up)

[Guest]

just put a 115 main jet in your carb, take out the cork in the air box and the baffle in the pipe. I did that to mine and raced my friend on his stock 150 and i was surprized at how big of a lead i had at the end of the feild that we raced in.