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My weight is 190#.

I just bought a 2009 450R, which has a grey/silver spring on the rear.

-Does the color spring always mean it's for a heavier rider like me?

-Is there some way to verify it's the correct spring I need, or do I just need to set the sag and roll with it?

Thanks!!

The OEM shock spring will be Yellow , if your spring is Gray then its a aftermarket , so it should be stamped in paint on one of the coils or it will be etched into the flat face of the seating surface with the rate/part#

The Standard rate is 5.4/5.5 N/mm
The rate you would want for your weight would be 5.6 N/mm

As far as telling if the spring you have is correct , is to check the sag , if the numbers are off then the spring is not correct for your weight , simple as that

Cool, thanks. Planning to check the sag as soon as I get a chance..

2008 was the last year shock springs were yellow on CRF R models. 2009 and up stock springs are silver. Look for paint marking on top of spring, pink/stock, yellow/light, white/heavy.

Strange , i have seen pictures of stock 09's with a yellow spring just looking after you mentioned that , i saw silver as well , also read that if the spring had a color on the spring face it was optional , standard had no color or marking , at least that is what i thought the parts fiche and service manual showed

If not , my bad on color identification

Finally checked my race sag, it was at 115mm (Honda recommends 105). I brought it into spec at 105mm and free sag is right on the money at 52mm, but now the bike feels like it's stink buggin' and not comfortable. In fact, on my test ride I immediately had a front end swap side-to-side in a relatively high-speed section. Not confidence inspiring and I don't wanna think about this during a race.

At 6'-1" I may need taller bars too, I know the '09 has an issue as is, and there is already an aftermarket linkage on my bike. FYI the top of my triple clamp is only a mm or two below the bottom of the cap nuts, so I'm not sure if lowering the fork anymore is a good idea or not? Other than raising the front, I'm thinking about lowering the race sag down to 110mm, which is halfway between where it was (115) and Honda's recommendation (105).

Gonna do some searching but any ideas are appreciated...

A lot of riders complain about the same "stinkbug" issue with the 09+ , the linkage should have helped and lowering the forks in the clamps any farther than they are could cause issues mainly by possibly damaging the cartridge by clamping where its not meant to be clamped , so no , i would not try to go any farther , you mentioned you had it at 115 , did you like the ride/feel ?? , though its farther than "spec" , if it feels comfortable when riding , and you do not notice any adverse handling side effects from it being that low (jumping weird ,swapping ,etc), then i do not see any issue with running up to 115 , the spec is a "recommendation , not a absolute that it has to be at that level (105 is what Honda "recommends" not absolute which is why at that spec most people complain about the stinkbug issue , and end up with linkages , etc) , i do know that linkages can sometime alter the sag settings slightly , for example a 1.75 Kouba link will alter the sag to about 80mm to feel correct and work as it should as opposed to the "recommended" Honda spec of 100mm , so there are always variables , maybe look into the specs of the linkage you have and see if it has any adjustment suggestions or specs that give you more info on what the linkage specifically alters , as not all linkages have the same specs , so depending on the linkage it may say to run 115.............Hope that helps some

I have adjusted rear sag in the past to ensure my forks are at the correct angle. Once again the factory angle is a starting point and a slight change either way by whatever means lets the bike turn nicely without be a handful when going straight. Same as some bikes are better with different offset clamps. Go for the 115 sag and see how it works for you.