[Dj Quetzal]

hello so I got a 2019 crf450x and im about 250lb man 6’1 , i got everything stock on my bike how can I fix my suspension for my wait i have no idea about all these can i get some direction about it please i got some experience trail riding some jumps thank you for your help

[JimDirt]

Welcome to the site !!

For your weight you need to up both fork and shock springs , (I am guessing you are a novice rider ??) So I would say your main goal is to keep the suspension up in the stroke , The stock spring rate is 0.50 (fork) and 5.4 (shock) , I would recommend a 0.52/6.2 to make the bike stay up in the stroke , and make the bike feel plusher when hitting roots/rocks/ruts , etc. , as you are currently sitting , the bike is going to be riding way down in the stroke (stroke is the travel from top/fully extended to bottoming out) , the closer you are to the bottom , especially when just sitting there , the harsher the ride will be , because the valving is made to open at specific parts of the stroke , if you are out of the target weight for the bike (about 160 lbs.) , then the bike starts lower in the stroke , which means the valving is opening too late and you get a harsh ride .....

Till you get your springs , you can get away slightly by turning the top clickers on the forks (Compression) and the small screw on the top of the shock and the 14mm nut (screw is low speed , nut is high speed , *speed meaning the speed of the shock shaft as it moves up/down not the speed of the bike*) ,and turn the screw (both forks and shock) IN to see where you are initially (for example 12 clicks out from slightly seated) , then go back out to initial setting , then go in (I would suggest about 4 clicks to start) so you would be around 8 clicks out (each click is 1/4 turn of the screw , so 4 clicks would equal 1 full turn in) , when turning in , to stop , do NOT force the screw , when you feel resistance and it does not want to easily click again , STOP , it may be in between clicks , but could be right as it clicks .... DO NOT GO ANY MORE , or you will damage the adjusting needle ...

With the shock , repeat the procedure , but this time , you will also turn the nut in ( it will not click it will just turn , so pay attention to its position and how far you turn it) , turn it in till it lightly seats ,counting the turns (guessing around 3 or 3-1/4 turns out is where it will be stock) , turn it in to 2 turns out , what doing this will do is stiffen the initial shock movement to make it harder to compress (the nut adjustment) and the screw will stiffen the overall movement ..... you could also turn your shock collar (the adjusting ring on the shock body that holds tension on the spring) in 2 full turns , this will put more tension on the shock spring holding the bike up in the stroke (you are not going to worry about Sag at this point because you are way above the limits of the stock spring settings so they will not matter till you get the correct rate spring for your weight) ..... this is all only temporary adjustments till you get the new stiffer springs , once you get the new springs you can set everything back to original settings , and adjust for comfort from there ..... If you need help installing the springs I can walk you thru that as well .... you will then adjust to the correct sag

Hope that helped ...

[Back2-2]

That's a nice clear explanation Jim. Nice job helping the guy out.