Seat height and suspension adjustments on CRF150f???

[ViperKid57]

I got my crf150f a few weeks ago and I love it... I just want to know I there's anyway I can stiffen my front and back suspension... For free! And if there's any ways that I can raise the seat height. I know I can get aftermarket seats and shocks... But I want to know how to do this for free.. I'm 5 foot 7 and 125 ish pounds... I kinda prefer taller bikes and stiffer suspensions because I do ride pretty aggrisivly for what kind of ridding I do

[The Demolisher]

I got my crf150f a few weeks ago and I love it... I just want to know I there's anyway I can stiffen my front and back suspension... For free! And if there's any ways that I can raise the seat height. I know I can get aftermarket seats and shocks... But I want to know how to do this for free.. I'm 5 foot 7 and 125 ish pounds... I kinda prefer taller bikes and stiffer suspensions because I do ride pretty aggrisivly for what kind of ridding I do

"Stiffer" isn't the answer if you're riding aggressively. You need "better" suspension ?

RaceTech GoldValve or better would be great, but at $180 it isn't anywhere near free. Correct rate springs would be great, but definitely not free. The cheapest way to stop bottoming out hard is to get the fork oil weight and height correct, which still isn't free.

The rear shock is a total disaster. No free mods there except adjusting the preload to the CORRECT setting. Don't be tempted to smash the rings way down on the spring just to make it "stiffer"; your ride will just get completely messed up. You need around 33% of the total travel of the rear suspension to be used up when you're sitting on the bike. Search for "setting preload". $200 and John Hlebo will work his magic on the shock and make it perfectly fine.

I don't really see why you want a taller seat if you ride aggressively. The stock seat allows you to move forward all the way over the tank without slipping back during hard cornering, and generally like 90% of the time when riding aggressively the rider shouldn't be sitting.

To just straight up answer your questions though,

-You can add oil and a crap load of spacer to the forks to make them really stiff and make them not work right.

-You can crank down the preload on the rear shock to make it really stiff and really really not work right and kill the rear end traction.

-You can probably add a layer of some type of foam or other material under the seat cover to raise the seat height.

I really think the best thing you can do on a $0 budget is add some old oil to the forks to get the correct oil height for your riding, and set the rear preload correctly. You'd have a better ride with that. You want the oil height just enough so that the forks bottom lightly on the largest jump that you do.

Edited July 4, 2011 by gabechroust