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CRF250F Forks

By Charles F,
in CRF150F/L, CRF230F/L & CRF250F

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Charles F

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Ayyyyy just started riding and bought my first bike, got a 2021 CRF250F,

Anyone out there do anything to the forks yet? I see a crap ton of Brazilian posts with the fork boots taken off. not sure if they completely swap them or just put seals over the existing? any info out there???

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The Plvis

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1 hour ago, Charles F said:

Ayyyyy just started riding and bought my first bike, got a 2021 CRF250F,

Anyone out there do anything to the forks yet? I see a crap ton of Brazilian posts with the fork boots taken off. not sure if they completely swap them or just put seals over the existing? any info out there???

The 250F is new, so there aren't many suspension mods for it. However, I would seriously look into swapping out the Right Side up forks in exchange for USD.

https://motorcyclemojo.com/2016/01/why-invert-a-fork/

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The Plvis

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7 hours ago, Charles F said:

i know its hard finding anything for the bike, took me 6 months to get a pro circuit for it. i will look into that,

Thanks man 

So you're finished with being a geriatric rider i guess? Bruce Suspension is the best alternative. He will pull the best out of those geriatric forks. The CRF230 stock forks pretty much had the same issues back when, and Bruce Tripplet made them much better, so I'm sure he can do the same for you.

I suggest you be the fist of the new breed of CRF250F riders to find a way to convert to USD forks. If you are a young rider? You will never be happy with Rt side up forks, considering they're truly catered to the geriatric rider's style of riding.

 

Edited by The Plvis
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Charles F

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I am on the older side, 27. went with the 250f because i have never had a bike before and that is what my buddies suggested. I am super comfortable on my bike now especially comfortable in the woods as it is a trail bike. just looking for other things I could do to improve the ride and push the bike 

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The Plvis

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1 hour ago, Charles F said:

I am on the older side, 27. went with the 250f because i have never had a bike before and that is what my buddies suggested. I am super comfortable on my bike now especially comfortable in the woods as it is a trail bike. just looking for other things I could do to improve the ride and push the bike 

NO!!!!!! you're on the younger side. The most frequent guys posting here in this forum are pretty old. I've seen them as old as 70+ years old. That's why you must be careful where you source your information. Older dudes have different desires than younger riders.

Over time, without their knowing, (older riders) their styles changed. That being the case, they will often give out information catering to their current state/riding style. Geriatric forks are their thing...so be careful concerning their favorite forks...female/Rt side Up's. :ride:

Edited by The Plvis
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Chuck.

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4 hours ago, The Plvis said:

NO!!!!!! you're on the younger side. The most frequent guys posting here in this forum are pretty old. I've seen them as old as 70+ years old. That's why you must be careful where you source your information. Older dudes have different desires than younger riders.

Over time, without their knowing, (older riders) their styles changed. That being the case, they will often give out information catering to their current state/riding style. Geriatric forks are their thing...so be careful concerning their favorite forks...female/Rt side Up's. :ride:

For years I raced desert and competed in Enduros, plus a few Hare Scrambles  and MX, even Trials.  And that was mostly with damper rod forks.  What you want for suspension for technical trail riding is very different than for desert or MX. So the terrain and rider expectations are very important. Just because you ride CA doesn't mean you understand the terrain in other areas.  A good point is I have a CRF250X with R forks; fine in AZ around Phoenix but not good in the PNW.  Took a lot of revalving for those forks to work in the PNW. I have an old RM with conventional KYB 43 cartridge forks that work wonderful in the PNW.  I did a lot of revalving on Showa 37 USD forks for my XR, and I would still prefer the RM KYB forks for PNW trails. 

So the question becomes what is so different between all of these different forks? I'll offer some:
USD forks have less flex so are harsher.
Modern MX valving restricts high speed fluid flow to control jump landings, not good for sharp edge bumps on trails which are high suspension speed impacts, equals more harsh.
Modern MX frames are more rigid than earlier so more harsh. That is a plus for handling but can be a harshness problem on some terrain. 
Modern low profile tires are more harsh than earlier full profile tires; the new tires don't absorb bumps well but they steer better than the old tires. So pick your poison.
Being able to steer around trail debris is a benefit but requires an alert rider and good steering; which involves chassis geometry, fork rigidity, axle size, and tire selection.

The problem with stiffness and harsh high speed damping is the bike will deflex off sharp edge bumps and trail debris; that is very disconcerting, and limits speed on ST.

The XR400 forks are not the largest conventional;  those would be the Showa 49Cs used on mid-late 90s RMs and DRZ400.

The XR400 forks are also full cartridge Showa 43C, smaller but perhaps a bit more flex.  ?

Have said all of that I have a CRF250X which is based on the CRF250R, and I really like it because it is easy to ride fast and it feels very planted. However it is not my favorite trail bike because it is too MX, my modded XR is my fav tight ST bike. I qualified that because I ride several types of ST and some are easier on the X and others easier and more fun on the XR.

Edited by Chuck.
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adnohguy

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1 hour ago, bajatrailrider said:

Question  for hagon shock guys  . Does it have rebound and comp  adj.  Different  spring rates what spring rate stock . Thanks any info

Hagon: Better than stock 230f lighter than stock, rebound adjustment only, stock 230f rear shock capacity is 230 lbs, Hagon is the same.
Racing Brothers has all 3 adjusters, high, low, rebound, remote reservoir, way lighter than Hagon. Both very stiff when stock, long break in time. 

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bajatrailrider

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5 hours ago, adnohguy said:

Hagon: Better than stock 230f lighter than stock, rebound adjustment only, stock 230f rear shock capacity is 230 lbs, Hagon is the same.
Racing Brothers has all 3 adjusters, high, low, rebound, remote reservoir, way lighter than Hagon. Both very stiff when stock, long break in time. 

Are you saying hagon. Shock no  comp. Adj?  Does  3 bro make shock 250f? Thank you 

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Tbeasley

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Check out Ramz on here and the the web, he has a lot of info that will help. Tele72 put some Brazilian website links for parts on here. Search function on here will lead you to some also. Best upgrade I've done to mine is a Race tech shock, 4 degree advance, EJK tuner and of course Bruce Tripletts fork mods are great and his tuning advice was even better. There is only so much you can get out of the old style forks but he seems to get the most out of them. For woods and trail riding mine does really well. By the way for my advice reference I'm 59. This forum is a great place for advice. Forum search function will answer most questions and thanks to everyone on here that helped me with my mods!

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SlowDinoDog

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33 minutes ago, ramz said:

Some suspension info:

https://rickramsey.net/CRF250Fmods.htm#suspension

spacer.png

Stock on the left; Race Tech on the right.

:ride:

Yeah... Honda tends to use soft springs with lots of preload in their forks and shocks.

Next step for a beginner with Honda damper rod forks is typically to add stiffer springs and valve emulators from RaceTech.

That aftermarket shock looks nice. If its too pricey, you may be able to get a stiffer RaceTech spring for the OEM shock.

Edited by SlowDinoDog
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The Plvis

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3 hours ago, SlowDinoDog said:

Yeah... Honda tends to use soft springs with lots of preload in their forks and shocks.

Next step for a beginner with Honda damper rod forks is typically to add stiffer springs and valve emulators from RaceTech.

That aftermarket shock looks nice. If its too pricey, you may be able to get a stiffer RaceTech spring for the OEM shock.

If they had the FreeRide 350 year 2006 I would have said no to the CRF230. However, I was kinda lucky to sale my stock forks 300.00 and I purchased new CRF150R forks for 400.00

My shock came from the CR85 and I used BBR springs. I was out of 200.00 plus. Sense then, I've replaced it with the Hagon and now I'm back on the 85cr. KTM FreeRide is a 230R without the head aces. 

I have three CRF230 motors with different cams and bores. Took all three motors to find one that matched what i liked in the KTM'.   

I also had to raise the 230 an inch and give it 55" wheel base to replicate the KTM'. Being cheap is more costly in the long haul. However, I was in the U.K when rode it. At the time I couldn't or wouldn't pay import fees and taxes. Looking back, I think it would have been easier if i would have.

 

Edited by The Plvis
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