I have a 2009 KLX250S that has Gold Valves installed in the forks with a light damping shim pack selection. It works nicely and is pretty plush over medium bumps on dirt but on pavement or dirt over fairly sharp little rises such as a big tar strip or similar, the forks do not move at all, very annoying hammering up through the handlebars.

I use Honda SS-7 5W oil 1/2" low from oem setting and have slipped the forks up and down with the bike on my jack and the fork caps loose and the front wheel in place and find no stiff spots at all, very smooth and free.

So, wondering if the harshness over the little sharp rises is worn bushings ( 7,000 miles on the bike ) or just a characteristic of the damper piston type of forks.

All suggestions appreciated. I'm running a Kustom Kraft 330cc kit with WebCams 101 cams and KLX300 exhaust. Jetted nicely now and the engine runs soooo good but I'm so disappointed in the front fork harshness. Gold Valve in the rear shock is great.

 

My bike is stock as far as suspension, I'm interested in Gold Valves for my bike. Stock mine feels just like what your describing. You can fly over speed bumps, dips and whoops but small objects with steep rises feel like your slamming curbs.

Sorry I can't suggest any help but I can relate. I was hoping the valves would have cured this.

 

How many miles on your bike?

Mine is much better with the Gold Valves except for the annoying kick over small bumps. It is no longer like slamming curbs, not that severe, just enough to be pretty annoying.

Stock it was downright dangerous on rough gravel roads, the forks were so stiff it continually danced back and forth and pushed the front very badly as the wheel just wasn't staying in contact with the road surface. that is gone now the front end sticks nicely.

The rear did the same thing, now sticks well with the Gold Valve in the rear shock, no longer like riding a bike with hard tail suspension.

I forgot to mention in my first post that each fork off the bike is very smooth and easy to compress so that is why I am wondering if the teflon is gone from my fork bushings and when loaded with the fork angle with the weight if the bike on the forks it does not want to move....

 

I bought mine bran new and it just hit 9,000 miles this morning on my way to work.

 

Have you noticed the forks getting any stiffer with mileage? It doesn't seem that 7,000 or 9,000 miles should wear fork bushings to the point they are causing the stiction, but since these bikes are made in Thailand I don't know how good the bushings were to start with. I bought my bike used with about 5,500 miles on it.

I did ask All ***** Racing if their bushings for the forks were Teflon coated and they replied they were coated with PTFE, basically the same as Teflon they said.

I just don't know if it is a bushing problem or type of damper problem. Guess I could replace the bushings and find out.... Hoping for some answers from the Forum first.

 

No I haven't noticed an increase in friction or anything. All I know is if I ride dirt I can see how far my suspension has compressed by studying the dust on the forks. I've noticed I'll get some good hard slams transferred through the bars and I'll actually slow down and stab the brakes and weave the bike to study the front end. Make sure there is no flat or severely bent rim. Then I'll get off the bike and look at the clean mark the forks made and it's no where near the bottom where the old dirt is. So to me it's clearly a valving thing or something. Going back to whoops or jumps, I don't recall ever bottoming out the bike but after hard riding I've looked and the front forks are damn well clean all the way down to the bottom almost. Sometimes inches past where I feel the hard slamming on little stupid fire roads.

Not sure if that makes sense but it's what I've noticed. The bike has always been like that too.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I'm having the exact same issue. Has anyone found a fix for this? I replaced my seals and lower bushings but forgot to order the upper bushings. I still have this strange stiction. It makes riding on the road very unenjoyable

 

Stiffer springs and different oil helped me out pretty good. On the harsh pot holes its not as bad.

 

Known issue. Higher clicker numbers help (try 15 or more). More rebound on the rear helps too (part of the spike is rear transfer) but hurts with speed on the stutters (try 4 clicks stiffer in one shot)

Only cure IMO is KX internals (more high speed oil flow, the square edge stuff). It's a labour of love (need to shorten damper cartridges 20mm and install the lower axle blocks onto your tubes then make the axle work).

 

I have the racetech .46kg springs installed, and a mix of 5w and 10w oil (didn't get enough 5w)

I don't find the big bumps to be an issue... its the invisible bumps in the road that have me stressed out.

As for higher clicker numbers, do you mean front? I can see the rear making it worse.. by rebound I assume you mean rebound dampening?

I can see if my forks are moving due to my brake line. I'll be riding over smooth pavement (smooth as in no holes) and the front end will be transferring bumps up into my arms and the forks are locked in place. If I pull the brake, it dives.. and if I hit something like a pothole or proper bump, it compresses. It's the lack of minor movement that is troubling. It also doesn't seem to happen when I'm going fast, maybe the undulations in the road aren't as noticeable, or I'm floating over them better...

I expect an entry level dual sport to be a bit sloppy on the suspension, but I don't remember having any of these issues on my other klx250s (09 S model and '10 SF). I've also had a wr250r, 3 Tw200's and a dr650.. none of which exhibited these problems, and all traveled down the exact same roads that cause these phantom bumps to transfer into my arms