What progressive suspension springs for my 85 250R

[mx250r91]

OK cool thread. These are ATC 250R forks in the picture correct?

No but very similar, damping rod forks.

[Mosh22]

Its weird I have 2 ATC's 85 and 86 250R 3 years ago they where both stock and had the same tires on them same everything and my 85 is more tippier. I even put the 86 original springs in the 85 and its still tippy Im stumped on that the only thing that I found that might make a difference is one of the 85 lower fork tubes must be bent because when I work the fork in and out with no spring it drags. Even when I push the 85 I can tell the front axle bolt doesn't  stay parallel with the ground. Mabey I should look for some different forks.

If you get the forks straight and still feel a handling difference, that could be most likely due to the fact Honda Changed the rake geometry in 86. I don't know the exact specifics, but from what I gathered, the pro's desert racing complained the 85 washed out in hi speed bumps so Honda pushed the front out in the frame building in 86 to help with the stability.. With the 85 having the reduced rake, theoretically it makes it turn more nimble, or faster if you will. It is all in preference, but IMO the 85 turns better in tight areas such as MX racing.

The over all wheel base in 85 was 51 inches and in 86, 51.5 inches.

[Eschonda]

If anyone is interested in getting Emulators or anything from Race Tech, I am a Dealer for them, and can usually meet or beat most companies prices.. I also would appreciate the opportunity at your business! Just an FYI, I am also certified from their training school as well.
 Evan @ SRS

[Black Sheep]

I have been working with the emulators for some time (long before Race Tech even knew about using them in the ATC 250R...heck I even helped them with the set up...lol) and have found that the best springs for the ATC 250R are the .52kg. Race Tech will recomend the .47kg but they will most likely be to soft. ATVonDemand had Race Tech do the mods in there ATC 250R build and went with the .47kgs and were to soft. I recomended the .52kg springs and they liked to results. I have the part numbers for the right emulators and springs somewhere and can post them if needed. The emulators also come with two springs...blue (installed) and yellow. I recomend the yellow.

If you just want to do progressive suspension springs, I recomend 15 wt fork oil at 5.5 inches from the top

Also, someone said they mixed oil at 50/50 ratio to get a middle weight. Unfortunatly that is not how it works. There is a formula for mixing fork oil weights that I too can dig out and post if needed.


The 85 ATC 250R has 21* of rake, the 86 ATC 250R has 21.5* of rake. Of course it is all relevent to the size of tires and your ride height as the will effect your rake.

[christph]

So, Black Sheep, you would recommend Race Tech springs over the Progressive springs?  I knew Race Tech sold springs but I never looked through their downloads to see if they had any to fit the 250R.  Is it a progressive spring rate?  If you would post those part numbers that would be great.

[Black Sheep]

Well it really depends on your weight and riding style and what you are using it for.  Trails and play riding the progressive suspension springs will work well. If you MX or go big on jumps I would recomend the .52kg Race Tech springs.  I'll dig up the part numbers tonight and post up later.

[pantera1975]

Race tech has replacement front springs for ATC? Thanks for the info.

[fourtrax]

You can enter you weight and ability and they will tell you which spring....

Whenever you put your gold valve together make sure you tighten the nut to specified torque, which is very specific.

[turbo27x]

black sheep...was wondering about the fork oil formula to get 12.5 wt...also im 230lbs .ive ordered 3801 emulators..was gonna use progressive springs..i don't mx just woods ride,,any recomandations?