I'm dumb. Y'all know it. So make me be less dumb. KDX? CRF? KTM?

[typeone]

funny, i find fat grips super fatiguing Renthal full diamond med or soft compound are my favs. nice and thin.

[Chippertheripper]

funny, i find fat grips super fatiguing Renthal full diamond med or soft compound are my favs. nice and thin.

I'm in the thin grip herd too.
Pillowtop lites for me, but I'm not too picky overall.

[Paul_E_D]

Thin FTW

[Rada]

Thin here too. I have big dick beaters and I hate fat grips. Renthals here

[tls25rs]

you rode with the fb group right?

fb group?

[R7]

The ktm 200 Xc/xcw is a smaller frame than the other models..I was told at the time that the frame was same as the 125sx mx version. So it's a bit more cramped when standing than all the bigger Ktm's. I had the bar risers on my 200 with the stock bars and loved it.
My Beta XTrainer suffers the same issue, tho I have not replaced the risers yet.

[nhbubba]

I think there may be risers on mine too. Aluminum inserts between the top triple and clamp. Not sure if that's just the design of the clamp or not. Never spent too much time thinking about it. Mostly I have either grown to like the ergos on mine, or they just fit me right from the beginning.

I put some fresh "pillow" top grips on this summer. They work.

Although I'm fighting some arm pump nowadays. Pretty sure that's on me, not the bike though. I swear it got worse when I fitted the new chain and moved the axle forwards a ton. I find the bike less stable yet harder to steer at the same time.

And I think the boingers at both ends could use fresh oil.

[Rada]

[QUOTE=nhbubba;1478559 I swear it got worse when I fitted the new chain and moved the axle forwards a ton. I find the bike less stable yet harder to steer at the same time.

And I think the boingers at both ends could use fresh oil.[/QUOTE]

I have a theory on this that I developed last time out. Normally KatieM is pretty nimble for a girl with hips. But it felt all choppered out and I felt like I was trying to ride something OCC built. My theory is that it was me. As you know I was not doing well at all and I think I was riding further back on the bike than normal. That has a pisspoor effect on handling. Low rear/high front. Your 2 hunny with the shorty wheelbase should have been like riding a rabid squirrel. I suspect you were sitting back a bit as I was... Just a theory.

[nhbubba]

Maybe. And it was a bit better screwing around in the yard last weekend.
Requires more research. I'll get back to you.

[Paul_E_D]

Sitting in the back seat doesn't help in any discipline. Shortening the wheelbase puts more weight on the rear and should quicken steering as a result. But if you are sitting back there perhaps there is so little weight on the front, that it is sketchy and you are white knuckling it the whole time. Ain't no way to to how a bike handles when you are bulldogging the bars. If it does indeed steer like a truck, raising the forks in the trees a bit can get you back where you started.

For me, and I'm a lightweight, but on my ktm125 I needed the longest wheelbase I could get. So forks all the way down, wheel all the way back. And I still needed a steering damper! I added links back into the chain to get the wheelbase.

[nhbubba]

I can't decide if the 200 is just more susceptible to adjustments in wheelbase than I expected.. or if it's all in my head. It's the only thing I changed.. or was I just riding like ass that day?!
Right now I suspect my head. Current plan is to ride it as is some more and see. My preferences to date have not been strong enough to "tune" any which way. Mostly I just adapt.

It does wheelie much easier, which is desirable. Maybe the rear axle move helped that too.

I don't think I have much headway to lower the forks any more. But it's worth looking at. It's arguable that I should do a better job of fine tuning sag before I get carried away with geometry though. I keep telling myself that I'm going to pull everything, send the shock out for rebuild and tear down the forks soon. I have 2-ish seasons on it and I am sure it was ridden hard by the cat before me. Figure I should refresh before tuning anything too seriously.

Dollar waiting on a time, waiting on a penny.
Motorcycle handling; one big dynamic pile of ying and yang.

[Paul_E_D]

Dirt bikes are especially hard as a beginner because on any given day, your riding can be so different. It's hard to even get started tuning. I get my bike dialed one day, and the next it feels like ass at the same damn place. Seat time. That's all that matters for quite a while. Have someone in the dial the clickers into the neighborhood, and just ride it.

[nhbubba]

At the same time, if you're fighting an egregiously bad setup. For example I rode way too soft springs for way too long. Payoff in the whoops was immediate. Soooooooooo much more fun now!

[typeone]

... I should do a better job of fine tuning sag before I get carried away with geometry though.

yes, do that first.

[Chippertheripper]

Your 200 have a damper? It could be set too slow and also add to the truckish feeling.

Off-road = constant changes in dynamics. Giddee up.

[TheIglu]

No damper here.

[Paul_E_D]

True to all these thing. A really bad set up can set you back, but at the same time, the ultra dynamic nature of the sport means you have to constantly adjust and this makes set up less important. You can ride almost anything if you are actively engaged on the bike. It's a conundrum, and also one of the things that makes the sport so awesome.

[nhbubba]

No damper here. Just my ultra-fast, cat like reflexes and superior upper body strength.

Did I mention I'm fighting some arm pump recently?!

[TheIglu]

Bubs, you still have those slender-man springs kickin around?

I have some husky guy springs along with the ones in the bike.....

[nhbubba]

I do. I have many springs. The greatest springs!

Yours is PDS, right? The linkage bikes take totally different springs, I think.

Figure out whatchuwant. If I have it we can probably work something out.

[TheIglu]

PDS? That's a TLA I'm not familiar with.

No linkage in the back. Frame->boinger->swingarm.

[nhbubba]

Yeah, that's PDS. I actually don't have any idea wtf it actually means either.
Spring rates advocated by sources like racetech are different. I think you have the same suspension all around as I do. At least as far as spring rates pertain to.

[Kurlon]

I have a shock spring that may be in the ballpark Clayton?

(Progressive Damping System, FYI)

[TheIglu]

Let me see what is on there for a rear spring first, and what springs (both front and rear) I have sitting in boxes.

[aldend123]

Although I'm fighting some arm pump nowadays. Pretty sure that's on me, not the bike though. I swear it got worse when I fitted the new chain and moved the axle forwards a ton. I find the bike less stable yet harder to steer at the same time.

I've not experimented with rear axle position, but maybe try turning the rear low speed compression out (less comp damping) a click or two, and the rebound in a click (more rebound damping). Moving the axle forward means less leverage on the rear swingarm. So you want the shock to compress easier to counter for that to get similar rear suspension action. Slower rebound because the wheel is moving less distance. If it isn't noticeable, double the amount.

I'm trying to get good with suspension, but no expert. Correct me if I'm wrong.