TRF90
Active member
I got my Trail 125 four weeks ago, and was pleased with most everything but the suspension. With my 220 pounds, the forks were riding halfway down in their travel and they bottomed at the slightest provocation. Pretty much the same for the rear shocks. I began with a zero cost solution I learned here on the forum. Putting the bike on the centerstand, I was able to sit alongside it and rotate the rear collars on the shocks out of their slots thus effectively adding more pre-load. This helped them to ride a little higher in the travel, but did not stop the bottoming part for me. Following another solution I learned on the forum, I ended up using eight dime sized washers on each side as pre-loads on the forks. Alas, the progressively wound fork springs barely took notice. Round two: following another forum writer, I purchased the "Super Awesome Shocks" from Treatland. When you look on their site, these are the adjustable 350 mm to 370 mm ones. As a bonus they also include "Egoboost technology." They are now available in black and are preload adjustable. If you are over 200 pounds, I cannot imagine a better solution. Cost was around $210 shipped to my doorstep. Problem solved. Following another thread on the site, I found a set of used XL 100 fork springs and popped them in. Since they are a good deal longer than the stock springs, the preload tubes were no longer necessary. However, even after adding all those washers, the fork still rode too low in its travel and bottomed too easily. Round three: I reasoned that the XL 100 springs were taking me in a good direction, but they were simply too soft for my weight. So I found a pair of new Motion Pro 30% stiffer fork springs for the XR/XL 100s on eBay and got them home for $40 shipped. These are single rate springs with no softer progressive section. Now, finally, the forks sit up in their travel , and actually do something to absorb bumps. Again, the preload pipes are no longer necessary, and I did not need to use the washers as pre-load shims. But I did add 20ccs per leg of 15 weight fork oil to replace the lost oil from spring changes and perhaps to reduce the size of the air column at full compression. Now that the suspension is well sorted, I might say a word about the necessity of proper springing in motorcycle suspension. If forks and shocks ride low in their travel and bottom easily, the bike will never really feel stable or planted on the trail. I ride mostly bumpy desert roads and paths in first and second gear with occasional segments in third gear. Typical trail speeds are 15 to 25 miles an hour. The bike is now significantly more stable and no longer slams or deflects over even the sharpest bumps. A Trail 125's ride will never match a full sized, properly suspended dirt bike – either vintage or modern - but it should feel pretty stable and safe at normal trail speeds. The bike even feels more stable now on the street. Mission accomplished.
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