Ohlins vs YSS fork springs.

[5150dude]

There is a big price difference between the two so is iit you get what you pay for? I ride 50/50 street/dirt. I don’t do anything too too wild in the dirt but would like some improvement. There are not many options. I contacted Race Tech and they don’t have any that will fit. I read a post saying XR100spring would work.
are the Ohlins overkill for this non racing lil trail bike?

 

[m in sc]

I was going to try a set of the xr100s i have the yss and they are good, for sure. I mean, ffs, its a spring. Nothing more.

 

[dmonkey]

The fork springs themselves should be fairly straight forward to compare if you can get their specs. The Ohlins kit comes with a set that have a spring rate of 5.0 N/mm, and a set that have a spring rate of 6.0 N/mm. If you can find the spring rate(s) of the YSS ones, it would just be a matter of comparing spring rates assuming they're the same length. The larger the number, the stiffer the spring. The other parts of some kits are also important, and may be more important for some - preload adjustment and valving. The stock fork lacks valving and it's a significant upgrade to add valves for damping.

I have the Ohlins setup front and rear and am very happy with it after many miles of riding including unpaved washboard roads, single track trails in Colorado, and a paved coast-to-cost ride that included some notable twisties such as Tail of the Dragon and the Arizona Sidewinder. The Ohlins setup is just premium. You're paying a premium for quality as well as for the brand name and their associated marketing and pedigree of racing titles. I would not say it's overkill in terms of functionality.

These threads include some other alternatives to the Ohlins and YSS fork upgrade kits:

Heavy Fork Spring Option

I have been extensively searching for front forks spring and so far have only found YSS and Ohlins. I have heard mixed reviews on the YSS and based on the numbers I think they are still too soft and would bottom out all the time. I ordered a set of Ohlins 4 months ago, with multiple promised...

hondatrail125.com

Racingbros Anti Dive System

Picked up the racingbros fork kit and was surprised to find the springs are really short. Has anyone else picked these up? Wondering if maybe I got a mislabeled box or something. I have reached out to steadygarage (where I purchased from) and racingbros but it's Friday afternoon so you know...

hondatrail125.com

CT 125/trail Suspension upgrades

Please use this thread to post up detailed Mods/Upgrades for the CT125. Forks/Rear Shocks IF I missed a similar thread, I'll delete this one.

hondatrail125.com

 

[m in sc]

he was asking about springs, the ohlins vs yss valves are a different discussion IMHO. (and still unnecessarily overpriced, ohlins) . that being said, i have used both racetech vs no name fork valves in bikes.. and, they perform the same at the end of the day.

 

[CTExplorer]

I saw someone here mention using these. From what I recall they had them on. TW200 and said the forks are a similar design and these were a great improvement. Figured I'd mention it to add to the options AND see if anyone else has any real world input or knows how to figure out which ones would fit the CT. I'm pretty mechanically inclined but understanding how MC forks work and the differences between designs is something I'm new to.

Emulators

(Edit: and as I posted this I believe M in SC just mentioned having used them in the previous post )

 

[dmonkey]

The Ohlins vs YSS valve discussion is a short one for the CT125 as the Ohlins fork spring kit doesn't include valves. The YSS and RacingBros kits do.

 

[m in sc]

well i know they made them for the grom & monkey so i assumed.

 

[CTExplorer]

he was asking about springs, the ohlins vs yss valves are a different discussion IMHO. (and still unnecessarily overpriced, ohlins) . that being said, i have used both racetech vs no name fork valves in bikes.. and, they perform the same at the end of the day.

So what's your opinion of the Racetech or other similar valves you've used previously and how do you think they would do in the CT. How does it change the OE feel on this style fork?

 

[m in sc]

On other bikes ive used them on they work really well, but its not just drop in and go. -usually- you have to change out or modify the damping rod, then tune them etc. IMHO, would be a total waste of time on the CT .. but thats me.

 

[dmonkey]

When I contacted Race Tech they didn't have anything sized for the CT125 fork. The Trail fork tubes are incredibly narrow, so unfortunately none of the RT emulators will fit. The specs I could find list the CT125 fork piston bore diameter as 12.6mm, same as the Honda Wave, fitting a 12.5mm valve/emulator. The smallest RT Emulator offered appear to be FEGV 2901 with a 22.7mm OD.

YSS PD175 valves will fit in terms of outer diameter. When I emailed YSS they said they have the PD175 valves listed for the CT125 fork. That might be what is included in their kits. If you aren't just buying the kit, you'll want to confirm that the step on the valves fits inside the damper rods so it seats there. Visualization of that step can be found here. If it doesn't there might be an adapter offered to make the valves fit the damper rods. The valves (and any adapter used) add height to the internal open fork stack, so unless you want that height difference added to the spring pre-load you would trim that height measurement off of the spacer/collar that sits on top of the spring.

What @m in sc just mentioned about modifying the damper rods is an important note. Standalone valves/emulators usually have instructions for enlargening (drilling out) the holes in the OEM damper rods to a specific larger size so fork oil flows more freely there and is instead restricted/regulated/dampened at the valves. If you buy a fork sping kit with valves (preload adjuster caps, replacement spacers, and valves) YSS seem to omit this step from the instructions for some kits... They're not changing the laws of physics, maybe they just know those kits will sell better to consumers if they're a drop-in kit that doesn't explicitly list modifying OEM parts (that cost like $4 each to replace). The replacement springs and preload adjustment may make enough difference that most consumers wouldn't notice or care about the valves working effectively. Just a guess. I'm not a suspension expert, I'd recommend reaching out to YSS or RacingBros for technical details on the products they sell for the CT125 and how they should be installed.