2017 KX 450f Suspension Review

Shock- The stock shock with a 5.4 spring rate was too soft for me. So after initially breaking the bike in, I went to a stiffer rear spring. The 5.7 spring rate is perfect for me and we didn't need to revalve it, so I'm happy with how it works with just a spring change. I run 12 clicks out on comp and 12 out on the rebound, and with this setting i feel very comfortable with how the shock soaks up bumps and lands off of jumps, pretty simple. The air forks took a little more time but if you understand what the 3 chambers do, it makes it a lot easier to find your setting. The inner chamber is like your spring rate, so the more air you run the stiffer the forks are overall. The outer chamber will effect your bottoming the most, so the more pressure the more bottoming resistance you have. The balance chamber works against both the inner and outer chambers as just that, to counter balance the forces of those chambers to give the right overall balance to the fork. The MORE pressure you run in the balance, the MORE it pulls the forks down for a lower ride height. Therefore, the LESS pressure you run in the balance, the higher the forks run, so if your forks are diving too much coming into a corner, the LESS pressure you run the better because the forks will stay up higher in the stroke. So for me at 6 "1" and 192 lbs, my settings are this: Inner chamber-185 psi, Outer chamber-10 psi and balance chamber-180 psi. The compression is 10 clicks out and rebound is 12 out, so with this I have a great balance front and rear. Remember that this is good for me at 192 lbs and pro level riding, so make your settings according to your weight and level.