Choosing a Motocross Suspension for an 86 Honda TRX250R Everyone Needs to Know

[395Rider]

My experience consists of 6 months in Trail Riding (Behind Dos Logos, Behind Canyon Lake, Wildomar, El Mirage Dry Lake), Hill Climbing (same locations), and MX Tracks (Racetown392 and Elsinore). My TRX250R is almost stock and I bottom the hell out of it on the tracks in the need for big air. My Pig weighs around 400 pounds, needs to loose weight, and gain more power. The only upgrades are the FMF Fatty Pipe, Jet Modification, Renthal Handle Bars, Zip Ties on Grips, Meaty ITP Hole Shots, and Racing Plastics.

I would like to get a suspension that is made specifically for racing on tracks and getting stupid air. I don’t know a damn thing about shocks, suspensions, centering, and width. After I took a chunk off of my leg and my friend stop laughing he said that I need to lower the Pig with a suspension and tires. This would avoid me from flipping on fast sharp turns. Here are my questions:

Shocks
1. For racing on a track and launching, do I need long travel shocks?
2. Are shocks adjusted to weight and riding area?
3. What types of shocks are good enough for getting buy in a motocross race?
4. What is the purpose of the piggy back on the shocks?

Suspension

1. There are several types of A-arms out there shaped differently, why so?
2. What is the correct width for a race track?
3. What type of ball joints are the best?
4. Does the rear linkage make a difference?
5. Is it possible to set the Pig up so it doesn’t bottom out?
6. Placing the wheels on backwards can increase and decrease the width?
7. What are the best known Motocross suspensions for an 86 TRX250R?

Centering
1. What is the proper way to center a bike for better turning?
2. Can pegs be adjusted or are there different peg designs to help centering?

Thank you for your response, I am sure everyone will appreciate this information and maybe save them time and money on their suspension.

Adam Torres 395 Rider

[wilkin250r]

It sounds like you will want something with ZPS (Zero PreLoad). The term "ZPS" was originally coined by PEP suspension, and it goes by other names with other brands. Elka uses SSD (Self-Sag Device), they basically mean the same thing.

The ZPS (or SSD) is a special setup that lowers the quad without losing the shocks performance. You get a nice low center of gravity for cornering stability, but you still keep the ability to soak up big hits and not bottom out.

Shocks are set up for weight and riding style, or riding terrain. Your shocks perform differently depending on whether you are riding woods and creekbeds, or big motocross jumps. Tell your shock builder what type of racing and riding you plan to do.

As your shocks work, they heat up just a little with each hit. If they get hot, the performance falls off until they cool down again. The piggyback is an external reseviour that helps keep the oil inside cool so the shocks don't fade as quickly.

[mxracer97]

1. For racing on a track and launching, do I need long travel shocks?
No, standard length shocks can perform as well as long travel shocks if valved correctly. Note that long travel shocks do not actually provide you with more wheel travel, just more shaft travel on the shock itself. This makes valving and fine tuning the shock easier. There are some front end designs that would allow you to get some extra wheel travel such as the Laeger Pro-Trax narrow front or the Roll Design LOBO, but these would require you to buy the entire chassis.

2. Are shocks adjusted to weight and riding area?
Yes. When you order a new set of shocks, the shock maker will ask you questions such as your weight, what type of riding/racing you do, what your skill level is, what type of suspension setup you are using, etc.

3. What types of shocks are good enough for getting buy in a motocross race?
This depends on how serious you are about racing. Any new shocks that you get made specifically for your riding style will be a huge improvement over the worn out stock shocks you are currently riding on. As wilkin250R suggested, you may want to look into ZPS shocks. PEP, Elka, Axis, and others make good quality shocks. I personally run Axis all the way around and I think they perform excellently.

4. What is the purpose of the piggy back on the shocks?
As wilkin250R stated, added oil/gas capacity and better cooling to resist shock fading.

1. There are several types of A-arms out there shaped differently, why so?
Generally, the reason for different shapes are to allow room for the longer shocks used on long travel front ends, and to achieve higher ground clearance in some cases.

2. What is the correct width for a race track?
On a motocross track - 50" maximum

3. What type of ball joints are the best?
Most arms use typical ball joints just like your stock arms use. Some arms use heim joints, which are supposed to allow more "bind free" movement. I have never had any issues with the standard ball joints though.

4. Does the rear linkage make a difference?
Most people say the no-link and CR500 link setups perform better than the stock linkage. I have no personal experience with either setup, but my stock linkage with the Axis shock works great for me.

6. Placing the wheels on backwards can increase and decrease the width?
I have never done this and wouldn't advise it. The proper way to widen your quad is to buy an aftermarket axle and a-arms. Anyway, I believe reversing the rear wheels will make the quad narrower.

7. What are the best known Motocross suspensions for an 86 TRX250R?
Depends on who you ask.

1. What is the proper way to center a bike for better turning?
I run the '88 style geometry with +1" forward a-arms for mx racing. I orginally ran the stock '86 geometry like you currently have. There wasn't a huge difference in handling, but the '88 geometry does turn quicker and gets better traction with the shorter swingarm.

2. Can pegs be adjusted or are there different peg designs to help centering?
If you put the '88 style pegs on your '86 R, they will be moved about 1"-2" forward and 1" upward. I have an '88 style frame with the '86 footpegs which has the opposite affect. I don't think I have seen or heard of anyone running the '88 pegs with the '86 frame.

Also, for the mx track I would suggest getting a new set of smaller 18" tires for the rear and 20" tires for the front. This will help lower your center of gravity and improve the handling.

[395Rider]

Thanks to everyone that has responded and people that will respond in the future. Watch the number of views grow as people with the same question look for the answers. You guys really helped me out and will probably end up helping out a lot of people.

For everyone that responded and local riders in my area:

www.myspace.com/395rider

Here's a little skit of a stock bike beating:

We have Lift Off

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So Good So Far
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Where did the table top go?
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My War Cry! "HERE WE GO!"
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