650FE Rider and Bike Tuning needed.

If your 05 bike has the 3 bush 48mm forks, do the 3rd bush reversal/removal and get the legs drilled for the bleed holes.

They chopped and changed between 2 and 3 bush between 02/03/04/05 so your bike may have the 3 bush forks in it........if your VIN is any indication that is....

Plenty of info on KTM Talk (and probably this site too) on whats involved in doing so- If you are not comfortable doing it yourself contact Terry Hay at Shock Treatment/ Race Tech to get it done.

If your bikes got 7000kms on it and the fork and shock have never been serviced its crying out for a suspension oil change/inspection/service.
Even doing this alone will be a big improvement- especially on the forks that contaminate fluid quickly.

Cant really expect the bike to be nice in the tight stuff like a 450- thats the price you pay for having the bigger more powerful bike.
I bet out in the faster stuff the guys on the 450 are wishing for 650s :wink: ..........

faktor said:

Sydney is a long way to go to setup the suspension...

Click to expand...

Strip the forks and shock out of it and send them off (make sure they are insured adequately......). Get a wooded box made up or use a padded gun case or similar.

Or there must be someone in your home town who does suspension ??

The forks are a pretty basic job- even drilling the bleed holes. No reason why you couldnt do the forks yourself if you find some of the information on how to do so- theres plenty out there.

I reveresed the 3rd bush in my 04 forks and did the bleed hole mod....... makes a different fork out of them.A big improvement.

G'Day Factor,
We have suspension workshops with Frank Pons from Biketek Sydney (02) 46209020 and the results are great. We have one on this weekend as well. Frank has been a highly respected guru in suspension for many years in Australia, and we have found his work and advice like gold.
I weigh 98kg all up with gear and water.I am yet to do final adjustments but have found the following settings to be very close to the mark for general trail riding in rocky terrain:
Forks: 4.6 N/mm springs. Compression 18 clicks. Rebound 15 clicks.
Shock: 92/250 spring. Low speed comp 14 clicks. High speed comp 2.5 turns. Rebound 15 clicks.
Static sag set to 30mm.
Of course Frank also adjusted the shim packs in the forks to compliment the heavier springs. He basicaly removed some shims and rearanged them. I'm glad he knows what he is doing !!!!
We do a lot of single track here as well and I am in the process of gearing my 650 to 15/50, as 15/45 is way to tall for the very tight or steep rocky stuff. I find that with 15/45 on the steep loose climbs that the rear lights up in a huge way even with gentle throttle control, and that makes for a wild ride trying to hang on to the big **** !!!!

Cheers
Garry

do what ever it takes to get it done , after my susp was dialed in by a competent dude i no longer got tired . [ much ]

yeah it made the world of difference , i didnt have to wrestle with it [ much ] . it glided over the gnarly areas .

and it cost me $$$ , but it was worth every spondoolie .

i would rather have 15/50 and rise in 2nd - 3rd than 15/45 and ride first second gear. you weigh the same as me and it took three rises in spring rate to get the right one at 85/111. that is the last progressive. straight rate would be about 96 or 98. cafeys clicks on the rear look good.

on the front, if you haven't changed the oil in 6 months then it's toast. do this first. i would also check how much preload/spacers you have on the top - report here but you'll need 3-5mm fto take up the slack and then the rst is preload that you probably don't need.

regards

Taffy