Any REAL benifit to upgrading an SX to X,X or R????

[Dirtcrasher]

Seems like a few of us want to convert our SX to another type of front end. Other than disc brakes and 2 headlights as far as the 350X goes are the dam workings roughly the same against the SX?? And the 250R or X is it just a disk brake your gaining versus your stock SX front end?
Are the tube diameters the same SX,X,X,R?? Is it worth spending about 200$ to upgrade or whats the deal???
I want performance improvements not a little makeup :rolleyes:

[Muddy200x]

I was going to put my old 200x front-end on my nephew's sx but he ended up selling it before i got the chance to do the conversion. Looked like it would bolt right up might have to mod your stering stops though(I cant remember)

Definitly gonna improove your suspention, but a 350x front would probably be overkill for the sx cause theres not a whole lot you can do to the rear suspencion to compensate for the extra height that your gonna gain in the front. the 200x front would be sweet on the sx.

I cant remember who it was but I've seen the SX-200X conversion done on this board

[Rockthunder]

The 200x front end will bolt right up to the sx I have one on mine. You will have to redo the steering stops or you will have a dented tank. It seems to work quite a bit better than the old sx front AND you have disk brakes :-D

[Dirtcrasher]

There's nothing in a fork besides a damping rod, spring and oil affecting performance. I'm assuming the rod and spring are set up more for jumping??
If the 200X + 250SX tubes are the same diameter why not just put these better components in the SX fork?, I could care less about a front brake.
Unless I am unaware of damping screws for compression and rebound adjusting in the 350X,200X or the 250R.

[RichinMO]

Screw switching all the internal components inside the forks, just switch the forks out. I don't think the SX fork tubes are long enough for the X components anyway. The narrower X front tire will aid in steering anyway. If I was gonna do it I would change out the whole front end though and get the disk brake though. JMO

[samster143]

I have a BIGRED and am considering doing this for a : headlight (ours broke off), better brakes, longer travel suspension, and a ton of weight savings. The BIGRED has a much beefier front end than 250sx with less suspension travel. These are my reasons.

[Dirtcrasher]

HONDA GUYS PLEASE!!!!

Of course I wouldn't really swap the guts, I'm just trying to find out if other forks outperform the SX as far as better damping and adjustable, springrate etc.

[Dirtcrasher]

So do 350X, 250X and the 250R have compession or rebound damping screws?? Are the tubes outside diameter larger??

[lisnup65]

So do 350X, 250X and the 250R have compession or rebound damping screws?? Are the tubes outside diameter larger??

The stock 250R, 350X and 200X do not have compression or damping adjustments. If you want to slow the return simple go with a heavier weight shock oil.

The tubes are not all the same. From memory, I beleive that the 250R and the 350X tubes are 22mm while the 200X tubes are 20mm. I cant recall, but I do know that the 200X are definitely smaller. The 200X tubes also are not as long as the 85/86 250R and 350X tubes.

[Dirtcrasher]

It doesn't sound like much of an upgrade?? Why not just mess with my oil level and ratio instead of spending 300$.

I thought those other ones models had FAR superior suspension??

[bbechtel16]

You guys got it wrong. It's not about the disk brakes and the lights, well it is, but thats not the main thing. The main things are it lifts the front end and has a taller, narrower front tire. This makes it turn better, gives it more traction, and makes it more stable. Lifting the front is good. I got a 350X front on mine and have the forks dropped down the whole way for max lift of the front and I love that way it rides. In fact, it makes such a big difference that I get scared when I ride my friends SX with the stock front end.

[TimSr]

There are some basics to keep in mind with suspension on anything. First, everything is tuned to your weight and type of riding, so there is no "better" springs, or "better" dampening. You may want to go to a lighter or heavier spring, whichever may be better for YOU. Progressive rate springs, which they sell in Denniskirk are preferable to a lot of people. They are the forks answer to a double or triple rate spring. What that means is they get stiffer the more they are compressed. You can also preload springs to eliminate sag, but using spacers in forks. Dampening is controlled by oil weight, and the valving which is nothing more than the size holes it gets pushed through. Some shocks do offer two way dampening adjustements, while most just adjust during extension. Usually finding the right oil weight for YOU will take care of most dampening adjustements necessary. For the best ride, suspension is ideally setup as soft as possible without excessively bottoming out. This is where more travel is an advantage, as you can go softer without increasing the frequency of bottoming out. Having said this, I cant answer your question, but can ask some. Does your current fron have dampening problems you cant correct with oil? Does the replacement frontend have any more travel than your current one? If these are both no, you are not likely to gain anything. If you simply need lighter or heavier springs, Id just change the springs for about $80, unless there is some other advantage such as brakes, taller, shorter etc. that a new front end will offer.

[Dirtcrasher]

The SX squats in the rear as is, therefore I do not wish to be riding a chopper. Yeah I know - slip them down a bit.
Tim the problem is the front stock forks just seem to soak up nothing, seems to be no damping. I'm certain I went up 1 weight when I changed the fluid last. Possibly another oil weight change could help. I'm not sure if any SX springs are available at all as there seems to be very little performance products available today.
I'm trying to change the suspension overall, yes I know weight and angles and valving etc. The fact is it's not even made to jump this far and the shaft drive cannot handle much of an overall stroke change.
Regardless I am going to mount a stock Blaster shock on this rear end and see what I can do. I'm not gonna sit back and say man there's just no way I'll improve this without taking all the prior mentioned factors into consideration.
So I just want a matching front end - performance wise, but do not wish to just have 2 lights and a fancy brake. It's a four stroke and rarely do I even use the rear brake let alone a front.

[TimSr]

By "not soaking anything up", are you sure its a lake of dampening? Sounds like you may have too much initial spring or possibly too much dampening. When you push them down, does it clunk when it extends back up? Or is the problem that the forks require too large of a bump to start compressing?

Also one other factor everyone seems to ignore is what kind of front tire are you running, and at what pressure? In all honestly I get a lot of laughs at what a lot of people "highly recommend" to ride on, especially for no suspension models.