Posts
31
Joined
11/3/2021
Location
Ludington, MI
US
Edited Date/Time
11/25/2021 12:22am
Going to be doing suspension overhaul and just exploring options.
Trying to find the best way to get high low speed adjustment.
Another member mentioned replacing the stock valve with one from Technical Touch which is a fine solution.
Do you all know if there is a shock with high low speed adjustment that is mostly a direct replacement.
How about 96-07 RM 125/ 250?
I see mentions of it, but haven't read anything for sure.
Trying to find the best way to get high low speed adjustment.
Another member mentioned replacing the stock valve with one from Technical Touch which is a fine solution.
Do you all know if there is a shock with high low speed adjustment that is mostly a direct replacement.
How about 96-07 RM 125/ 250?
I see mentions of it, but haven't read anything for sure.
What forks you running on your kx in the photos?
For shock you must change this parts and 99 or 2000 kx shock be used.
My fork is à 2011 kxf, clamps for 2011 kxf ( wheels and brake ans wheels kx 250 )
As far as the rear I have a few questions. Quite a few.
A-kit kx shock assembly- Possibility if I can find one at reasonable price.
A-kit kx body with oem kxf internals- Will the oem kxf internals transfer over to a kx a-kit body?
Stock body with kxf internal and aftermarket high low speed adjustment- is it possible to put the 18mm kxf internals in the stock body?
Rm shock assembly- i see this has been done but can't find what it entails. There is a showa version with an 18mm shaft and high low speed adjustment. 2005-2007 I believe. I like the idea of having a showa shock to go with the forks.
Any other suggestions?
The Shop
rm 125 shock
Late model rm?
A lot of this is me assuming and putting together little bits and pieces together from unconfirmed sources.
I believe the first couple of years rmz shared the same shock as the last couple of years of the rm 05-07.
At some point kawasaki and suzuki joined forces and the kxf/rmz where pretty much the same bike.
Kxf shock body is to long changing overall shock length.
From mx techs fitment guide-
MXT National Shock for KX 125 (96-05), KX 250 (96-07), RM 125 (97-07), RM 250 (96-07)
What this tells me is there are some things in common here between years, makes and models. I'm not sure if there are other options after check out.
Also still curious about how all the kx and kxf bodies/internals/oem/ a-kit stuff all work together.
Are a-kit bodies i.d. for the dampener oversized from stock?
Lost my mind.
You can used kx 250 2006/2008, i had used on my fast house kx 125 2006
You have à lot of options
Still open for suggestions.
For the rmz shock, 04-06 can work, these were the years the kxf and rmz were a shared bike(only 04-05 on the kxf, rmz lasted 1 more year), anything kxf later can not. I tried going down the route with a newer rmz and kxf shock. The body is longer than the Kx and it bottoms too early. Can you do it? Yes. Does it work how it should and is it the right way? No.
I don’t know about RM shocks but I believe you’re going to have to swap the clevis at the very least, but I could be wrong. I never went that route because I found an a-kit shock.
Kxf never had 18mm shaft stock, even now on the 2021/22, and internals newer than 05 won’t fit the stock Kx body because they are 50mm bodies. If you can find an a-kit showa shock and/or shock body, then the 06+ internals will fit due to the larger 50mm a-kit body, but you will also need an a-kit adjuster which is a whole project to find in itself nowadays for those years of shock. You’re better off trying to find a complete working one.
Imo your best bet is what I first recommended, get an adjuster that has the hi/lo adjustment, or get a 2006+ kx250 shock if you want the whole thing. If you wanna get Showa for the simple sake of matching your forks, I would’ve probably gotten 2020 kx250f KYB forks and your life would be a lot easier than trying to sort through all of this.
I feel I got a fair price on both the forks and the shock so I don't think I'm in to deep yet. Theres definitely a market for the forks.
Figured it would be a challenge dealing with parts for the a-kit stuff.
We will see how the rm shock sizes up and everyone will know a little more. Looks to have the same body as the early rmz 450.
I've got a mill, lathe, welder, torches, press e.t.c. and don't mind a little challenge. Not looking to redesign the entire shock, but if its as simple as finding or modifying the clevis ill probably have a go at it.
Maybe it will slide right in?
So, I'm also going down the same path as you with my 03 (way different linkage set up). I recently saw a video on YouTube called $800 kx125 build (something like that) and they took a 04 KX shock and modified it to fit on an 03 KX and I've seen a few 04 KX's with a 18mm Showa RM shock on instagram. So, in my head, the RM shock can be made to fit on a 04, an 04 KX shock can be made to fit on a 03, so a RM shock could be made to work on a 03 KX with something similar done as the video shows.
In the video it looks like they moved the bottom bolt hole up on the clevis. Looks to be a simple mod and I've seen a few 04 KX's on Instagram with the Showa RM shock
I've had my RM shock for awhile now but haven't tried to dig into retro fitting it yet. ill need to bust out a set of calipers/tape and do a few fitment checks mainly on the shock body for travel. Check out the 15:50 minute mark in the video for the shock details.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9zsMYoC4zE
Every thing you said makes sense. Lucky you if thats all that has to be done to make it work. As long as the o.a.l. and compressed lengths match you should be good?
Keep me posted on your findings.
If you redrill a clevis you have to be exact as the suspension linkage ratio will multiply any mistake by 3.
I own/have owned multiple RM and RMZ's over the years and have played around putting a 16 RMZ250 KYB in the 08 RM250, 15 RMZ450 shock in the 08 RM250, 08 RM250 shock in the 17 RMZ450, 08 RMZ Ohlins in the 08 RM250.
The KYB RMZ shocks require some minor modification to the top upper mount of the shock to fit into the RM frame but that's it, everything else is a direct swap.
So in terms of Suzuki suspension you have a lot of options. Personally I find the stock Showa shocks from the 04-08 RM and 08-17 RMZ450 to be very good shocks (on the Suzuki chassis anyway). The KYB is okay, and Ohlins is on par with the OEM Showa but generally costs a lot more so isn't worth the extra cash over an OEM Showa.
Pit Row
Did the 05 rm125 shock end up swapping over ?
Post a reply to: 2004 Kx125 Rear Shock Swap