KLX250 Sag and Preload, Part 2

During Part 1, I chronicled the Sag and Preload measurements and adjustments on the stock shock absorber of my 2019 Kawasaki KLX250. Part 2 involved the recording of video as I changed the spring, ran new Sag measurements and reset the Preload.

Below is a table of measurements and calculations from my suspension work comparing the Factory Spring to the new Cogent Spring.

The most subjective aspect of these types of calculations is defining "Optimal Rider Sag." This is a searchable topic on the Internet with lots of hits. However, I find two things in these hits that detract from my needs.

• First, the Sag information provided seems to be for two ends of the spectrum; that is, pure play dirt bikes (i.e. motocross) and road bikes. The confusion on this point is where dual sport motorcycles land in these recommendations. 
• Second, many sites actually offer up Optimal Rider Sag as measurement (as opposed to a percent). A measurement is overly simplistic because, as we know, travel measurements differ greatly among dual sport models. See the table below on Travel by Model. 

What's fairly clear is that dual sport motorcycles are left out of these equations. However, the good news is, at the end of the day, the sag is adjustable! I figured out how to adjust the preload (increasing preload decreases sag) without removing the KLX250 shock absorber.

So when it comes to sag and preload, simply consider that the more off-road use, the lower the Optimal Rider Sag will need to be. Conversely, the more on-road use, the higher the Optimal Rider Sag will need to be. If you want to start at the dirt bike recommendations that you find on the web and work up, that's fine. If you want to start with the road bike recommendations and work down, that's fine. Or just start in the middle.

Either way, I'm fairly confident that you'll know when you have the right sag and, if you don't get it, that you'll be looking for a new spring like I did.