Frequently Asked Questions
- 01
God bless ya. These air forks have a single air chamber on both forks that is adjusted via a Schrader valve. The Schrader valve is easily accessible compared to the high- and low-speed rebound adjusters that are placed directly under the handlebars. The rebound is best adjusted by taking the handlebars off.
And yes, you can still use the app.
Your forks have the rebound adjusters (high and low speed) on the top fork cap of the right fork leg and compression adjusters in the other. PSF-2 forks only use 35 psi of air pressure.
To use Clickers MX App, which only has a single rebound speed registry, simply keep the adjusters even. For instance, if you increase the rebound speed on your forks, make sure that you repeat the adjustment on your forks for both high speed and low speed.
Also, the shock in your bike has the rebound damping adjuster on the shock piggyback, so you don't have to squat to check rebound, however manufacturers have abandoned this positioning after many claims of being less sensitive to adjustments.
BEWARE:
Showa uses the word "TEN" for rebound speed, not "REB". We don't have a clue why, sorry.
Use the pump to set the air pressure, not for checking it.
When you attach the pump to the fork’s Schrader valve, the air in the fork bleeds into the pump barrel, which lowers the air pressure at the gauge.
MXA recommends: The best setup trick is to adjust the high-speed compression to suit the biggest bumps and jumps on the track, and then use the low-speed compression adjuster to fill in the damping leading up to it.
These forks are not easy to adjust. Manufacturers stopped using eventually, and currently nobody wants a bike with these on. Listen what Chris Keefer (Keefer Testing Inc.) has to say about them:
According to Motocross Action Magazine, these forks work well for a wide range of riders. Most riders went down on the air pressure and out on compression.
For hardcore racing, these are MXA’s recommended fork settings (stock settings are in parentheses):
2016 RMZ 250: https://motocrossactionmag.com/mxa-race-test-2016-suzuki-rm-z250/
Spring rate: 34 psi (35 psi)
Compression (bottom of fork): 7 clicks out
Hi-rebound (silver): 15 clicks out
Lo-rebound (red): 16 clicks out
Fork-leg height: Flush
2017 RMZ 250: https://motocrossactionmag.com/mxa-race-test-2017-suzuki-rm-z250/
Spring rate: 34 psi (35 psi)
Compression (bottom of fork): 7 clicks out
Hi-rebound (silver): 15 clicks out
Lo-rebound (red): 16 clicks out
Fork-leg height: Flush
2018 RMZ 250: https://motocrossactionmag.com/mxa-race-test-2018-suzuki-rm-z250/
Spring rate: 32 psi (35 psi) Compression (bottom of fork): 10 clicks out (7 clicks out) Hi-rebound (silver): 15 clicks out Lo-rebound (red): 16 clicks out Fork-leg height: Flush
- 02
Yes, of course! These forks use pressured air instead of a coil spring. The chambers reduce front-end weight by up to 750g and friction by 20%. Kawasaki’s air cap is under the brass screw and requires a special adaptor. The Kayaba PSF forks a can have their spring rate changed by the simple act of adding or removing air. If you are a heavy or light rider, these forks can be set up for you without having to replace the coil spring.
BEWARE: Use the pump to set the air pressure, not for checking it. When you attach the pump to the fork’s Schrader valve, the air in the fork bleeds into the pump barrel, which lowers the air pressure at the gauge.
MXA recommends:
1. You have to learn to feel what the correct air pressure feels like. Too little air will feel like a flat front tire. Too much air will make the forks feel harsh and bouncey. Word to the wise ? too little air is worse than too much.
2. Check the air pressure every time you go riding and also check the fork seals because they tend to wear out quickly.
For hardcore racing, these are MXA’s recommended fork settings (stock settings are in parentheses):
2013 KXF 450: https://motocrossactionmag.com/mxas-2013-kawasaki-kx450f-motocross-test-the-sweetest-powerband-possible/
Spring rate: 35 psi
Oil height: 245cc
Compression: 11 clicks out
Rebound:19 clicks out
Fork leg height: 5mm up
2014 KXF 450: https://motocrossactionmag.com/mxas-2014-kawasaki-kx450f-motocross-test-indepth-comprehensive-and-thorough-kx450f-information/
Spring rate: 35 psi
Oil height:245cc
Compression: 11 clicks out
Rebound: 19 clicks out
Fork-leg height:5mm up
- 03
These forks use pressured air instead of a coil spring. The chambers reduce front-end weight by up to 750g and friction by 20%. Kawasaki’s air cap is under the brass screw and requires a special adaptor. The Kayaba PSF forks a can have their spring rate changed by the simple act of adding or removing air. If you are a heavy or light rider, these forks can be set up for you without having to replace the coil spring.
BEWARE: Use the pump to set the air pressure, not for checking it. When you attach the pump to the fork’s Schrader valve, the air in the fork bleeds into the pump barrel, which lowers the air pressure at the gauge.
MXA recommends:
1. You have to learn to feel what the correct air pressure feels like. Too little air will feel like a flat front tire. Too much air will make the forks feel harsh and bouncey. Word to the wise ? too little air is worse than too much.
2. Check the air pressure every time you go riding and also check the fork seals because they tend to wear out quickly.
For hardcore racing, these are MXA’s recommended fork settings (stock settings are in parentheses):
2013 Honda CRF450: https://motocrossactionmag.com/mxas-2013-honda-crf450-motocross-test-you-thought-you-knew-all-about-it-but-not-until-you-read-this-test/
Spring rate: 35 psi (33 psi)
Oil height: 245 cc
Compression: 11 clicks out (13 clicks out)
Rebound: 10 clicks out
Fork leg height: 5mm up
2014 Honda CRF450: https://motocrossactionmag.com/mxas-2014-honda-crf450-motocross-test-sherlock-holmes-needs-to-look-into-the-case-of-the-missing-horsepower/
Spring rate: 35 psi
Oil height:242cc
Compression:11 clicks out (13 clicks out)
Rebound:10 clicks out
Fork-leg height:5mm up
- 04
God bless ya. These air forks have a single air chamber on both forks that is adjusted via a Schrader valve. The Schrader valve is easily accessible compared to the high- and low-speed rebound adjusters that are placed directly under the handlebars. The compression and rebound in these forks are best adjusted by taking the handlebars off.
BUT YES, YOU CAN STILL USE THE APP. Your forks have the rebound in the right leg fork leg and compression in the other. PSF-2 forks only use 35 psi of air pressure. These forks have both high- and low-speed damping adjusters on the top of the fork caps. Simply keep the number of clicks even, for instance if you go with 12 clicks for high speed, go 12 clicks for low speed.
Also, the shock in your bike has all of the rebound damping adjuster on the shock piggyback, so you don't have to squat to check rebound.
BEWARE: use the pump to set the air pressure, not for checking it. When you attach the pump to the fork’s Schrader valve, the air in the fork bleeds into the pump barrel, which lowers the air pressure at the gauge.
MXA recommends: The best setup trick is to adjust the high-speed compression to suit the biggest bumps and jumps on the track, and then use the low-speed compression adjuster to fill in the damping leading up to it.
2 x 1 SPECIAL: Please note that the adjusters in the 2015 model have four clicks per rotation, while the adjusters in the 2016 model have eight clicks per rotation, which essentially doubles the number of settings by halving the difference of each click.
These forks are not easy to adjust. Manufacturers stopped using eventually, and currently nobody wants a bike with these on. Listen what Chris Keefer (Keefer Testing Inc.) has to say about them:
On a personal note, the reason why the App does not have an extra registry for these models is related to our budget (sadly). We had to keep the App usable for the widest range of users, and we found out that very few people still owns one of these models. So we had to let it go.
For hardcore racing, these are MXA’s recommended fork settings (stock settings are in parentheses):
2015 Honda CRF450 : https://motocrossactionmag.com/2015-test-ride-honda-crf450/
Spring rate: 35 psi
Oil height: 92mm
Hi-compression: 14 clicks out (11 clicks out)
Lo-compression: 12 clicks out
Hi-rebound: 10 clicks out
Lo-rebound: 10 clicks out (9 clicks out)
Fork-leg height: 5mm up
Notes: The high- and low-speed clickers are not easily accessible because the handlebars block them. This makes adjusting them very difficult. The solution is to get a flat disc-style screwdriver from Noleen (www.noleenj6.com) or Pro Circuit (www.procircuit.com).
2016 Honda CRF450 : https://motocrossactionmag.com/2016-honda-crf450/
Spring rate: 35 psi
Oil height: 87mm
Hi-compression: 24 clicks out (20 clicks)
Lo-comprerssion: 24 clicks out (22 clicks)
Hi-rebound: 25 clicks out (27 clicks)
Lo-rebound: 27 clicks out
Fork-leg height: Flush
Notes: The clickers are more sensitive than last year, because there are 8 clicks per rotation instead of 4. This is a plus, because it makes tuning changes much more accurate
