Hey guys, I need to stiffen up my forks and rear shock and spring.  What's the proper procedure of doing this on my 2005 YZ 250?  

You can tune the fork by adding or removing a little oil.  You can also change the springs in the fork, and dial in a little more compression damping.
With the shock, you can replace the spring, dial in more compression, or increase the preload.  

If you are not comfortable working with suspension components, then you should get a Service Manual for your bike - it walks you through the process... or, take your bike to the dealer or a suspension shop for this work.

BTW - the bike comes sprung for a 175-200# rider - what do you weigh with gear on?  

I weigh around 195 with the gear on.  I bought the bike from a dealership.  It had a very experienced rider on it and there was a lot of custom work done. He also took great care of the bike for the two years he owned it.  I'm sure that he was lighter than me and he had the suspension dialed in for him.  I feel comfortable working on the suspension.  I need to invest in a manual also.  Thanks for the help!  

I'll assume you've tried adjusting the preload collar on the shock, but you can't crank it down enough to get the right race sag without having too little static sag?

I've got a manual for the bike - I can help.  www.race-tech.com can also provide you with the stock spring rates, a spring rate calculator, and they sell quality aftermarket springs for the forks and shocks.  

I need to do a little more reading up.  I didn't know if there were any good quick adjustments to dialing in the suspension.  My buddy has been racing these bikes a little longer than I have been and knows how to adjust it properly.  I'll have him give me a hand.  

Good luck!  He'll likely set you straight, but just in case...

There is a collar on the rear shock - actually two of them - right above the spring.  Loosen the top one, and then turn the bottom one to compress the spring.  You know you've gone far enough when the bike sags 3 inches when you sit on it (plus 1 inch under it's own weight) for a total of 4" difference between the bike on the stand and the bike under your weight.  Measure this distance between the rear axle and the rear fender, at the seat.  

One more thing boys, how do I know if the compression adjustment screw is turned in the same on both sides?  It's out a little further on one of the forks than the other.  I have a feeling that the previous owner maybe had messed with it and didn't adjust it right or something.  

Trun them both in, and back them out again to the setting you want.  That is the only sure way.  

dmalmgre:
Hey guys, I need to stiffen up my forks and rear shock and spring.  What's the proper procedure of doing this on my 2005 YZ 250?

what are u doing to bottom out your forks? i'm sure its pretty hard to do. I weigh in at around 180ish
( somedays   ) and I don't bootom out my 97 or my 02. Are we talking normal trail rides or serious air?  

Why do you feel you need to stiffen them?  Can you describe whats happening?  Are they bottoming too much or just feel springy?

Might need stiffer springs or just some clicker (adjuster) changes.

Do you know what was done to the suspension before and when the last time they were serviced?  

This was only a few feet of air.

I'm not sure when the last time the suspension was serviced but I'm sure he had it adjusted for his weight.  None of the shocks are blown out or anything.  I'm 99.9% sure that the stock spring is on the rear shock.  

http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n49/92hatchlx/?action=view¤t=riding017.jpg
Here's a link to the image  

U didn't bottom out, C'mon I can still see tires under thoughs fenders!! lol jk. Wow I see what u mean. That much squish from only a few feet of air?? I guess ur gonna have to determine what spring rates are in ur bike and go from there. Rach tech has an on line spring calculator. This may help.  

Try this.  http://www.racetech.com/evalving/menu/searchdirt.asp  

I'll have to check it out.  Looks like all of the compression settings have been messed with and the springs has been loosened.  It probably just need to be brought back to stock specs.  I'll work on it a little this weekend.  I need to get that collar wrench for the rear spring.