Go Race Suspension Review

My '08 WRR suspension was getting a bit tired with over 20K miles on it. Worked ok but knew it could be better. The options I considered were: Go Race, Race Tech and either of those two for the forks and Hyperpro for a new shock. The total price using either of those three options was fairly similar and all three would likely give me an improvement. It came down to which option did I think would give me the highest probability of achieving what I was looking for. I ruled out the Hyperpro shock option after talking with the importer. Race Tech headquarters is 45 min drive from home but I've had mixed results over the years. Decided on Go Race as they seemed to have the most specific and long term experience with the WRR suspension.

I am very happy with the results. For me, it's not a "night/day change" or a "completely different bike". Suspension performance is a bit subjective. I had spent considerable time setting up the OEM to my liking, so it wasn't terrible. What I have now with the Go Race is suspension performance that is more refined, offers better control both on/off the road and just "feels" right. I do not regret the purchase.

wallycycle wrote:

I ruled out the Hyperpro shock option after talking with the importer.

Could you elaborate on this? On paper, what Hyperpro offers is much more cost-effective than any of the suspension rebuilders, so you must have had a negative experience in order to rule them out.

I found that it's really about finding the right tuner. Price doesn't guaranty you'll like what the end product is either.

What kind of riding you doing? If you're just cruising around your not going to really see a difference.

Jerry S wrote:

I found that it's really about finding the right tuner. Price doesn't guaranty you'll like what the end product is either.

My experience has been similar. Travis @GoRace is definitely the WR250R suspension guru in North America, but I opted for Race Tech installed by a well-known local tuner for the reasons you described. He adjusted my shims and oil a couple of times in response to my feedback. I'm sure that Travis would be happy to do the same, but the cost and inconvenience of shipping my suspension across the country make this impractical for me.

wallycycle wrote:

I am very happy with the results. For me, it's not a "night/day change" or a "completely different bike". Suspension performance is a bit subjective. I had spent considerable time setting up the OEM to my liking, so it wasn't terrible. What I have now with the Go Race is suspension performance that is more refined, offers better control both on/off the road and just "feels" right. I do not regret the purchase.

Great to read that you're happy with the results of your investment. For me the improvement in ride and handling was night & day. My only regret was waiting a year to do it. I ride mine almost exclusively off-road and don't think I'd still own it if the stock suspension was the only option. Speaking of options... it's great that we have several proven quality suspension upgrade solutions to choose from!

johnkol wrote:

wallycycle wrote:

I ruled out the Hyperpro shock option after talking with the importer.

Could you elaborate on this? On paper, what Hyperpro offers is much more cost-effective than any of the suspension rebuilders, so you must have had a negative experience in order to rule them out.

Hello johnkol,

I would not call my experience with EPM Performance negative. I've done business with them in the past and it's been generally fine. On the Hyperpro website for the WR250R, it states that the shock comes with a progressive rate spring (straight rate on request). So I call EPM and once I got past the office person and talked with the head cheese, I told him that I am considering the Hyperpro shock (entry level emulsion version) but would want two things: straight rate spring and I want to know the spring rate decided upon before I order. The answer I received was that the factory would decide what is best for me based on the blah, blah blah stuff you tell every suspension guy. I said that's fine, but I want to know in advance before I lay down my cash, that I will not only be getting a straight rate spring, but that I also want to know what rate. EPM would not accomodate my request, which quite frankly I considered reasonable. Too many layers of nameless people in between me and the person building the shock. I can't be sure but my feeling is that they have a few cookie cutter options and I could not be assured that the valving built into the shock would go along optimally with the spring rate. It probably would have all worked out okay but I just didn't have a warm/fuzzy after the call. Plus, the entry level shock is rebound only adjustment, no compression adjustment. That higher end model with all adjustment options is considerably more money and from a cost standpoint, more expensive than the Go Pro or Race Tech rebuild. And lastly, I have not heard any first hand reviews of how it actually performs.

Jerry S wrote:

I found that it's really about finding the right tuner. Price doesn't guaranty you'll like what the end product is either.

What kind of riding you doing? If you're just cruising around your not going to really see a difference.

Hello Jerry S,

To answer your question about what kind of riding I'm doing. Over the years I've been cruising around the trails in your backyard: Owen's Valley, Death Valley, Isabella, Jawbone, Mojave Preserve, San Berdoo Mountains, Anza Borrego and Baja. The OEM suspension never prevented me from riding where/what I wanted to and I always had a good time. It's just that now in my twilight years, I'm treating myself to Ribeye instead of Flank Steak. Hence, the suspension work.

wwguy wrote:

Jerry S wrote:

I found that it's really about finding the right tuner. Price doesn't guaranty you'll like what the end product is either.

My experience has been similar.  Travis @GoRace is definitely the WR250R suspension guru in North America, but I opted for Race Tech installed by a well-known local tuner for the reasons you described.  He adjusted my shims and oil a couple of times in response to my feedback.  I'm sure that Travis would be happy to do the same, but the cost and inconvenience of shipping my suspension across the country make this impractical for me.

wallycycle wrote:

I am very happy with the results. For me, it's not a "night/day change" or a "completely different bike". Suspension performance is a bit subjective. I had spent considerable time setting up the OEM to my liking, so it wasn't terrible. What I have now with the Go Race is suspension performance that is more refined, offers better control both on/off the road and just "feels" right. I do not regret the purchase.

Great to read that you're happy with the results of your investment.  For me the improvement in ride and handling was night & day.  My only regret was waiting a year to do it.  I ride mine almost exclusively off-road and don't think I'd still own it if the stock suspension was the only option.  Speaking of options... it's great that we have several proven quality suspension upgrade solutions to choose from!

WWGuy,

I agree that there is not one best solution to suspension. After all, it's not rocket science. And some bikes don't always need the full monty. I dramatically improved the forks on my CRF230L simply by putting in 15W oil and raising the oil level. Now that was a surprise transformation.

For me the best modification I have done to my WRR is getting a seat from the guys up in your neck of the woods: Fisher Saddles. I had them build it almost 2" higher so now I not only have great legroom, but all day comfort for road riding. The icing on the cake is that on the trails, I can now comfortably sit on the sections that don't require standing to successfully navigate resulting in a lot less fatigue at the end of the day.

wallycycle wrote:

I said that's fine, but I want to know in advance before I lay down my cash, that I will not only be getting a straight rate spring, but that I also want to know what rate. EPM would not accomodate my request, which quite frankly I considered reasonable.

I think your request was very reasonable, and I would have chosen straight rate springs too. I'm surprised they couldn't accommodate that request, and I can see why you wouldn't want to continue with the order.

Thanks for the write-up.  I also just finished going through a similar scenario on my 2008 with Go Race, HyperPro and discussions with my local tuner.  I had great experiences with everyone I talked to.  I really wanted to try out the Hyperpro but with so little information out there I just couldn't pull the trigger.  Go Race was great to talk to and very responsive to questions but the shipping cost and inability to request tuning/valving corrections (at least easily that is) made be go with my local tuner.  I had new springs front and rear, new valving front and rear and Gold valves installed on the shock.  Overall I am very pleased and was able to pretty much ride it like a single track dirt bike (in a dual sport way that is :). I didn't have the funding for the compression gold valves in the fork but I will likely have them installed down the road sometime.