WR250X conversion to WR25OR: suspension

Hi There,
I've recently purchased a WR250X in the UK. 2012 bike with 2500miles on the clock.
Am looking to convert to WR250R and am interested in upgrading the suspension as I'm wanting to replace my 2018 WR250F with this bike as I just don't use it and will never be able to ride it to its fullest capabilities anymore.
Yes, I know they are totally different bikes and all the usual chalk and cheese comments but I just don't use it and at 51 I just want to do more adventure touring/green laning/touring the TET etc without the hassle of short service intervals etc.
I love Enduro but with my spring/summer riding being destroyed by Covid 19 etc I could do more with the money even though I won't sleep for a week after selling it!
Anyways, my point is I'm looking for solid advice about the best way to improve the suspension on the WR250R to be able to get the best out of the bike as it seems a tad soft at the mo. I hear the rear shock rebound damping is a bit suspect?
I'm 6ft about 165lbs without all my gear on about 180lbs with and around 220lbs with luggage etc. Running 14/49 gearing with MT21/D606 tyres.
I'm based in the UK so way out of the great back up in the States.
Very interested to hear what you guys reckon.

The major suspension problem of the WRR is the non-existent rebound damping of the rear shock. For your weight the front is probably fine, so I would suggest you live with it for a while to see how it behaves.

For the rear, if you are mechanically inclined, the best solution is to get the Race Tech Gold Valves and replace the shims yourself.

BTW, you're in the wrong subforum.

Thanks for the info.

johnkol wrote:

The major suspension problem of the WRR is the non-existent rebound damping of the rear shock. For your weight the front is probably fine, so I would suggest you live with it for a while to see how it behaves.

For the rear, if you are mechanically inclined, the best solution is to get the Race Tech Gold Valves and replace the shims yourself.

BTW, you're in the wrong subforum.

Hi John,
I realised I was on the wrong sub forum!
I notice that you were involved in a chat a few years ago regarding the suspension on the WR250R.
Did you ever get the Hyperpro shock? Any ideas what other people are saying?
I'm looking to get the parts ordered from either Race Tech or Go Race for a complete front and rear upgrade as I will be mainly riding ADV / Off Road fully loaded up with kit at about 220lbs.
I weigh around 170lbs and 180lbs with kit which is what I'll weigh when doing some enduro.
I have just sold my WR250F which is amazing but I just don't use it enough here in the UK so know what good suspension feels like.
Really would be interested to hear the thoughts of you guys as there is so much more knowledge in the States re these bikes.
Thanks

Hi John,
I realised I was on the wrong sub forum!
I notice that you were involved in a chat a few years ago regarding the suspension on the WR250R.
Did you ever get the Hyperpro shock? Any ideas what other people are saying?
I'm looking to get the parts ordered from either Race Tech or Go Race for a complete front and rear upgrade as I will be mainly riding ADV / Off Road fully loaded up with kit at about 220lbs.
I weigh around 170lbs and 180lbs with kit which is what I'll weigh when doing some enduro.
I have just sold my WR250F which is amazing but I just don't use it enough here in the UK so know what good suspension feels like.
Really would be interested to hear the thoughts of you guys as there is so much more knowledge in the States re these bikes.
Thanks

peterjfox69 wrote:

Did you ever get the Hyperpro shock? Any ideas what other people are saying?
I'm looking to get the parts ordered from either Race Tech or Go Race for a complete front and rear upgrade as I will be mainly riding ADV / Off Road fully loaded up with kit at about 220lbs.

I never got the Hyperpro shock. I was turned off by some comments that they do not allow you to specify spring or valving; they choose  all the values for you given your weight. In any case it was a moot point because the rear shock Gold Valve I installed is an excellent product and has performed admirably; if I ever exceed the capabilities of the shock in its current form, then I need a better bike.

I would advise not changing anything in the front until you use the bike and see if there is anything wrong. Changing the rebound valving in the forks is not an easy operation, and unless you have a firm target, you are more likely to screw things up rather than fix something.

For Adv duties you don't need top shelf performance, so the rear gold valve will most likely be the end of your suspension journey.

Hi John,
I should have mentioned that I will be using the bike for Enduro and Green Laning too which is why I'm thinking of getting the suspension looked at. I'll be riding the TET here in Europe with all my gear loaded up which is why I was thinking of increasing the performance of the suspension.
I've been in contact with Travis at Go Race who can supply me with all the internals for both forks and shocks and I then get them fitted by a very competent suspension company here in the UK called Steve Jordan Motorcycles.
I could of course send everything to him and get him to fit it all and return to me. Just waiting to hear back.
I unfortunately have no experience of suspension so will leave it to the experts.
Travis seems to have a very good reputation on this forum and is the only who has made the effort to contact me which was interesting as I contacted quite a few people recommended on this forum with Race Tech being one of them.
Being here in the UK means you're out on a limb with this bike which is a shame as it's a great bike, so versatile.
Anyways, thanks for your feedback.

johnkol wrote:

The major suspension problem of the WRR is the non-existent rebound damping of the rear shock. For your weight the front is probably fine, so I would suggest you live with it for a while to see how it behaves.

For the rear, if you are mechanically inclined, the best solution is to get the Race Tech Gold Valves and replace the shims yourself.

BTW, you're in the wrong subforum.

The link you gave me here doesn't include the WR250R do parts you listed work anyway?

peterjfox69 wrote:

I should have mentioned that I will be using the bike for Enduro and Green Laning too which is why I'm thinking of getting the suspension looked at.  I'll be riding the TET here in Europe with all my gear loaded up which is why I was thinking of increasing the performance of the suspension.

In order to increase the performance of the suspension you must first assess the performance of the current setup, otherwise how would you be able to tell whether there was an increase in performance or not?

For your weight and for your intended use I still believe that a rear gold valve is all you need. You may need better hydraulics if you go racing, but if you plan on doing that then the WRR is the wrong bike.

peterjfox69 wrote:

The link you gave me here doesn't include the WR250R do parts you listed work anyway?

That is the correct P/N. If you go to the Race Tech website it will show you P/N SMGV 4633 for the Gold Valve kit.

If you decide to go down this path, note that depending on your weight and intended use, the kit may not contain all the shims needed. If that happens (it happened to me) you will need to contact Race Tech and ask them for the additional shims, which they will provide for free. So if there is a dealer in your area, it may be better to go through them in order to avoid the hassle of waiting for parts from the US. Then again, with this lockdown we're all under, ample time to wait is all we have.

Thanks for the reply John. I was going to fully test the suspension before getting any work done. It's good to put all my thoughts out there for the feedback as there is no one here i the UK to talk to really with these bikes.
Thanks for all the info, very helpful.