Rear spring change on the X & R

Anyone ever change their rear spring on the X or R? I've been seeing articles for other bikes like the YZs, WRFs recommending 4.7 kg springs for 150-170 lb riders & 5.1 kg springs for 190-210 lb riders. According to the WRR/X manual, the spring rate is 8.1 kg which would give it the ability to carry a load of somewhere in the 400lb range. I don't carry passengers or large cargo & would like the rear suspension to be softer & absorb more bumps off road. I realized this when I took my X off road last summer with R wheels installed. Adjusted the shock settings for the R but still was a bit too firm.

I had a softer rear spring installed on my 2008 WR-250X when Go Race Suspension revalved the shock.
I weigh 150 pounds.

How much do you weigh?

You can't go by YZ or WR-250F suspension settings because the bikes differ too much.

I weigh 140 & usually have less than 5 lbs of stuff on the tail rack.

It's my guess that yes, you would want a softer shock spring.
I also highly recommend you get the shock, itself, revalved at the same time if you have the money.
Worth it if you are looking for the best you can reasonably make the bike.

Edit:
In fact, you would be well off to pay attention to the front end, as well.
Often, changing one end will effect the other, or the bike will feel/work better when both ends are scrutinized.

Example of this is when I had a softer spring installed on my WR-250X, the front end - not surprisingly - then felt that it was riding too high compared to the rear.
I used the stock springs, but lowered the oil level a bit (approx 10 mm) which effectively reduces the spring rate a bit by softening the "air spring" effect of the forks.
This minor change was enough to restore a balanced front-to-rear feel.

If you contact a suspension shop, look into both ends.

sswrx wrote:

I weigh 140 & usually have less than 5 lbs of stuff on the tail rack.

My suspension guy says the rear is good for a 170# rider. You might want a softer one, but I'd set race sag and check unloaded sag using your weight. All the mismatch will show up there.

Others bikes, including the WRF, have different linkage ratios. Thats why the rates don't correlate.

Lots of good info. Thanks. I didn't take into consideration the difference in the links & pivot positions on the different bikes. Makes sense. I still haven't done anything with it yet. Undecided on which path to take.

IMO the shock would work alot better than stock for a light guy with a softer spring.
This is for two reasons.
The stock spring is good for a 170-200 pound guy.
The shock lacks rebound dampening, softer springs need less rebound dampening so the rebound will be closer to where it should be.