KTM headshake

[BoristheBiter]

Thanks man i seen to ride in a "casual" position. When i spin the bars it hits the stop and bounces back...

To me that is too loose. It should be free to move but should not that loose (this is why people go out and buy steering dampers).

try tightening the head stock up so that is just free enough to move but when you stop pushing on it it stops , not dead but quick enough.
I think the top steering head screw should be about 12Nm but i know mine is tighter than that.
just remember to loosen the top triple clamp while you are doing this.

[KTM200/stevo0987]

To me that is too loose. It should be free to move but should not that loose (this is why people go out and buy steering dampers).

try tightening the head stock up so that is just free enough to move but when you stop pushing on it it stops , not dead but quick enough.
I think the top steering head screw should be about 12Nm but i know mine is tighter than that.
just remember to loosen the top triple clamp while you are doing this.

Ya ok man ill try it would the compression be a factor on the front i know now that the forks feel harsh but are soft..

[BoristheBiter]

Ya ok man ill try it would the compression be a factor on the front i know now that the forks feel harsh but are soft..

When was the last time they were stripped/overhauled/had the oil change? if you are jumping they will get a harder workout.
Also see if both are working together as my old XR had a blockage in one rebound value so even though it felt like both worked correctly one was coming up faster.

If you have the manual reset all to factory settings (write down the old settings).

when you say harsh do you mean they rebound too fast?

[KTM200/stevo0987]

When was the last time they were stripped/overhauled/had the oil change? if you are jumping they will get a harder workout.
Also see if both are working together as my old XR had a blockage in one rebound value so even though it felt like both worked correctly one was coming up faster.

If you have the manual reset all to factory settings (write down the old settings).

when you say harsh do you mean they rebound too fast?

I dont really know what the rebound does... hehe i dont know much/anything about suspension.... we are trying to get one of the dude from kaiwaka suzuki to help us out with setting the sag and stuff like that....So you have a 350? id love one of those my dream bike is the 2013 xcf350

[BoristheBiter]

I dont really know what the rebound does... hehe i dont know much/anything about suspension.... we are trying to get one of the dude from kaiwaka suzuki to help us out with setting the sag and stuff like that....So you have a 350? id love one of those my dream bike is the 2013 xcf350

Compression The rate at which the suspension moves downwards.
Rebound The rate at which the suspension moves upwards.
Suspension Travel Travel is the distance moved up and down of the suspension.
Fork Height The amount that the fork is exposed above the top yoke.
Ride Height The distance between the rear axle and tailpiece.
Preload The amount of tension on the springs.
Sag Suspension movement when the bikes weight is lifted off of the suspension.
Loaded Sag The amount of suspension used with the rider sitting on the bike.

If you don't understand get someone to help you as you can really fuck it up.
look up with google and youtube as there is stacks of info.

Funny the 350xcf gets a better write up than the 450xcf, but if I could choose again i would have the 350excf sixdays, i'm old so the body doesn't like the jumps any more so i do more technical twisty stuff.

[KTM200/stevo0987]

Yea ive always thought 450s are to much... ive always thought that the 350 would be wonderful because of the weight and the power isnt loose like some 450s are... oh and i dont know if the forks/shock have had any work at all.. i got the bike with 93 hours from new a few months ago and now its got around 129hrs... i ride it everyday after school hahaha i love the bike its just the headshake that is the bad thing but it will get sorted over time... and the motor hasnt been opened yet but will in another 20 hours

[ktm84mxc]

Have known a leaking rear shock causing a vicious head shake , most notable coming down from speed. only real test is pull it out and give it a shake test if you hear sloshing time for rebuild.

[BoristheBiter]

Yea ive always thought 450s are to much... ive always thought that the 350 would be wonderful because of the weight and the power isnt loose like some 450s are... oh and i dont know if the forks/shock have had any work at all.. i got the bike with 93 hours from new a few months ago and now its got around 129hrs... i ride it everyday after school hahaha i love the bike its just the headshake that is the bad thing but it will get sorted over time... and the motor hasnt been opened yet but will in another 20 hours

Buy the sounds of it you are about to get a crash course in bike maintenance.

[KTM200/stevo0987]

Buy the sounds of it you are about to get a crash course in bike maintenance.

Yeap itl be a big spend in 20 hrs i can tell u now lol

[KTM200/stevo0987]

Yeap itl be a big spend in 20 hrs i can tell u now lol

Well so i just took it for a ride and before i rode it i turned the compression nearly all the way back lol and guess what no headshake... but wayyyyyy to soft so ill have to get the sag and stuff set and bla bla bla was riding so much faster knowing i wasnt going to be throwen off!!

[BoristheBiter]

Well so i just took it for a ride and before i rode it i turned the compression nearly all the way back lol and guess what no headshake... but wayyyyyy to soft so ill have to get the sag and stuff set and bla bla bla was riding so much faster knowing i wasnt going to be throwen off!!

Excellent, you are now on the road of trial and error.
Now buy yourself a book and write down the settings, where you rode, had it felt (pros and cons) so you will know what works and what doesn't.

Well done.

[KTM200/stevo0987]

Excellent, you are now on the road of trial and error.
Now buy yourself a book and write down the settings, where you rode, had it felt (pros and cons) so you will know what works and what doesn't.

Well done.

Yes i will do that... hehe i think it made the rear end sit lower when im on the bike witch is what i wanted it to do

[Jay GTI]

You may be onto something with that change. I know KTMs have a long history of headshake, mainly from poorly setup suspension and the PDS rear is notoriously sensitive to wrong settings. My bike has been reported to have headshake issues (have spoken to one guy who sold his after 3 months because he couldn't dial it out), the fix the racers used was a lowering link in the rear. I get a "free" lowering link by being too fat for the stock rear spring, so even at max preload the bike sits lower at the back than it should with me on it. Never had a hint of headshake. My mate has also had a complete suspension rebuild and set-up on his 07 250SXF, that has some mod done to the rear PDS shock to drop the rear and thus increase the rake angle, he reckons the front end now goes exactly where he wants, no hint of shakey shakey.

[KTM200/stevo0987]

You may be onto something with that change. I know KTMs have a long history of headshake, mainly from poorly setup suspension and the PDS rear is notoriously sensitive to wrong settings. My bike has been reported to have headshake issues (have spoken to one guy who sold his after 3 months because he couldn't dial it out), the fix the racers used was a lowering link in the rear. I get a "free" lowering link by being too fat for the stock rear spring, so even at max preload the bike sits lower at the back than it should with me on it. Never had a hint of headshake. My mate has also had a complete suspension rebuild and set-up on his 07 250SXF, that has some mod done to the rear PDS shock to drop the rear and thus increase the rake angle, he reckons the front end now goes exactly where he wants, no hint of shakey shakey.

I still get headshake but no where near as bad and i will never sell my 200 because of it...its a great bike even though its not the newest out there with people my age on brand spanking new bikes.. i worked my ass off for my bike and its not going to be ruined by headshake hmm i wouldnt mind one of those 350s