Broken fork springs...anyone see that before?

[stvbird]

All this time I have been trying to figure out how I should set up my suspension on my 07 EC250 for woods and rocks. It was ridden in 07 AMA natl enduro's by a pro so he had changed things up a bit and tossed in stiffer (.45) springs. I noticed the front end rode lower (sagged) than stock gassers with .42s but was stiff midstroke by far making it a beast in the rocks. I chalked it up to the last guy just being way faster than me and me not hitting stuff hard enough...

Well, I took mackmack's stock .42s and just went out in the garage to toss them in to see if I could make it less harsh as his was magic to me in stock form before he swapped out the springs. About 3 minutes into the job I saw the problem. The right fork spring had the top 4 inches BROKEN OFF and it had spiraled down into the lower part of the spring. So up top it did nothing (hence the sag) and down low it was basically doubled up (hence the stiffness). Wow, what does it take to break a fork spring??? That must have been one heck of a log :-)

Just sitting in the garage jumping up and down on it if feels much better, now off to ride it tomorrow to see how his valving is actually supposed to feel. I thought it was a bit too harsh for a pro's set up, now I am anxious to see how it is supposed to feel in the rough.

[widebear]

Sounds like you'd better check for coil binding on those heavier springs. A friend had a potential lenth or binding problem with his new LTR springs for his Husky. Even if the new springs are the same lenth as stockers they can still bind if the wire dia is to thick.

[gasgasman]

Binding in the fork tube won't cause the spring to break.
More than likely, it was not heat treated properly.