Project SL 175 Motocrosser

[Old Rat]

Having a blast racing the 175 SL Motocrosser/Cross Country racer I built. Major porting work by Rich Gagnon, with 38mm taper-bore Carb, flow straighters, intelAjet Fuel Flow Adjustment,.....Bike is very strong, but suspension needs help. Can't afford a lot right now. Any suggestions for improvement. It really hurts when the bottom on the jumps.

[dirty_rat]

What do you have as far as suspension upgrades now? What group do you race with and what are their rules on suspension, travel, etc,

For starters on the forks, you can play with oil wt. and amounts. You can also try different spring pre-loads (a thick piece of pvc tube can be cut to different lengths). After that, but getting up there of price, is a Race Tech fork emulator kit and new springs.

On shocks, you can go anywhere from a couple hundred dollars for some aftermarket shocks and springs, or all the way up to around $1000 for a set of Ohlins or the replica Fox air shocks.

[Old Rat]

No suspension upgrades to this point. Just played with oil level and weight some.

I raced several Ahrma cross country and MX events last season in my age group and Novice/Intermediate classes. Also a few local (Alabama) MX tracks. Rode Mid-Ohio, Windam's MX 14, Barbers Vintage days, SERA and SECCA events, etc.

I'm thinking about going for stiffer fork springs and emulators. I can do that for a few hundred dollars. I have a quote for custom built G3 IFP Shocks with rebound adjustment, but that's $1,000. Not ready to invest all that at one time. I thought the forks would be a priority, paired with a lower cost shock upgrade. I have a Combat with the 03 Wombat fork set up and will need to spend some money on that too, just not yet. I also race a Thunder Dog but haven't done any upgrades on it. I'm thinking the Progressive Series 12, 14.25 Inch length shocks might be a decent setup for the 175 for around $300 or so, but not sure what spring rate or where best to purchase them. Thoughts?

[dirty_rat]

You could check with hodaka-parts.com. I think they either do or used to sell the Progresives. They can probably also tell you what their races are using as far as springs, shocks etc.

If you google Vintage motcross shocks. a few sites will come up and there are other brands of vintage shocks available, such as YSS, Falcon and Hagon.

[Old Rat]

Sounds Good. Thank You!

[viclioce]

I started with a 175SL which was missing many parts! A pipe, tank, oil tank, airbox, spark arrester, speedo, still looking for a rear chrome rack and rear turn signals. But it’s coming along. I even found the Unobtainium OEM Skyway spark arrester for it!

However, the pipe I purchased, although being 175SL OEM pipe, appears to be improperly bent and online up with the exhaust port when mounted in the bike. Is there anyone who knows who I can trust to correct this bent header issue? Thanks! Victor

[dirty_rat]

Don't know if he does it, but have you checked with Glen Watkins? He might have a recommendation.