Jake have you not revalved those S3 s yet? What the blue blazers is going on man?

By crud you mean.. Sludge, alloy, dark oil? Its normal for the oil to break down and smell bad. Bit of sludge in the bottom isn't unheard of either. It was the alloy from the spring seat which I attribute to eating mine alive.

Honestly, the trail is a concern. While the theory dictates that a smaller offset (more trail) is more stable, the real world testing usually shows the bike to be better in the slow speed and tip in, but perhaps a little too active as the speed increases. Mostly knifing/over willing to continue turning when you want it to stand up. Think big drifts and how a well balanced bike will just settle and slide. Not enough trail and the bike will run wide, too much and it wants to tuck in. It also effects the weight on the front tyre and considering that I don't find the Gasser the kind of bike I really have to scoot right up the tank on often, it may be too much. Time will tell, and if its no good then I'm a bit shot for options. Stock Yamaha clamps for this fork are also 22mm offset same as the Gas Gas ones. I could go an earlier model and shim the upper clamps (or the e-axle).

I like the stock geometry of the Gas Gas, I think the 2012+ feels a bit more stable than the 2010. I never had issues with the 2010, so hoping I'll end up somewhere inbetween the two.

I was hoping you'd put the leg work in on this one ;) Yours are ready for testing.. Mine not so much.

Rake angle measured approx 27 degrees which is same as (and in approx range of, give or take a few fractions of a degree) most other current bikes. YZ250 YZ250F CRF, and also the Beta 2T range uses a 27 degree rake frame.

In comparison, alot of the 4T bikes are running a 32mm offset lug and 20mm triple clamps. The Beta 2Ts run a 35mm offset lug and 20mm triples. The ECs use a 35mm offset lug and 22mm triples.

Glenn reported the -3mm offset to be too much on the Beta, however given that the Gasser starts off +2mm ahead of the Beta it may work out being an overall improvement.

Thinking about my comments earlier about how I never scoot up the seat on the bike, I do find myself riding on the pegs, head well over the bars quite a bit though. I'm definitely not stressing over the change yet.

Sorry for being vague, dark oil with a hint of alloy. Though a fraction of what your picture showed.

I flushed it as best I could and the bushings didn't really show wear so maybe I'll be okay for a while.

Pah! Me? I should be riding it today, but I'm unable to due to poor planning (and a bit of bad luck ). Either way I kinda know what I don't like but I'm harder pushed to know how to fix it. Something easier on my elbows than my 45s and to not be deflected off greasy tree roots and we'd be a good way there.

I'll let you know what I'm thinking after I put some time in checking things. The thing I'm sure of is that the stock YZ valving is going to be too firm for my purpose. But maybe not too much. I'll sus out the stock setup and then put a few suggestions forward.

Comparing a geometry a bit more, have also been looking at the wheel bases of the typical 2T enduro/mx ranges.

Ktm 1482mm
Beta 1480mm
Gas Gas 1480mm
YZ250 1480mm
YZ250F 1466mm

Not sure that the actual wheelbase will make any noticable difference, and in any case I have a new chain on hand and was planning to move the rear wheel back some to add some leverage to the shock and see if it would track better on snotty uphills. It may be that my front wheel moves in 3mm and my back wheel moves back the same.

Also, the measurements are simply what each brand specify so could be some variance in to what point the actually measure. Also depends where the rear wheel is set in the blocks. Each value really could be +/- 10mm.

I have the OEM YZ125 forks with stock valving and springs.
It's not that bad. I weigh 190 with gear.
I do bottom out on the MX track.

What year forks? Quick check would put stock springs at .42kg/mm and I imagine the 125 would probably be setup a touch lighter than the 250.

The forks I'm getting have come from a 250F. I would say a heavier bike, but people won't be able to help reminding me that there probably isn't much in it between the Yamaha and Gasser. They'll be valved for more weight on the front end though, and coming with .46kg/mm springs which should be OK.

I'm running .44s in the Marzocchi and .46 in my previous TTX equipped. Should be good if I can get some preload off them.

On my 08' 250F SSS forks I went from .46 springs back to the stock for that yr .44 springs. I do like the .44 springs better (190lbs) but I also stay off the MX track.

Isn't it time you guys updated this post? Need a fix!