I purchased a 2008 CRF230L in April and love riding again after 20 years. I would like to stiffen up the suspension and get some more power from the bike. How does this bike differ from the CRF230F? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
Jim B.

We did a comparison between the "L" model and the "F" model in May on Off-road.com. Check out Project Dirtbike CRF 230F.

The motor is much the same and the same hop up things will work as we did in the early parts of our project bike. As far as the suspension goes, we think the stock forks are junk and replacing them with later model CR forks (again, see our project series on how to) is the way to go.

“CRF230F”	“CRF230L”

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SUBJECT: PIPE CHANGES MEAN JETTING CHANGES

If you were to change to an aftermarket exhaust system would you have to change the jetting on the bike?
Leo
Carrot River, CANADA

No question about it. In fact, I would not buy an aftermarket exhaust system without getting jetting specs from the company.

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SUBJECT: FORK SWAP POSSIBILITIES

ran across your article on changing forks. Since the new Yamaha SSS forks and shock are the top suspension at the moment, how difficult is it to swap a fork from one brand to another, ie take a YZ450 fork and put it on a CRF450???
Ricky
Pell City, AL

It's arguable that the YZ forks are the best, but even if they are, you're talking several thousand dollars for the forks, plus a front wheel and brakes. Just about the cost of a bike. Our fork swap was done for about $125, plus labor. Get real!

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SUBJECT: SHORTENING UP A 230

my wife is very short and currently rides a crf230 that is far too tall for her. rather than buying a smaller bike, i would like to modify the crf230. i have talked to works performance and have ordered a rear shock that is 1/2" shorter than stock (will lower the rear about 1 1/2 inches and still not really compromise performance (will be much better than stock rear shock at least). but i would also like to modify the front suspension on the order of your modification using cr125 front forks so that i can improve the front suspension as well.

my question is currently we have slid the forks upward in the triple clamps in order to lower the front of the bike about an inch and that has helped a lot. i bought a set of used cr250 forks but they appear to be much taller than
the stock forks so it seems they would be too tall and would actually raise the front suspension back up. are the cr125 forks any longer than the stock crf forks or would their usage allow the front of the bike to remain about an inch lower? thanks. really appreciate your series of articles.
dave
Ardmore, OK

You can raise the forks up in the triple clamps a bunch, until they almost touch the bars. But the biggest change can
be made by taking a coil off the fork springs. It's best to have a reputable shop do this. This will shorten up the forks
dramatically. Having Works Performance make a shorter shock for you is the smart way to go. You might also
think about cutting the foam down on the saddle a bit.

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SUBJECT: SPROCKETS AND CHAIN LENGTH

im just switching the front sprocket will i have to shorten the chain two links still
Ted
New York

You won't have to shorten the chain, as a 15 T sprocket is larger than a stock 13 T sprocket.

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SUBJECT: CAN’T GET JETS IN CANADA?

i live in canada and my dealer said they cant get these parts with the numbers i have. ive been trying everything and they stil wont help me can you get me a canadian parts number? and if not can i get a good picture of the new main jet so i can look thru there cotologs and make sure i buy the wright ones the ones i saw in there catolog the taper wasnt the same and i want to be sure before i buy thanks matt
Prince Albert, CANADA

Just order the parts from a Honda US dealer. By the way, you just won the sloppiest written email of the month award.

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SUBJECT: FORKS VS TRIPLE CLAMPS

would a pair of 1996 cr125 forks an 1990 cr125 tripple clamps work on my crf 230?
Honda 26
Thomasville, NC

Nope. The 2000 clamps are a different size.
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