The first step in upgrading our KLX 110 was to stiffen up the stock suspension. The stock fork springs and shock spring are way to soft, they blow through the travel too quickly and the forks bottom easily with my weight. When shopping for aftermarket fork springs you have the option of going with mildly stiffer springs or going with the aggressive springs. Since I weigh in at 175 and plan on track riding there was no question I needed aggressive springs. A quick call to some friends at Racers Edge and aggressive fork springs were on order.

Once the springs came in they needed to be installed on the bike. Fear not, the installation is straightforward and very easy. Put the bike on a stand so the front tire is off the ground. Remove the number plate and then remove the black fork caps on the top of each fork leg. Under the caps you will see a spring sitting on top of a metal disc. Take a small screwdriver and lift up part of the spring while grabbing it with a pair of needle nose pliers. Pinch the spring together with the pliers and remove it from the fork. The metal disc will then pop out due to the spring pressure. Set the spring and disc aside, pull out the stock fork spring and install the new one. Reinstall the disc and spring and then repeat for the other fork leg, finishing up with putting the numberplate back on.

For the shock I did a little research to see what the best route of attack would be. There are stiffer rear shock springs available but I was informed by more than one source that the best thing to do is to just replace the stock rear shock with an aftermarket one. When looking for aftermarket shocks many of them are direct replacements and others require you to also buy a new swingarm. While the replacement shocks that require a new swingarm also usually increase travel I wasn't convinced I really needed to spend that much money for my intended use. With that in mind I called PPS Racing and owner Mark recommended their works connection shock with reservoir for my needs.

Installing the shock is also quite simple. Put the bike on a stand so the rear wheel is off the ground. Remove the seat and sidepanels for the easiest access to remove the stock shock. Loosen and remove the two bolts securing the stock shock in place and pull out the stock shock. Install the new shock with the reservoir hose on the top and tighten down the two bolts securing it in place. There were no specific instructions on where to mount the reservoir but with the enclosed clamps and rubber mounts the frame looked like a good place to start. By placing it along the left frame tube you can tuck most of the reservoir behind the sideplate out of the way. Complete the install by reinstalling the sidepanels and seat.

With the aggressive fork springs and new shock installed a friend and I headed back to Elsinore MX track for testing with our 110s. Just one lap around the track is all it took to notice how much better the bike handled. Gone was the harsh metal bottoming in the forks over the whoops and jumps. While I could still bottom the forks in deep whoops if I didn't time them right the bottoming wasn't anything like with the stock springs.

The shock was even more impressive than the forks. Over the jumps and whoops I never once bottomed the shock and it was still super plush over the small chop. With both upgrades the little KLX holds itself up much better in the turns and can be ridden more aggressively through out all parts of the track. With the fork springs retailing for around $90 dollars and the shock going for about $350 through PPS the 110 is now dialed for my weight for under $500. My grin factor has already increased and I am looking forward to seeing what other benefits future mods will bring.