HOW TO - Set up the KTM WP Air Fork - Mike Sleeter

Mike Sleeter played a key roll in the development of the modern KTM. This means he has extensive experience with the WP Air Fork and shares his tips on setting up this fork.
Watch the full podcast:

[greggorioworden]

Thanks for breaking that down. I'm new to the air forks

[ryanflood]

i actually prefer the air forks. i find the clickers change the feel of the bike way more than normal forks. it is a balancing act. but if you get them right. i really cant fault them.. edit - this guy just said you can actually feel one click.. you definitely do notice even 1 click . my old bike you could do 3-4 clicks and hardly notice anything.

[Rpnpap]

I got the KYB spring conversion kit done by JBI in Murrieta and it is much better than the stock air forks on my 2021.5 Husqvarna fc450🤙

[Pereke]

WP AER 48 forks are designed for big jumps, smooth super fast track, they arent good on ruts, gnarly tracks, let alone woods or enduro, for make them turn you need to brake really hard while being sit on the front, they dont have feel of the ground, lifting the tubes on triple clamp and dropping the pressure and soften the clickes will work a little, but for really take the juice out of them you need to revalve or add any aftermarket mods

[Dukenevr]

The video is spot on. The air pressure is just ride height, same thinking as the spring rate in a spring fork. Set it to where the height is correct, then mess with clickers or ultimately revalving. Like too soft fork springs, too low on the pressure and it will make it stink buggy, and be in the harsh mid stroke. Correct pressure is plusher than not enough, as it keeps the fork up higher in the initial softer part of the stroke. The older AER forks benefit a lot from a "glide kit" which frees up their inherent stiction quite a bit using the green SKF seals inside and outside of course.

To be bluntly honest, once they were properly set up with stiffer springs and with the green SKF seals on them, I like the simple open cartridge spring forks on my old 2010 450 better for the off road riding I do than the AER forks on my '18 300 😆

[ThATGuyNaMedAJ]

I got my WP air forks done by the best in my area, the damping was great, super plush yet held up fantastic on big hits. The issue is that the last thing I want when I'm pushing my pace is my forks to be changing how stiff they are as they heat up and cool down. My 2014 ktm spring forks were harsh and deflective but I knew exactly what they were going to do all all times. I found it much easier to get into a groove and make moves when my forks were consistent even if the damping action wasnt as good. I will never own another bike with air forks even if they "feel" great they are too inconsistent. I am picky and I am not that fast but the sports dangerous enough as it is, dont need my bike having multiple personalities while im riding around the track.

[enduro-parts-aus]

Setting the psi to ktms specs were way off for me im meant to run 140 i now run 120 with 20mill less oil in each fork, i just couldnt seem to get any plushness out of them without dropping the psi way lower then spec 👌🏻, also i only ride woods maybe the specs are correct for mx tracks

[mxgryan]

the fact that he keeps saying "dampening" is scary

[davidbeauvais]

In heavy rocky roots areas it’s hard to get them soft enough without dropping them to like 110psi they can never use enough travel yet hold themselves up for me. I will agree that once you mess with them enough they are good for fast woods single track stuff or jumps but that’s about it. If you wanna use them in the woods exclusively I would get nitromousse plushie up front. I ran them on a 2022 250sx and a 125xc but eventually had to change them to spring fork conevalves

[benrichey]

@gypseytales, yall cut off when you guys started talking sag, he sound he doesn’t even bother w sag much any more, did I hear that right? If so, what’s the thought behind that brotha?

[Runklsmcdougal]

Coming off a 17 350sxf to a 21 I can say I absolutely love the xact pro fork, it's incredible. Nothing more to be desired, unlike the 17s

[groomlake]

Sleeder is legit good stuff!! Exposing Game to us Lay Folks🚀🦾😎

[thatfast]

The stock aer 48 are way too stiff for me, I'm 210 lbs and ride woods. I did spring conversion with proper valving and now my suspension is fantastic and I dont have to mess with air

[AnonYoukno]

While air is your spring but it's also easy to adjust unlike a spring fork or shock. So why not adjust it just like you would with your clickers etc. Also you can't compare air to spring ride ht, it's just different. The psi you end up with will not have the same sag numbers as a spring fork so throw that in the trash too.

[evo]

Run a Yamaha coil. Simple very good, for all speed riders.

[hyposez]

So basically WP XACT forks with AER technology have damping functions on the right side and air on the left, i understand the left side(air side) but is the damping side like coil fork or is it just damper, spring, oil or is it damper and air or something?

[donaldblalock]

11.1 bar, -3 compression, +1 rebound (+ - from stock)

[smalltownlifestyle]

Great info thanks. I'm new to ktm and air forks just picked up my 2023 ktm 250 sxf I'm a begginer level rider and heavier around 220 pounds just wondering what a good base might be for air pressure in the fork? I know it varies and nobody will give me a perfect number I need to find that myself but just looking for a starting point psi wise?
Also, does anyone know the recommended sag/static sag? I haven't scanned the qr code to check the manual yet but I'm sure it will tell me there but figured I would ask. Thanks in advance for any help
Sean

[gumpycognac]

And then the pros say fk it and throw kyb conversion on the inside 😂lol

[KevinJohnson-wymx]

Don’t care what anyone says- the track changes every single lap, so 99.9999% of the opinions based on the AER air fork are worthless. Not one single bike or suspension setup feels identical throughout the day. Whether the forks lose or gain 1LB of pressure. These people forget their tires do the same thing (increase and decrease) in pressure depending on weather etc. so yea they’re all in their own heads about it. The air forks are amazing, just have to know how to ride the dirtbike first