In RUST Issue 50 we reported on our long term test of WP’s latest XPLOR Pro suspension – their Pro 7448 (air) fork and Pro 8946 ‘Supertrax’ shock. We didn’t have the space to report on our preferred settings, but we can divulge them in full here…
XPLOR Pro 7448 fork settings – 2020 KTM 350 EXC-F (EU)
First things first – the recommended air pressure in the XPLOR Pro 7448 is NOT universal, check the recommended pressure for your specific bike. Also don’t assume that for example a 2021 KTM 350 EXC-F air pressure settings will be the same as a Husqvarna FE 350’s air pressure. It’s not. Start out with the recommended factory settings. Resist trying to predict the air pressure and assume because you’re an expert or novice you should add or remove air pressure. New suspension takes some time to bed in. Don’t just head out and hit full gas, typically your suspension will take a few hours to settle before they give you a proper baseline feel.
To measure the used stroke of the fork use the red stroke bands found on the lower fork tubes (2021 onwards) or use cable ties if your forks don’t have them. You’ll know when you have it spot on when the ties are pushed down to between an inch and 1 ½ inches from the bottom of the lower fork tubes. You can then fine tune the settings for feel with the clickers from there. We recommend starting with the compression clickers first until your happy and then adjusting the rebound clickers.
WP XPLOR PRO 7448 – WP base fork settings (KTM)
Air Pressure: KTM / HQV
150 TPI 9.2 BAR (133 PSI) / 10 BAR (145 PSI)
250/300 TPI 9.4 BAR (136 PSI) / 10.2 BAR (148 PSI)
350 9.6 BAR (139 PSI) / 10.4 BAR (151 PSI)
450/500 9.8 BAR (142 PSI / 10.6 BAR (154 PSI)
Compression: 15 clicks / 20 clicks
Rebound: 20 clicks / 20 clicks
Fork Height: 2nd line from top (6mm)
For Hare & Hounds we recommend this setup for the KTM 350 EXC-F:
Air Pressure: 135 PSI (9.3 BAR)
Compression: 13 clicks out (for clubman riders and up) 15 clicks out for Sportsman and below or lighter riders
Rebound: 18 clicks out for (clubman riders and up) and 20 clicks out for slower or lighter riders
Fork Height: 2nd line from top (6mm)
For deep sand we recommend this setup for the KTM 350 EXC-F:
Air pressure: 139 PSI (9.6 BAR)
Compression: 12 clicks out (for clubman riders and up) 15 clicks out for Sportsman and below or lighter riders
Rebound: 15 clicks out for (clubman riders and up) and 18 clicks out for slower or lighter riders
Fork Height: 2nd line from top (6mm)
Fast flatter hard pack with small chop and mountainous rocky conditions or single track we recommend this setup for the KTM 350 EXC-F:
Air pressure: 135PSI (9.3 BAR)
Compression: 18 clicks out (for clubman riders and up) 20 clicks out for Sportsman and below or lighter riders
Rebound: 18 clicks out for (clubman riders and up) and 20 clicks out for slower or lighter riders
Fork Height: 2nd line from top (6mm)
WP XPLOR Pro 8946 – WP base shock settings
Spring Rate: Progressive 75-225
Static Sag: 38mm
Race Sag: 105mm
Lo-speed compression: 14 clicks out
Hi-speed compression: 14 clicks out
Lo-speed rebound: 25 clicks out
Hi-speed rebound (TXN): 10 clicks out
For Hare & Hounds we recommend this setup for the KTM 350 EXC-F:
After setting sag correctly and after hours of testing we came back to the base settings recommended in the owner’s manual! The shock just worked well pretty much everywhere. For faster riders that like a livelier backend they might want to speed up the rebound a little but if you prefer a deader backend then the stock rebound setting on this shock is just in the sweet spot.
For deep sand we recommend this setup for the KTM 350 EXC-F:
Spring Rate: Progressive 75-225
Static Sag: 38mm
Race Sag: 103mm
Lo-speed compression: 11 clicks out
Hi-speed compression: 13 clicks out
Lo-speed rebound: 20 clicks out
Hi-speed rebound (TXN): 9 clicks out
Note**
The shock didn’t need much in the way of adjustment to get the suspension balance right in thick sand. We added a little height to the backend by adjusting the sag from 105-103mm and added both low and high-speed compression and rebound progressively and in small increments until we found the settings we were looking for and the improvements in the sand were clearly noticeable.
We’re still testing settings for mx special tests and sprint enduro – we’ll publish these as updates.
