CR/CRF125/250/450 Inverted Fork Swap

9650400_orig

It is possible to use CR125R, CR250R, CRF250R/X, and CRF450R/X forks on the CRF230F.

Pros of this fork swap:

  • Increased travel
  • Decreased fork flex (more durability)
  • Old CR and CRF front ends are plentiful on Ebay
  • Newer CRF front ends can be found in good condition
  • Adjustable cartridge damping
  • Externally adjustable compression and rebound damping

Cons of this fork swap:

  • Generally expensive
  • Requires custom fabrication if not using Emig Racing kit
  • Some claim that there is too little fork flex, resulting in stability issues and harshness
  • The forks will require some tuning to work acceptably on the CRF230F
  • Some people may not want to increase the height of the bike
  • Old forks will require a rebuild
  • These forks are complex, making them more difficult to rebuild and tune compared to other options
  • Requires Increasing Rear Ride Height

Price of this fork swap: $540-1600+ (less after selling OEM 230F parts)

For $650 big ones, the Emig Racing CR/CRF fork conversion stem can be purchased to allow the use of any 47mm showa front end. This is the front end found on any 2000 or later CR125/250 or CRF250/450. The Emig Racing stem will allow you to bolt on the entire front end from any of these bikes. You’ll just need to find the front end on ebay or craigslist.

Click here to view the Emig Racing Fork Conversion product page.

Of course, you can always just buy an entire front end off of one of these bikes and then spend the time to get a CRF230F steering stem and bearings to work. You’ll have to have custom parts machined, but it should turn out far less expensive than purchasing an Emig kit.

Additional resources:

Page updated 1/13/2017