Suspension settings.. has anyone tried....

[bugjuice]

Ok, the mother of all topics. Covered a million times, I know, but it's one of the most important issues of most of our machines, right next to 'what type of air should I put in my tyres...'

Has anyone got any 'gold' links for setting up suspension? Has anyone tried the settings suggested on the Sportrider.com site? Or are there any better formulas? (don't forget to write down the settings before you do this tho, so you can go back!)

I've got a couple of weeks off, so I'm thinking about setting my bike up as per info from this site, and see how the bike feels after that for a few runs. Just wanted to ask, to see if anyone has thought about this side of the bike properly? Hell, you don't know that you've got a bad handling bike, until you make it handle properly...

[Grahameeboy]

Ok, the mother of all topics. Covered a million times, I know, but it's one of the most important issues of most of our machines, right next to 'what type of air should I put in my tyres...'

Has anyone got any 'gold' links for setting up suspension? Has anyone tried the settings suggested on the Sportrider.com site? Or are there any better formulas? (don't forget to write down the settings before you do this tho, so you can go back!)

I've got a couple of weeks off, so I'm thinking about setting my bike up as per info from this site, and see how the bike feels after that for a few runs. Just wanted to ask, to see if anyone has thought about this side of the bike properly? Hell, you don't know that you've got a bad handling bike, until you make it handle properly...

I tried the setting on my SV1000S and the settings are not much different to standard.......didn't feel too good so went back to standard.

Eg, they recommend 6 rings on front which is standard and I have mine on just 4 which I found worked on my RF900 well too.....I weigh 100kg so Craig at Colemans put an Ohlins spring on my old RF to keep ride height etc

You are on North Shore and the guy at Cycletreads told me that he would do mine for $50..seems the SV can do with some more rear pre load but no tools....I will try him and see how bike is....

[Fishy]

I set up my 04 Blade from the sportrider website and it is bloody awesome!!! made it feel like a different bike! Highly recommend it.

[Sensei]

What is it doing or not doing Bug ?

[Lou Girardin]

Unles the rider is the same weight as you, and rides the same type of roads at the same speeds as you, you'll be better off setting it up from scratch. Set the static and rider sag. Then adjust the damping to suit.
There's been plenty of posts on the subject.

[bugjuice]

What is it doing or not doing Bug ?

I'm not sure.. just feels like there's more to unlock. And knowing I haven't really played much with it, I know I'm just riding it and pushing it 'as is'. On the track day at Taupo, I think it could have been better set up, but I'm only a pro at making things worse, so wasn't sure on playing with it. It handles well, I just think it could handle better, and I'm keen to start playing with things like that now..

And Lou, I know there's been a few topics on this, and I'm going thru them bit by bit, but I wanted to know lately, if anyone has tried the suggested settings or if there's anything better out there.

What I don't like about that link, is that there's no rider info, and doesn't say if it's set up for the track or open road etc. And I've heard mixed things about someone else setting up your bike. If it's set for one person, might not be right for another. Plus, what if that persons' prefs are different from yours? You could ride Rossi's bike, and only say it's good, cos he rides it..

[vifferman]

I tried the SportRIder settings when I had the VTR1000. They gave me a harsh ride.
I suspect their recommendations are track-biased, and probably for lard-arsed Murkns.
Still, at least it was a starting point. As were the 'factory' settings I reverted to, which ended up closer to what I found was best for me.
For the VFR, I just set static sag, and adjust the preload and damping on the rear by one click when the vifferbabe's co-piloting.

[bugjuice]

Just stumbled across something 'Raven' found and posted, about setting up suspension. Looks like it got over-looked by me!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Even reading this, I'm still eager to find out as much info as I can, and settings to try etc..

[**R1**]

Unles the rider is the same weight as you, and rides the same type of roads at the same speeds as you, you'll be better off setting it up from scratch. Set the static and rider sag. Then adjust the damping to suit.
There's been plenty of posts on the subject.

exactly, you need to set it up for you, and the roads ya riding, and i wouldnt go setting it up for the track unless thats where you will be doing the majority of ya riding, but if ya like me and spend 99% of the time on the road then the last thing ya wana do is set it up for the track.....my 2c worth

[bugjuice]

ok, so just read the 3 parts that I linked. It's a great guide to setting up bike and rider sag, so I'd recommend everyone start there.

So now it's just compression, rebound and damper rates to figure what's best. Plus with the ZX6, they rolled them out on 65 profile tyres, but now I have 70s. It feels better now than before (imo), and some say leave it, a lot say drop the forks.. I'll try dropping them (after this time on the same setting) and see how much better it is.

[cowpoos]

I'm not sure.. just feels like there's more to unlock. And knowing I haven't really played much with it, I know I'm just riding it and pushing it 'as is'. On the track day at Taupo, I think it could have been better set up, but I'm only a pro at making things worse, so wasn't sure on playing with it. It handles well, I just think it could handle better, and I'm keen to start playing with things like that now..

And Lou, I know there's been a few topics on this, and I'm going thru them bit by bit, but I wanted to know lately, if anyone has tried the suggested settings or if there's anything better out there.

What I don't like about that link, is that there's no rider info, and doesn't say if it's set up for the track or open road etc. And I've heard mixed things about someone else setting up your bike. If it's set for one person, might not be right for another. Plus, what if that persons' prefs are different from yours? You could ride Rossi's bike, and only say it's good, cos he rides it..

set your sag as perfectly as possible....then come back to this thread and ask more questions....your bike will never handle near its potential until the sag is set for you and your weight.....

[cowpoos]

ok, so just read the 3 parts that I linked. It's a great guide to setting up bike and rider sag, so I'd recommend everyone start there.

So now it's just compression, rebound and damper rates to figure what's best. Plus with the ZX6, they rolled them out on 65 profile tyres, but now I have 70s. It feels better now than before (imo), and some say leave it, a lot say drop the forks.. I'll try dropping them (after this time on the same setting) and see how much better it is.

better to lift the rear 5mm...other wise your going to be changing the swingarms angle by dropping the forks...I think you can lift the rear using shims on zx6

[bugjuice]

lift the rear? k, first one to suggest that..
but if the back is fine, then surely you'd leave it? The change is to the front tyre..

Also, is there a 'rule-of-thumb' for sag? The links suggest for bike sag 'The rear sag should be somewhere between zero and 10 millimetres and the front between 20 and 30 millimetres.' And the rider sag 'should fall somewhere in the vicinity of 25-35mm front and rear'. Is that about right for a sprotsbike?

I know that cruisers would differ from sprots to dirt to motard to classics etc etc.. I'm not fussed about those


also noticed on the sprotsrider.com link I posted, it mentions nothing about sag, so if I set up the sag for me, then tried these settings, that'd be an ok place to start, ay?

[Sensei]

Have found from setting up my own bike's that you do 1 thing at a time so as not to confuse yourself with what has or has not worked .Write down your changes in a book to as you can go back to this later .

[Brian d marge]

set your sag as perfectly as possible....then come back to this thread and ask more questions....your bike will never handle near its potential until the sag is set for you and your weight.....

agreed on that one, If you dont have the correct spring rates , for your wieght . All of the other setting are just wasting time.

Spring rate , linkages working as thy should be, sag set( that percent rule of thumb is a bit of a sledge hammer, sag , or the amount the springs have to deal with topping out , is adjustable for the conditions ,,,etc )

Then you can dial the rebound and compressions and ride heights .......

the clickers are a fine tune, if you think of a piece of string with one end fully soft and the other fully hard , the factory settings are in the middle , the clickers adjust say 10 percent of the middle ...

I dont have the info to hand ..so this is from top of head and prone to operator error ....

but

ya cant avoid the springs,,,,been there done that.....saw arse go past ears ...on many occasion .....


Stephen