Poor handling motorcycle? Suspension may not be at fault.

[Shaun]

I read on here all the time, about how billy B is having trouble with this and that, and it all seems to end up here in the suspension section of the site.

A lot of bad handling bikes, comes from the Stearing head set up in the first place!! and swingarm bearings, NOT JUST BAD QUALITY STANDARD SUSPENSION!

It seems that people believe there standard parts are NO good, as others do say this regually on here!, but Yamaha Suzuki etc are not totally stupid, they have professional engineers that build there product, so the product is good, just NOT the best

Stearing head bearings set up well, have given me over 1 second a lap at some tracks over the years

So my point is, if you are going to spend money on Suspension parts, DO YOUR STEARING HEAD BEARINGS AS WELL, to gauantee the quality of the fresh re build.

Have to work through all potentuall issues that could be causing any handling issues for you, it is NOT just Suspension parts that can cause these problems

[onearmedbandit]

Very good point, if there are underlying problems like you've mentioned throwing money at the bike with aftermarket gear isn't going to do you any favours. Would you say Shaun that due to the nature of the 'performance' parts available (Ohlins etc) that any issue like worn steering head bearings would be worse with top shelf items, due to the tolerences of these parts?

[slowpoke]

Thanks for the reminder!
I've got the suspension out for a freshen up and I've got a set of steering head bearings sitting in a packet so I'll save myself some potential aggravation and change 'em out.
I was planning on greasing up my rear end (couldn't resist, sorry for the imagery) but hadn't really thought too much about the front.

[98tls]

Some good points there Shaun especially for those of us with older bikes,awhile back i did the swingarm bearings on mine and lets just say they should have been done long before i did

[imdying]

Yep, and trick suspension won't save a ride running on haggard tyres

[Shaun]

Very good point, if there are underlying problems like you've mentioned throwing money at the bike with aftermarket gear isn't going to do you any favours. Would you say Shaun that due to the nature of the 'performance' parts available (Ohlins etc) that any issue like worn steering head bearings would be worse with top shelf items, due to the tolerences of these parts?

Perhaps Ohlin's Penske Traxxion etc would pick up on the faulty parts quicker than standard gear, but my real point was, STOP spending money on suspension parts, untill you know the rest of the chassis package is as it should be!

If I have just done myself out of a DOLLAR Great! at least you have a better/ safer/ bike to ride now.

And just changing stearing head bearings will not fix the problem if there is one, the correct tension of the bearings is VERY VERY IMPORTANT, the way the average Mechanic does stearing head bearings check, is bloody terrible/ nearly as bad as what a testing station does to check your stearing head out.

And then, the forks need re fitting using Tourque settings for the bolts YOUR GUESS WORK of overtight Tripple clamps causes wear on the fork internalls

It must be bolted together with serious care, treat it like it was your LOVER, and it will be good.

PS, Bolting together can be done by anyone, who has the feal/understanding IF YOU DO NOT- PAY SOMEONE who does

More advise for ya, email or call direct to proven known suspension people, ( Yes I do consider myself ONE of these) some of the rubbish/advice I read on here on accasions, is very scary

[FilthyLuka]

Hey Shaun, thanks for posting this up, i have stickied it and renamed the title to give a slightly better indication of what is in it.

Cheers mate, bling sent.

[Shaun]

Hey Shaun, thanks for posting this up, i have stickied it and renamed the title to give a slightly better indication of what is in it.

Cheers mate, bling sent.

Good on ya Filthy! Way to many people running around getting no where really

[CookMySock]

I'm lookin forward to ya workin on my bike, Shaun. I get down your way reasonably regularly, so will book it in before I come down, maybe make a plan beforehand.


DB

[Cajun]

how about another question, how often should you change your steering bearings?, km? years?
or just when worn, but next point how know they are worn?

[FROSTY:Me]

Given some of the stories I've heard about badly set up suspension etc Im thinking that applying the KISS principle BEFORE lashing out on trick gear would be just common dog.

[Robert Taylor]

Perhaps Ohlin's Penske Traxxion etc would pick up on the faulty parts quicker than standard gear, but my real point was, STOP spending money on suspension parts, untill you know the rest of the chassis package is as it should be!

If I have just done myself out of a DOLLAR Great! at least you have a better/ safer/ bike to ride now.

And just changing stearing head bearings will not fix the problem if there is one, the correct tension of the bearings is VERY VERY IMPORTANT, the way the average Mechanic does stearing head bearings check, is bloody terrible/ nearly as bad as what a testing station does to check your stearing head out.

And then, the forks need re fitting using Tourque settings for the bolts YOUR GUESS WORK of overtight Tripple clamps causes wear on the fork internalls

It must be bolted together with serious care, treat it like it was your LOVER, and it will be good.

PS, Bolting together can be done by anyone, who has the feal/understanding IF YOU DO NOT- PAY SOMEONE who does

More advise for ya, email or call direct to proven known suspension people, ( Yes I do consider myself ONE of these) some of the rubbish/advice I read on here on accasions, is very scary

And time wasting too Shaun!

Yes it is indeed all very relevant that the fundamentals are first checked. Point of fact a more correct understanding is that the suspension is actually more than just the shock absorbers and forks, the motorcycle community and trade are all guilty in perpetuating this misunderstanding. In the car world it is dampers and springs as PART of the suspension in total, that is more correct. When a Formula car crashes and it rips its supension off that primarily means the wishbones / torque arms / link arms and pickups that transmit load back to the dampers.

So in a motorcycle the front suspension ( effectively ) consists also of the headstock and the bearings that keep everything in alignment, dependent as Shaun eluded to with correct preloading tension, condition and grease packing. With BMW telelever etc there are of course a few more suspension elements transmitting load back to the shock absorber unit. In the rear end the swingarm and linkage and therefore all the bearings and bushings are also part of the suspension.

Major motorcycle manufacturers are indeed not stupid but they are predominantly run by accountants. That is why there will only be a ''whiff'' of average low cost grease in the head bearings and swingarm bearings. Most stock suspension units will indeed work better when the settings are optimised to the rider but only to the point of their limitations, which are very real. That is exactly why a top shelf suspension company such as Ohlins sells tens of thousands of suspension units every year, because they raise the performance and quality bar significantly.

Some oem suspension units on bikes are just beyond help as they are built to an abysmal standard and yes I am unashamedly pointing the finger at the mainland Asian products.

I also have to agree with Shaun that some of the 'advice' given on this forum is indeed very scary. While I have no doubt much of it is said with the best intentions I beleive some of what goes on has undoubtedly compromised peoples safety and pockets. If there is a service that I personally need that I know only little about, I seek an experienced and qualified specialist with a good name.

I think it is also a fault of human nature that very often people will only hear what they actually want to hear. Example, a specialist offers a ''correct'' solution by offering the correct shock absorber specific to the bike, this costing X amount of dollars.Then someone else posts and says that he has got a shock that ''should fit'' for less than X dollars. As so often happens it may fit but the length is incorrect and it has messed with the geometry making the bike unstable. Moreover the spring rate and valving is either too soft or too stiff because it is calibrated for the motion ratio of the bike it actually came off which is quite different. And people on this forum have chastised me for advocating control of what people can and cannot do.

This ort of nonsense happens day in and day out. There are none so blind that will not see....ask an industry expert before committing to something that on th face of it is a quick fix. You may be surprised how approachable we are, and that every communication does not have to be a sale!

[firefighter]

it's funny how people always think that standard suspention is crap, when the manufacturers spend thousands developing it......

[98tls]

it's funny how people always think that standard suspention is crap, when the manufacturers spend thousands developing it......

As has been pointed out though they have financial constraints as in they need to make money,what i find more amusing is people that have no idea if there standard suspension is good or bad but change it anyway then ride in such a way that the standard suspenders would have been well adequate.

[Robert Taylor]

it's funny how people always think that standard suspention is crap, when the manufacturers spend thousands developing it......

They actually spend a whole load less than you think and then use the pr whizzkids to get the public to believe that the machinery is more capable than what it actually is. ''Race ready'' etc, the sad part being people actually believe the slogans! When you actually ride a motorcycle with top shelf suspension components on it that are set up specifically for you it is then that you realise just how average standard suspension is. Anyone who says different is actually in a state of denial.

The balance sheets of manufacturers such as Ohlins, WP and Penske are healthy just on the back of sales for sport and roadbikes alone. Remember that a very great slice of their market is for improving performance, more so than to replace worn out suspension.

When I worked for the NZ Yamaha distributor as their technical manager I was prepared to believe that the original suspension was ''excellent'' Having now worked with suspension for over 22 years and distributing the worlds No 1 suspension product I now know quite different.