Get your suspension set up!!!

[arai_speed]

You guys crack me up!   

I never said I was an expert suspension tuner...far from it....but I disagree with the comment that only highly magically charged specialists should set up bike suspension.  Clearly we are not gonna agree on that.

[JDS 07 S4Rs]

Suspension set up is easy.  You don't need a pro.  Just click the 'lil knobby things to the right.  If you almost crash, click 'em back to a left.  Then take a hammer to your rear shock.  Turn some more knobby things.  Turn 'em at the top, at the bottom and anywhere else you can find little knobbies.  Then measure the height of your bike.  Jump up and down on the tank and seat.   You're done.   

U hit the nail on the head Spidey. That's the way I do it,,,lol. Eventually U will come up with the right combination (if it doesnt kill U 1st) 

[Capo]

was cornerworking at a track school last weekend.  i had to sit there and watch 2 1098s and a 999 circle the track that all desperately, visibly needed suspension help.  i expected each one to go down each time they came by.  MANY totally unnecessary close calls.

this has been the subject of several comically combative posts here re folks who think they can do this themselves.  suspension dialing is a science.  if you aren't that scientist.. as in, this is not already what you do for a living.. pay the $40-$70 for someone who knows what they're doing.

these poor guys were fighting their bikes all weekend.  it made me cringe.

Never have more truer words been spoken here.

[ICON]

I'm one to admit I pretty much know to little to setup my own suspension. I tried playing with this and that and never got/felt the results I was looking for. I was very disappointed.  :'(   I also had installed springs for my weight.

I finally had the time to take my bike to the local shop. The owner is a racer and knows what he is doing. He dialed in my 620 for me at one point and it was amazing. He took his time riding my bike and pulling into his shop about 4 times. He noticed a strange sound coming from the rear and spent some time looking for it. I had the rearsets on too tight. He fixed that for me too. He clicked away at the rear the front, the compression and rebound. The bike never felt better. I took her up that morning(his shop opens at 7am) and road her like a madman.

Thanks POLO!!! I offered to pay him for his services and he refused. 

Here's the shop: Ask for Polo.
http://www.mototecnica.net/home.htm

[gm2]

socal only (obviously) but i've also heard good stuff about that shop from racers.

[arai_speed]

I'm one to admit I pretty much know to little to setup my own suspension. I tried playing with this and that and never got/felt the results I was looking for. I was very disappointed.  :'(   I also had installed springs for my weight.

I finally had the time to take my bike to the local shop. The owner is a racer and knows what he is doing. He dialed in my 620 for me at one point and it was amazing. He took his time riding my bike and pulling into his shop about 4 times. He noticed a strange sound coming from the rear and spent some time looking for it. I had the rearsets on too tight. He fixed that for me too. He clicked away at the rear the front, the compression and rebound. The bike never felt better. I took her up that morning(his shop opens at 7am) and road her like a madman.

Thanks POLO!!! I offered to pay him for his services and he refused. 

Here's the shop: Ask for Polo.
http://www.mototecnica.net/home.htm

Polo is a good guy - his crew brought my old R1 back to life after a lowside on T8 at WSIR so I was very happy about that.  I then took my WHEELS to get new TIRES mounted and they hooked it up for $20.  I later found out that they had completely misaligned my front wheel which resulted in a ruined trackday for me.  I haven't gone back since...ohhh well....

[derby]

I later found out that they had completely misaligned my front wheel which resulted in a ruined trackday for me. 

that's really hard to do w/ only the axle and a single spacer.

[RST]

Polo is a good guy - his crew brought my old R1 back to life after a lowside on T8 at WSIR so I was very happy about that.  I then took my WHEELS to get new TIRES mounted and they hooked it up for $20.  I later found out that they had completely misaligned my front wheel which resulted in a ruined trackday for me.  I haven't gone back since...ohhh well....

You "took in the wheels to get tires mounted"?  They only charged you $20?  So you re-installed the wheels on the bike yourself, yes?

After your T8 lowside, did you get your forks, wheels, swingarm, frame, subframe straightened before blaming the "misaligned" front axle?  Do you think that a properly set-up suspension might have prevented said lowside in the first place?

Just askin' 

-R.

[gm2]

  So you re-installed the wheels on the bike yourself, yes?

 .  i had decided to leave that one alone....

[DRKWNG]

I wish I could get my suspension dialed in by someone who knows a lot more than I do about tuning, but I think I am SOL without any sort of track in Hawaii...

[gm2]

.... without any sort of track in Hawaii...

wish they would fix that 

[zooom]

I am SOL without any sort of track in Hawaii...

wish they would fix that 

good luck on that one!

[Spidey]

I wish I could get my suspension dialed in by someone who knows a lot more than I do about tuning, but I think I am SOL without any sort of track in Hawaii...

There's a group of Hawaiians who fly out to SF once a month to race AFM.  Considering the overall cost of racing, 8 flights a year ain't that bad.  It's just a bit more than a set of tires.

[gm2]

There's a group of Hawaiians who fly out to SF once a month to race AFM.  Considering the overall cost of racing, 8 flights a year ain't that bad.  It's just a bit more than a set of tires.

and they leave their bikes in the states...?

[Spidey]

and they leave their bikes in the states...?

Yeah.  They've got a storage unit shared with some locals where they keep a toyhauler and their race bikes.  A couple of them come out for some of the West Coast AMA rounds too.  It sounds like they end up doing a lot of late night wrenching after flying out because they don't have their bikes with them on the islands.  I guess if you live in Hawaii and want to race, that's how you do it.