How to adjust suspension?

[MAXdB]

Hi guys, so i've been trying to get my suspension working right for me and at this point I believe I've got the sag set correctly and basically started with the front and rear preload/rebound at the stock settings (per the owner's manual).. from there I tried messing with this and that but I'm not really sure what it is exactly I need adjust to remedy the wallowing i get mid high-speed corners. This occurs regardless of how bumpy/smooth the road is.

I am very attentive to unwanted inputs with our extra leverage and feel it has more to do with suspension than anything else. BTW, raised the rear maybe half an inch (which i know affects stability somewhat).. also tires (2ct) have been tested at bth 35 psi as well as 32.. any thoughts would be appreciated.  

[Ddan]

You don't say what you have for suspension, but I was having a rebound damper issue in the forks that seemed to cause mid-turn wallowing.  If you have the sag set I'd leave pre-load alone change one adjustment parameter at a time, full in, full out then mid-range to get an idea of the effect each one has on your ride, then go from there.

[scott_araujo]

What year, model, etc.?  Stock suspension or aftermarket?  Your weight with gear on?  All of these things will help get you better answers.

Scott

[MAXdB]

the bike is an 07 s4rs.. so it's got the stock ohlins on front and rear. I am about 180-185 with my gear. Initially, I started messing with the shock only and then since that didnt help much I started to mess with the forks.. I simply put the fork's settings (other than the sag) at the middle setting for now.. maybe I'll just take it to a suspension place after I get clipons?

[stopintime]

It must be a great feeling to be able to adjust one's own suspension, but few (?) people really are.
A good shop will do it right in under an hour, during which you'll be able to get good advice on how to tweak it further if and when you need to. My 0.02

[Triple J]

A good book on the subject is Sportbike Suspension Tuning by Andrew Trevitt

[scott_araujo]

A good shop will do it right in under an hour, during which you'll be able to get good advice on how to tweak it further if and when you need to. My 0.02

True.  And it usually doesn't cost much.  If you're confused this may be the way to go.

If you want to keep tinkering yourself I think you're about the right weight for the stock springs.  Measure you're loaded sag and your unloaded sag.  If those numbers are in the ballpark your springs are good for your weight and the preload is correct.

The stock damper settings are usually not halfway.  They tend to be around 2/3-3/4 of full.  Check the owner's manual, it usually lists them.  From there, tweak one thing at a time.  Front rebound, front compression, rear rebound, rear compression.  If you move more than one thing at a time you may not be able to tell what was good and what was bad.

You can find some good pages online for symptoms and recommended actions, 'bikie diving, adjust this: ***'.  This is my favorite simple page:

http://www.ohlins.com/Checkpoint-Ohlins/Setting-Up-Your-Bike/Underrubrik_1/

Ignore the Ohlins specific initial setting info and just use the same ideas on your own equipment.  You can find more detail but if you can't follow this and start seeing improvement find a shop to help you.  Riding is supposed to be fun, not frustrating

Scott

[uclabiker06]

If you want to do it yourself adjust very little then ride a lot before adjusting a little again.  If you have no idea where to start in terms of the adjusting, set the adjustment to one extreme and ride once then the other extreme then ride once.  Then see which feels better and go from there. Also keep in mind that different settings will work better for different roads.  Fore instance one setting might work great for downhill turns but then not as well for uphill turns or city riding so make sure you test in the same road or at least take that into consideration.

[IdZer0]

You can find some good pages online for symptoms and recommended actions, 'bikie diving, adjust this: ***'.  This is my favorite simple page:

The problem I mostly have with those is: what's the difference between 'bouncy' and 'bumpy'?
Note: English is not my native language.

[MAXdB]

Thanks guys. I tried a few of the suggestions, but in the end I think I ended up somewhere far far from where I shouldve been. I eventually took it to a suspension place (inhouse) and had them set the suspension. Apparently, other than sag not being perfect, the front rebound way off. Taking it in was definitely much easier than doing it myself but will keep everyone's advice in mind when making adjustments in the future. Thanks again. 

[coarsegoldkid]

The problem I mostly have with those is: what's the difference between 'bouncy' and 'bumpy'?
Note: English is not my native language.

Bouncy is soft suspension- the bike moving up and down as if there were just a soft spring and no damping action to slow it down- like a pogo stick.  Bumpy is hard suspension-as if the bike were transmitting every little ripple, pebble, or seed pod on the road with springs for a truck and no damping- action like having solid struts.