Need the resident suspension setup guru

[billy9304]

Need some help setting up the suspension on my new ride. I am most definitely the anti suspension guru, however I do pay handsomely in beverages of your choice Any takers?

[♣ McKraut ♣]

Need some help setting up the suspension on my new ride. I am most definitely the anti suspension guru, however I do pay handsomely in beverages of your choice Any takers?

i could contribute to the pool of beverages as well for help with the setup on the SS...

[bryant8]

Make that three!  Although I'll probably just bite the bullet and take it in to AMS

[RichD]

Come on guys!  ...setting up for the street is not ALL THAT!
1st, TIRE PRESSURE, get the right springs, set sag, and go to work...

It's not that hard,
...and what any tuner tweaks it to just works for him, not necessarily YOU.


If your trying to set track records, that is another thing...

[fastwin]

You set it up? It has settings?

[ddjones]

Need some help setting up the suspension on my new ride. I am most definitely the anti suspension guru, however I do pay handsomely in beverages of your choice Any takers?

I could use some extra hands to set my spring sag but I live about as far east of Dallas as you do west. Maybe a sag party someplace in between?

[bryant8]

Come on guys!  ...setting up for the street is not ALL THAT!
1st, TIRE PRESSURE, get the right springs, set sag, and go to work...

It's not that hard,
...and what any tuner tweaks it to just works for him, not necessarily YOU.


If your trying to set track records, that is another thing...

Next I'm time in Arlington, if you're available I'll be dropping by for some help then

[RichD]

From Ohlins, here is the recommendations on sag:

Without rider (static sag):
Rear: 10-20 mm (R1-R2)
Front: 15-30 mm (F1-F2)

With rider (ride height):
Rear: 25-40 mm (R1-R3)
Front: 35-50 mm (F1-F3)

...that range is "full tilt boogie"-track to "cruiser".

I run rear (ride hight) 30mm, front 40mm.
If your springs are right -your static sag should be in the ballpark above (about 15mm/20mm +/-)

Without the sag being set first, you are wasting your time with anything else.
(okay, you should have your tire pressure right too)
All it takes is a ziptie (for the front) and a piece of string (for the rear),
...and a buddy to measure it while you are on the bike and a few tools.

Then you can get to clicking the adjusters.   

Only once you play with it will you know what you have.
On a quiet road run the adjusters full soft.  See what it means.
Then run them full in, see what that means.

Drop the nose of the bike (raise the forks in the clamps) and it will dive into turns.
Go too far it will be unstable/twitchy.

Raise the rear it will do the same -but transition quicker -and "stoppie" more too...

Find your happy spot...

If you like to turn screws you'll mess with it forever like a carburetor! 

[svoloch]

The general rule is that the less adjustable your suspension is, the more time you will spend riding

[RichD]

The general rule is that the less adjustable your suspension is, the more time you will spend riding

There is some truth to that!   

-But then there are days when I hit the road with a bag of tools just TO adjust it!   [moto]

[cdc]

Need some help setting up the suspension on my new ride. I am most definitely the anti suspension guru, however I do pay handsomely in beverages of your choice Any takers?

Hey Billy,

If you are near the SW Fort Worth area, you can come to the house and we can tinker with it.  I'm not a guru but for sure we won't mess things up.  As already mention, the first thing is to dial all your rebound and compression settings to stock then set your sag.  Once that is set, the rest of the settings is up to your preference with some guidance from what has been written and is available information.

I'm sure we can get a bunch of peeps to come and stand around telling us what to do while drinking beer.  We really just need a few more hands to lift the bike and write down numbers but I've seen the front and rear lifted on the side stand.  I prefer not to do that but that's one way. 

If your willing to tinker with it, I am game to help.

FYI, it is possible that in trying to set your sag, we find that it's not possible.  When that happened to me, Jeff at AMS ended up working on the forks only to find out that the fork oil level on one of the forks was low.  I ended up having him rebuild the forks on a 3 year old bike and the front is now so much better.

Of course, Randy McCarter can set it up for you as well if you don't want to get your hands dirty and know it's done right.

cdc

[fastwin]

I had those tools with me yesterday to play with my newly reborn Ohlins shock and you know what? I never messed with it... I just rode the shit out of my bike and had fun. The more I rode and the faster I went the less I thought about it. Either Dan Kyle worked wonders or I was having too much fun to even think about sag or settings. I guess that's a win-win!

[bryant8]

I started messing with the suspension yesterday based off of the tips that RichD gave, pretty simple so far.  I do need to get a Showa shock adjuster though

[bryant8]

Anybody out there have one I can borrow/steal for a little while?

[♣ McKraut ♣]

i bet richd can make one