Setting the suspension

ronniemac

ronniemac

Registered
Can anybody out there tell me what the recommended settings are for my 08 busa's front and rear suspension settings (rebound and compression damping force)? How many clicks on the front suspension and how much should I turn the rear suspension? I weigh 270 lbs. and want to get the most out of my ride. Does it really make a difference? Thanks.
 
It is kinda hard to explain, but I would take it to a reputable shop that can do the setup for you. I am a big guy like you and the shop set the suspension for me as best they could with the stock equipment. As soon as money permits, I will be going with Race Tech products front and rear.
 
Dialing in your suspension can make a big difference in handling. From the factory they are tuned for an average sized rider, like 160ish pounds. Also, they are adjusted for "average" riding. Dialing it in to the type of riding you do can make a big difference as well. There are a lot of good articles out there explaining in detail the principals of suspension, and how to adjust them properly.

Motorcycle Suspension Setup

How to Adjust your Motorcycle Suspension - Motorcyclist Online
 
hey arnold nicksplat GIF
 
ronniemac said:
Can anybody out there tell me what the recommended settings are for my 08 busa's front and rear suspension settings (rebound and compression damping force)? How many clicks on the front suspension and how much should I turn the rear suspension? I weigh 270 lbs. and want to get the most out of my ride. Does it really make a difference? Thanks.
Click to expand...
read 1st the manual with the default values in its "chassis"-part
and 2nd start from there on
3rd do a ride and
4th if changes should seemingly be done do em after the testride
 
I have a Gen 2 I found the front forks way too soft, and the rear shock to stiff when I went to set the sag in my suspension. Found this to be common for the Busa. Went to www.racetech.com web site, put in my bike, riding style, weight and got a suspension recommendation from the suspension calculator, purchased fork springs and rear spring. Called Race Tech spoke with a tech Mike Crow, asked him about starting point setting's suggestions for compression & rebound, Oil weight, and amount. Installed the new fork springs and rear shock spring. After I set the Sag. (See Dave Moss Tuning for some great suspension tips on Sag ) I put the compression and rebound recommendations from Race Tech. Got lucky! was spot on first try, left 2 days later on a trip to Tail of the Dragon, in Deals gap NC. ( from Indiana ) with a buddy that was riding a GSX R750. The Busa as we all know is a pig but.... I multiple times had to wait for my buddy on the GSXR 750 to catch up. The Hayabusa ridden aggressively is an amazing machine; also Props to Dunlop that had just come out with the Q3+ tires. I had rolled up rubber on the sides with almost no trace of chicken stripes. The ride was amazingly better down the highway also, no more kicking me off the seat on a stiff bump. I had already ridden my bike 20K miles, so I knew how it handled before.... I Turboed the bike last summer. I now need a little stiffer front fork springs, I have already trashed 2 air cleaners because I still ride it like a road race bike and grind them off in turns. Once again Dave Moss Tuning great suspension tips.
 
ronniemac said:
Can anybody out there tell me what the recommended settings are for my 08 busa's front and rear suspension settings (rebound and compression damping force)? How many clicks on the front suspension and how much should I turn the rear suspension? I weigh 270 lbs. and want to get the most out of my ride. Does it really make a difference? Thanks.
Click to expand...

There is a set that used to be commonly shared, it was basically for better handling in corners at the sacrifice of the plush feeling. I don't know why it's not mentioned here? I can't find my old notes from the last busa I owned so am experimenting myself. I've gone 4-clicks out on the fork rebound damping and 5-out on the lower compression screws but haven't tinkered with the rear yet. My bike has certainly has lost it's smooth ride over bumps but in the corners now there is no wallowing and all that. A lot of riders today don't want to share adjustment data and will refer you to an "expert". It's all part of the nuvo safety culture I suspect. Experts though have been known to make mistakes.

I'll go digging on the archive of the now defunct aussi hayabusa forum and see what I can turn up.

Edit: Well I found a good post on the subject, the dude goes on about setting correct sag and then discusses the damping. No doubt preload adjustment is important, but if you have that, and you're damping is out by 5 clicks for your riding style, you're gonna have a worse riding experience than it the reverse was the case. The posters settings for the forks are pretty close to what I run. Like I say, this will give you a harsher ride but the bike will feel a lot more sure-footed cranked over in a bumpy corner. Just ignore the preload settings for now, that's something that takes some measurement and thought.

(settings not recommended for weekend coffee shop runs)

Yep....first screw both the compression ajustment (lower rear side of fork end casting) and rebound adjustment (little screw on top of spring preload adjusters) all the way IN till they stop..then...

REBOUND: 3 Clicks Out
COMPRESSION: 4 Clicks Out

and this is with your spring preload adjusters set at just 1 line showing...ie..socked all the way down too the first line.

My Rear Shock Settings Are...

Rebound (botton screw): 10 Clicks Out
Compression (top screw): 7 Clicks Out

And that's with two full revs more rear shock spring preload from stock factory adjustment.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
www.hayabusa.org

Tufbusa, help | General Bike Related Topics

Hey Tuf, little help please sir. Can you read these tires and point me in the right direction? The bike(08 Busa) actually feels great now, it just needs some fine tuning. Front tire is 120/70 Q2 with 36/38 psi hot. Rear tire is Roadsmart 190/50 with 36/38 psi hot. Front sag is 31mm, preload...
www.hayabusa.org www.hayabusa.org

Here is where I set my Gen2 at, a Long time ago, lol
 
I took a 2 hour ride today and before I left I backed out the front and rear screws 1-click each. It was amazing how much softer the ride was, really swallowed up all the bumps, but now it felt a little 'loose' a little uncontrolled if you know what I mean. When I got home I reset the damp~comp settings back to what I listed above. It's really amazing the difference even small adjustments can make, I might see if I can get a long screwdriver under the seat for those rear shock adjusters, they are tricky to get to otherwise but softening the suspension up for a long straight ride would pay dividends.
 
Oz22 said:
I took a 2 hour ride today and before I left I backed out the front and rear screws 1-click each. It was amazing how much softer the ride was, really swallowed up all the bumps, but now it felt a little 'loose' a little uncontrolled if you know what I mean. When I got home I reset the damp~comp settings back to what I listed above. It's really amazing the difference even small adjustments can make, I might see if I can get a long screwdriver under the seat for those rear shock adjusters, they are tricky to get to otherwise but softening the suspension up for a long straight ride would pay dividends.
Click to expand...
I set my suspension on the stiff side and feel every bump on the road but it's rock solid in the corners with no wallowing which I like...

The internals up front have been changed out along with my rear shock and it's still hard to dial it in 100% for all instances...

I guess this is why some companies have gone to electronically adjustable suspension....
 
Bumblebee said:
I set my suspension on the stiff side and feel every bump on the road but it's rock solid in the corners with no wallowing which I like...

The internals up front have been changed out along with my rear shock and it's still hard to dial it in 100% for all instances...

I guess this is why some companies have gone to electronically adjustable suspension....
Click to expand...

Lucky yoo! Last time around I replaced the fork springs with ones rated for me, no re-valving though or shock. I never had any complaints but it probably could have been better. I don't know what I'll do this time but the Busa is pretty good even stock BB, best bike I've owned as far as factory suspension goes. I recently spent $2.5k on a fork upgrade and Wilbers shock for my Tenere 700 and am no mood to fork out more on the busa after dropping $2.2k on the yoshimura cans.

All aussie dollars of course so not as expensive as some would think. The Tenere really needed it if you were to ride safely around on the gravel here. That's the thing isn't it, it really doesn't matter at low speeds but when you're pushing things you need all the edge you can get. Good sticky tires, good suspension, brakes. The same applies offroad I have found but the dynamics are different of course. Chunky tires and good valving in the forks, big piston in the shock. I just followed the advice of the wise old hands as I had zero experience in that arena. Forums like this take all the guess work out of it, once you filter out the boy-racer stuff :D


I know of some cars that have suspension that can adjust on the fly well, my bmw ..rr has all that and perhaps it works even, but the suspension is so hard even at the lowest settings it's difficult to judge on bumpy rural roads. I'll live without it, I'm not interested in the modern stuff now, too many issues and even little ones can infuriate me. I don't want to pay $30k for a bike I may have to leave in the shop for a month because some electronic component had a brainfart.
 
For your weight I would upgrade the springs front and rear. I don't ride at the level of needing straight rate springs and gold valves. I weigh 250lbs without gear and dealt with similar issues. I installed a hyperpro street box with progressive springs in the front and aftermarket rear shock with a progressive spring for 697 from pure cycle performance. Or you can get the streetbox with just the front springs and matching rear progressive spring you can get installed on the rear shock for 300.

This is the third bike I have had this setup on and it works for me. I have ridden it from being fat as hell like I am now to 180lbs without gear when I was in the army. Loaded up, 2 up, bad roads, aggressive riding, it just works for me. Plus the hyperpro guys answer back quickly too if you ask then any questions. Because, I didnt realize the preload adjuster sucks to get to on the hayabusa, so I purchased a hydrualic remote preload adjuster from them for 200.
 
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