Suspension setup on Gen 2 for the millionth time(sorry)

[No.2of20]

Hi all,
hope everyone is well.

Yes well here we go again.
Sorry to annoy.

I recently went out on a ride with 2,count them 2 friends in the
Adelaide Hills here in South Australia.
Now there was no way I was keeping up with them on their
nimble euro bikes being a BMWS1000RR and a Ducati Streetfighter V4.
There was no stupid boy racing just speed limit stuff.
They would ride ahead and wait for me a bit.
All good.

I think though as has been discussed many times a bit of adjustment usually
stiffening up of the underwhelming/underpowered suspension can be of benefit.

Maybe the guys won't be waiting so long up ahead for me next ride?
Note when the road opened out a bit I was there .

I did find plenty of information here thanks to all and a great detailed post from Jinkster.(many thanks)

Without going into it too deeply he said this as a recommendation in a section,

"Yep....first screw both the compression adjustment (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."

Just wondering if anyone is using these settings and their thoughts?

I am actually thinking about paying to watch the Dave Moss's video he has done on the Busa settings.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Shane.

 

[mabupa]

A suspension thread? Hang tight, @sixpack577 will be here as soon as he is done wrenching on his gsxr restoration project. Lol

 

[No.2of20]

While being a bit old(like me) this is a good explanation from Jza (cheers) without actual settings.

"Compression damping: This is what gives a bike its feeling of plushness or stiffness, as compression damping determines how fast the suspension can compress when you hit a bump. With stiff compression damping, the fork or shock cannot compress quickly enough when a bump is encountered, and the movement of the wheel as it rises up the face of the bump is transferred into the chassis-where you feel it. With too little compression damping, the weight transfer of the bike itself as you accelerate and brake will be enough to compress the suspension, giving it a Cadillaclike softness.

Rebound damping: Once your suspension has compressed over a bump, rebound damping determines how fast the suspension can extend and keep the wheel in contact with the ground. Too much rebound damping will keep the suspension compressed when it should be extending to follow the road on the downside of a bump, and the wheel will lose contact with the ground. Too little rebound damping and the suspension will extend fast enough to push the bike up forcibly, giving it a loose feeling. Because rebound damping plays such a big part in how well the tire stays in touch with the ground, it gives you the feeling of traction and the confidence that comes with it."

 

[sixpack577]

What is your weight in gear?
If it's much over 200 lbs you won't get proper sag from the forks, and they'll need resprung.
Either way, 35-40mm of sag is a good range for street riding.
I prefer lower 30's for better handling, and that is also where my Gen2 was set.
The better the bike turns, stops, and handles in general, the firmer the ride will be.
If you want a softer, cruiser, and set it that way, you will feel the handling quickly decrease as speeds increase.
If curves aren't your thing, a softer setting is a little more forgiving.
Get the preload set somewhere for a starting point.
Set the compression so it isn't mushy and soft, but not so firm that it compresses little to none as it goes over bumps.
For rebound, push down hard and fast on the front and the rear.
You should be able to compress the suspension some(if not, C is set too high), and it should bounce back/Rebound quickly.
Not slowly and sloppy, or a double bounce at the top as it settles.
And, not so much that it snaps back so fast that it feels like it's going to launch you off of it.
Also, you need to be able to lift up on the front and the rear, and the suspension extends, then settles back down some again.
If there's no slack there, it's bad.
The front and rear also directly effect each other.
If one is perfect, and the other is bad, the whole ride will suffer.
For the compression and rebound, start with either in the middle, and then go all the way soft or hard.
That is dramatic enough to tell if you went the right direction or not, but, then go fully the other direction.
You can't mess anything up, other than the handling, which is the whole point.
This will allow you to keep going softer or firmer back and forth, until you arrive at a good place in the middle, it is trial and error.
After you understand what you're trying to accomplish, the process will still be the same, you'll just have a better idea of where to start and what you need to adjust.
Suspension sag, compression, and rebound are set with the bike parked, then ridden, then stopped and adjusted, ridden, adjusted, and repeated until you have a good base.
You can still always make fine adjustments due to changes in conditions too.
And, when you do the adjustments, only do One at a time.
Set the front and rear preload, front and rear do not have to be exactly the same setting either, just within a range of each other
Set the front and rear C and R in the middle, go for a short ride, get a feel for it.
Now, pick C or R, front or rear, and make that One(always equal settings on both forks) fully soft or fully hard, and go for a short ride.
Now, make the same one fully the opposite of where it was, and ride it again.
You Will feel it, lol, and this will give you a good idea of how much firmer or softer you want it to be.
Then, pick C or R, whichever you didn't do before, and do the same with it, stay on the forks or shock, whichever you just did, then do the C and Rebound on the other.
Also, make sure your chain tension is correct.
If the chain is too tight, the rear shock cannot travel it's entire range, and that will screw up the handling...even on a Correctly set shock.

 

[HayaWakened]

^^ Pin this ^^

 

[No.2of20]

Hi All,
Hope everyone is well.

Thanks so much Sixpack for the extensive work you have done here.

Really very appreciated.

As far as weight goes I am (sadly) about 105 kgs in our metric speak down here or 231.5 pounds with gear.

Current settings are factory as far as I know but are,

Front settings:

Pre-load - 6 turns out from fully wound down or from what i can just see about 5 lines of thread.

Bottom compression - 8 clicks out from fully in.

Top Rebound - 8 clicks out from fully in

Rear settings:

Preload - about 5 threads showing on top of top slotted collar nut.

Bottom Rebound - 12 clicks out from fully in.

Top Compression - 8 clicks out from fully in.

It must drop but it hardly feels like the bike goes down when i sit on it.

Might be wishful thinking.lol.

Will take on board your great information.

Cheers again for all help.

Kind regards

Shane.

 

[macka]

adjusting sag is fine easy as, but it still takes two people, dont do your own compression/rebound settings you will screw it up everytime

 

[flyingbrick]

Hello from New Zealand.

I am approximately 90kg depending on the month.

I can tell you that the gen2 front springs are far too soft for me and the rear is too hard.

This information is supported by using the calculators on one manufacturers spring page for this bike (which was nice supporting evidence to show i was doing the best i could during setup, and sag etc was being done correctly.)

You will absolutely need firmer front springs to get the most from your bike, and i'm on the fence as to if you would want to re-spring your rear a little softer (I'd need to check but dont have time right now, plus it depends on if you carry a pillion and luggage etc)

Hope you are well :-)

 

[Rojo]

Suspension setting and sag | General Bike Related Topics

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