can anyone tell me the propper way to set up my suspension?
at the moment, its feeling a bit on the hard side, but that just might be me.
Help
at the moment, its feeling a bit on the hard side, but that just might be me.
Help
suspension
- Thread starter Jester0769
- Start date
SierraFlyer
Registered
Jester,
I ride wilth stock settings and it is creamy! However I am 265 pounds and if you are lighter that may be too harsh.
The way a local tuner does it is to set the spring rates in the front and rear to match each other.This is seperate from damping. As the suspension loads up you want the bike to drop equally front and rear and remain level. The springs are sized for an average load. That can be a single light rider or a pair of heavy riders. The spring preload adjusts how hard the springs initially work. It is adjusted for your load by "Sag". What is the sag you get when you throw a leg over? it should be 1 to 1.5 inches and be equal front to rear. Once you get that perfected, then adjust your damping screws to suit your liking. Compression is set so that the ride is smooth but not to the point where the tire skips over bumps or the front end dives too much under braking. So it is a compromise. Too much Compression and the ride is bumpy and harsh (presuming the springs are adjusted first because they can cause every bump in the pavement to get transmitted up to you if set too hard on preload). Too light on compression and the front end will dive under hard braking and bumps in the road suface can cause the front wheel to hop and loose contact with the surface.
Rebound damping prevents the tire from slamming back down on the pavement and bouncing. Set it so the tire comes back onto the road surface in a controlled manner. Too litle and the wheel will slam back on the pavement and load up the tire abruptly and uncontrolled. Too much and your back end will skid because the tire is not allowed to drop fast enough back to the pavement to get traction. This is an exaggeration of course but it will give you a mental picture of what is going on.
The damping changes from stock settings are just a few clicks. if you are light weight, the spring preload on the forks and rear spring will be the largest adjustment. The stock shock is not bad but the expensive aftermarket shocks allow a few more adjustments - like ride height - which can affect how the rear tire hooks up to power when coming out of turns and to a lesser extent how fast the bike turns into the turn.
If you are not confused then I haven't done a good job!
I ride wilth stock settings and it is creamy! However I am 265 pounds and if you are lighter that may be too harsh.
The way a local tuner does it is to set the spring rates in the front and rear to match each other.This is seperate from damping. As the suspension loads up you want the bike to drop equally front and rear and remain level. The springs are sized for an average load. That can be a single light rider or a pair of heavy riders. The spring preload adjusts how hard the springs initially work. It is adjusted for your load by "Sag". What is the sag you get when you throw a leg over? it should be 1 to 1.5 inches and be equal front to rear. Once you get that perfected, then adjust your damping screws to suit your liking. Compression is set so that the ride is smooth but not to the point where the tire skips over bumps or the front end dives too much under braking. So it is a compromise. Too much Compression and the ride is bumpy and harsh (presuming the springs are adjusted first because they can cause every bump in the pavement to get transmitted up to you if set too hard on preload). Too light on compression and the front end will dive under hard braking and bumps in the road suface can cause the front wheel to hop and loose contact with the surface.
Rebound damping prevents the tire from slamming back down on the pavement and bouncing. Set it so the tire comes back onto the road surface in a controlled manner. Too litle and the wheel will slam back on the pavement and load up the tire abruptly and uncontrolled. Too much and your back end will skid because the tire is not allowed to drop fast enough back to the pavement to get traction. This is an exaggeration of course but it will give you a mental picture of what is going on.
The damping changes from stock settings are just a few clicks. if you are light weight, the spring preload on the forks and rear spring will be the largest adjustment. The stock shock is not bad but the expensive aftermarket shocks allow a few more adjustments - like ride height - which can affect how the rear tire hooks up to power when coming out of turns and to a lesser extent how fast the bike turns into the turn.
If you are not confused then I haven't done a good job!
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