Suspension Setup

[RoadBuilder]

For anyone who has been on the track, what were your suspension settings? I usually like my bike tight and am having a hell of a time getting things set up with only pre-load and rear rebound damping to play with. The front end feels like it's riding high almost chopper-like. I turned the front preload in until the second indent is even with the top of the fork tube in which it resides (only one line showing above), tightened up the rear rebound damping to one turn out from full stiff and put the rear preload back to the stock (25 clicks) setting. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ This message was edited by: RoadBuilder on 2007-06-16 14:34 ]

[oldndumb]

It will help if you give your weight.

[RoadBuilder]

205lbs

[TheNomad]

Not a lot of help, but an interesting story.

I had a Honda F3 that I rode many miles on at the stock settings (which were kind of soft). I went to trackdays with it and did OK on it. One trackday I decided to "do what all the racers do" and make my suspension very stiff. All the guys that I was keeping up were passing me left and right.
The bike felt totally foreign to me. Went back to the stock settings and back came my "speed" (slower than dog poop for most, but fast for me).

Moral of the story for me was: familiar bike feel was more important to my speed than suspension stiffness. Go figure.

MD

[RoadBuilder]

Good point. I just bought the bike yesterday and am working my way toward getting used to it. My '05 S3 was the best handling bike I've owned or ridden as I stated in another thread, so though I know the Sprint has severe limitations comparatively I'm trying to get it as good as I can get. Just passed the 100 mile mark.

[RoadBuilder]

Update. I just went over to a parking lot to practice and get familiar with the handling. Not sure if it's me, but the stock BT020's seemed to handle fairly well. I took the bike to the edge of the tires and the grip told me everything I needed to know; front wheel slides, front/rear squirms, and rear spins were all communicated quite clearly as was outright grip. For a 560+lb machine with crappy suspension, it handles pretty well near the limit.

I still need to work on the overall setup, though.

[dolson]

For all practicality we can't give you setups because any of us that have taken the trouble to properly set ours up, those settings would most likely not work for you for many and varied reasons.

I would suggest going through RaceTech's site as there is a lot of information there. Here is one of the best things you can do.



Properly setting static sag.

Learn what your are doing and why. If you don't you'll be just guessing and as you already found out guessing don't work very well with suspension setups as there are many components that make up the whole to consider.

Hint: you've cranked in way too much pre-load it sounds like thinking that a stiff suspension is a handling suspension. Not true.

Read the article and set the sag properly and take notes. This will give you a baseline to start from then you can make adjustments from there. Start with the sag set on the sport side of normal first than go from there. When you change sag, always do it as in the article. If you don't, again, you're just guessing. You might even want to tinker with a different weight fork oil and amounts. I'd recommend going to 15wt. anyhow.

Let us know how your studying goes.

Don

[DaveM]

RoadBuilder,
IMHO, not ever having been on a track I would get myself a set of race tyres either Bridgestone BT 002 medium or Michelin Pilot race medium.

You will find the handling will improve dramatically with better tyres also.

I run the BT 002 for everyday use anyway.

Here's another suspension set up website:


Motorcycle supension set up

DaveM

[RoadBuilder]

Ironically, i have an appointment to get the sag set up next week. Past history with this indicates it will speed up the suspension setup process. Besides drastically different ergonomics, my greatest problem is that I'm not used to relying upon one variable (preload) to control the front end when i used three variables (P, CD, RD) at each end to do the same thing with great precision on my last two motorcycles. It's a bit odd, really, and seemingly contrary to ordinary thought.

I cranked down the front and rear preload according to the owner's manual settings for a firmer ride and it does not agree with me because there is way too much weight transfer, or rather way more than I'm used to. It's going to take me a week or two to get this set up to give me baseline confidence. In all fairness, though, the factory recommended stiff settings on my S3 allowed too much weight transfer for my taste and I ended up changing the settings to mirror the track settings for my ZX6R. Yes, I used those settings on the street and the S3 actually handled better than the ZX6R in the twisty bits (no track duty for my S3) with those settings due the the greater precision allowed by the dirtbike-style handlebars. I've used a suspension guide that was printed in Sport Rider or Motorcyclist since I got my ZX6R back in 2002 in order to maximize my confidence in the handling.

With thicker-weight fork oil, I expect the front end weight transfer will come under control a bit, but probably not where I want it. I'm going to ride and get used to this new bike then make the BIG changes in the winter. Since this bike has a center stand, I'm going to tinker with setting the sag myself and see if I can save $70.

[ This message was edited by: RoadBuilder on 2007-06-16 19:58 ]

[dolson]

A couple of friends and a tape measure you can save the 70 and treat the beer. As DaveM says, tires make a big difference but not if the weight transfer is wrong. And in making something handle that's what it's all about.

Don