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r6 suspension setup probs

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gray84
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PostPosted: 17:39 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: r6 suspension setup probs Reply with quote

hi

i took my bike to a garage yestaday to sort my starting problem and the bloke (who tunes aprilias for racing) said the suspension setup was crap and surprised i havnt come off it yet. he said he can set it up for a cost or said he will give me advise which was nice of him. he gave me a book telling me all about sag/preload ect and its a step by step guide to set up. ive spent a fair bit of time doing it today and i went along the lines of the PB mag guide for the settings for a base and then i can adjust as i need. BUT if anything the bike feels more sloppy now and he said the main problem is my shocks are bottoming out Neutral . and when i was adjusting to the details in PB it wasnt that far out.
well if i go back to that chap hes gona want paying to set up and i would like to learn and set up myself plus saves me £50.

can anyone sugest any settings or guides or even tell me what they have theres set as? im stuck now as i dont know what to do

ive done the static sag/load sag , preload,compression, and rebound from this guide.

https://www.yzfr6.net/images/Suspension_Guide2.jpg
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 19:16 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Re: r6 suspension setup probs Reply with quote

gray84 wrote:
hi

i took my bike to a garage yestaday to sort my starting problem and the bloke (who tunes aprilias for racing) said the suspension setup was crap and surprised i havnt come off it yet. he said he can set it up for a cost or said he will give me advise which was nice of him. he gave me a book telling me all about sag/preload ect and its a step by step guide to set up. ive spent a fair bit of time doing it today and i went along the lines of the PB mag guide for the settings for a base and then i can adjust as i need. BUT if anything the bike feels more sloppy now and he said the main problem is my shocks are bottoming out Neutral . and when i was adjusting to the details in PB it wasnt that far out.
well if i go back to that chap hes gona want paying to set up and i would like to learn and set up myself plus saves me £50.

can anyone sugest any settings or guides or even tell me what they have theres set as? im stuck now as i dont know what to do

ive done the static sag/load sag , preload,compression, and rebound from this guide.

https://www.yzfr6.net/images/Suspension_Guide2.jpg


The guy is clearly a cnut and after your money!! Wink

Follow this guide!

https://www.gostar-racing.com/club/motorcycle_suspension_set-up.htm
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 19:36 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is the official lowdown ... but do you know how I do it?!?!?

Set the sag by the book, then just play with the damping until - bike upright, when pressing on the tank (stood beside the bike), the front and rear go down roughly equally and the bike returns smoothly, if the bike 'pogos' on the return, you need to wind it up rebound more ...

Once this is done you are good to go .. suspension is all personal preference, but if you can get it to behave like the above statically, then its going to be hard to optimise it further from there as it will be very neutral, well planted and confidence inspring!! Wink

p.s. That setup advice will not even cost you an e-Penny Coin

Laughing
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Bikeless
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PostPosted: 20:07 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

As long as your in the right ballpark with your sag and maybe spring rates everything else is personal preference as said above.Some people like their damping hard,some people like it soft.

Unless you've got quality suspension(ohlins,wp,etc)you can't go far wrong as the manufacturers don't allow too much to play with anyway.
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gray84
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PostPosted: 20:09 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

cheers ill have a read of all that in a bit after my dinner Very Happy
the main thing he said was the front end was loose and chattering/bottoming out breaking. what would need adjusting for that?

cheers again
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 20:24 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

edit - extended rant about something that was utterly, utterly wrong.
Whoops.

Normal service will resume shortly Wink


Last edited by nowhere.elysium on 20:44 - 05 Mar 2009; edited 1 time in total
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Bikeless
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PostPosted: 20:35 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Adjusting preload does not affect springrate and will not make your forks stiffer,it will just affect sag and ride height.
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nowhere.elysium
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PostPosted: 20:43 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've just re-read what I wrote, and you're right.
I'm gonna put the beer down now, and stop making recommendations this evening, methinks. I'm already in danger of talking bollocks, I reckon.

Embarassed
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 20:46 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

gray84 wrote:
cheers ill have a read of all that in a bit after my dinner Very Happy
the main thing he said was the front end was loose and chattering/bottoming out breaking. what would need adjusting for that?

cheers again


How much do you weigh in at?

Preload is for setting the sag, it WON't stiffen the front end ... that is a common misconception. The only way to make the front end 'stiffer' is to uprate the springs. You can slow the front by upping the damping, but again, this DOESN'T make it 'stiffer' ...

https://www.racetech.com/ used to have a great little spring rate calculator, but for some reason teh website is down (dunno if they have gone bust or just a glitch?)
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FASTERTHANSID
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PostPosted: 21:22 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why don't you just take it to your nearest suspension specialist who will charge you about £50 for getting it set right. Or you could just go of the conflicting answers being given to you by suspension specialists who have read a bit of fast bike.

Its a bit of a black art and you will bollox it up even more unless you are 100% sure of what you are doing.
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Bikeless
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PostPosted: 21:32 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't seen any conflicting answers and my advice comes from setting my own bike up and talking to Nick White at KAIS who done my forks not some bike magazine.Why pay £50 for something which is easy to do yourself.
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gray84
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PostPosted: 21:49 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

bluesv650s i weight 13stone. i just wanna know what to adjust to do what and what to do so its in the right margin for fast road use.im going to have a read up in abit

and fasterthansid its cus id like to learn. likie i said the chap is willing to do it for me but thats not as fun Wink. he even said once ive set it up he will have a go and see what he thinks but is it all down to the riders preferance?
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Polarbear
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PostPosted: 22:43 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

gray84, I thought I knew how to set up suspension but I could not get my Hayabusa right. I've set up other bikes quite happily but not this one. Whatever i did something wasn't right.

But a bloke who does a lot of track days helped me and he knew what he was talking about, so my suggestion is get someone who actually does set up suspension to do yours for the first time, showing you what he is doing and then it isn't quite so much black magic Thumbs Up

Don't be afraid to ask someone with the same bike as you, he might talk crap, he might be a wizard but I guarantee he will know something useful.
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 23:28 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

fireblade2102 wrote:
I haven't seen any conflicting answers and my advice comes from setting my own bike up and talking to Nick White at KAIS who done my forks not some bike magazine.Why pay £50 for something which is easy to do yourself.


I'm sorry, but that is nonsense ... all an 'expert' can do for your £50 is give you a generic setup ... just the same as you can get reading a bike mag/suspension setup article ...

Now if you have specific requirements, then you are going to have to be able to diagnose what you don't like about how it rides ...

If you can diagnose what you don't like about how the bike is riding/handling, then you can read the go-star article and twiddle accordingly .. then go out and ride again ... rinse and repeat until you are happy ...

If you can't diagnose what you don't like then you are fecked ...

Paying someone £50 to do what you can do for free is madness ... and only YOU can diagnose what you don't like about the bike ... if you can't relay that to them, then what can they do??

What do you think these people can do mind-read???
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Last edited by Blue_SV650S on 00:05 - 06 Mar 2009; edited 2 times in total
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gray84
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PostPosted: 23:38 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

oh i thought it was a case of how IT SHOULD ride rather than hoe YOU WANT it to ride. im gona have a good play at the weekend. is it the compression and rebound i need to adjust it all feels sloppy at the mo?
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 23:40 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

gray84 wrote:
bluesv650s i weight 13stone. i just wanna know what to adjust to do what and what to do so its in the right margin for fast road use.im going to have a read up in abit


You are probably a little heavy for the stock springs. Its a shame the racetech website is not working as we could have found out.

If you ring somewhere like Harris, they can give you some springs for your weight. Remember if you up-spring, you really need to get the damping re-worked too .... for that you really need an expert ... but alternatively you can put thicker oil in it to help compensate. That is a bit crude mind you, you are better off with a proper re-valve!!
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Last edited by Blue_SV650S on 23:51 - 05 Mar 2009; edited 1 time in total
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Noxious89123
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PostPosted: 23:43 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ok, well first thing i would do i set the bike to standard factory settings. Then bump the preload up by a notch or two (as 13st is a bit more than your standard japanese rider), until the sag is how it should be.

If the front is bottoming out, it might need less rebound and/or more compression. ie. takes longer for the bumps to squish them all the way down, and they recover quicker between bumps.

It is quite easy to mess up though. Nothing i do seems to make an improvement. Ride feels quite harsh on my bike atm Sad.

Although both my front and rear tyre and squared off, so i blame them for it riding like shit atm...
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 23:43 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

gray84 wrote:
oh i thought it was a case of how IT SHOULD ride rather than hoe YOU WANT it to ride. im gona have a good play at the weekend. is it the compression and rebound i need to adjust it all feels sloppy at the mo?


Dude, if you were to go to a BSB (or whatever) paddock, do you think any two bikes are set up the same?!?!!? ... hell no, every rider has their own preference ... what works for one man won't work for another!! Wink

These people pay people to twiddle their suspension, but its the rider feedback that is crucial ... without that (and the telemetry) the suspension gurus are powerless ...
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Last edited by Blue_SV650S on 00:23 - 06 Mar 2009; edited 3 times in total
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 23:48 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Noxious89123 wrote:

It is quite easy to mess up though. Nothing i do seems to make an improvement. Ride feels quite harsh on my bike atm Sad.


I don't know the spec you have it at now/what you have got settings wise, but from what you just said, I suspect that is probably because you are trying to compensate for springs that are too soft by upping preload and damping ...

That is a bit like trying to lose weight by weighing yourself on the moon ...
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Noxious89123
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PostPosted: 23:52 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm only 8st! Front suspension is all standard (although i tried it with 1/4 turn more compression and rebound. Made little / no difference). Rear suspension i;ve got the preload set 1 notch above standard. Makes the steering feel much more precise an responsive, so a definite + point to that change. Was rather bouncy feeling at times, so increased the compression a bit. Just felt a little less compliant with bumps. It's nearly a 10y/o bike, so the damping oil is probably waaay past it's best by now. An aftermarket rear shock is so expensive though, and i'm not sure yet if i want to keep this bike or sell it in a year or two. (Mmm, 929).

Oh, and something else that might interest you. More rear preload means the rear of the bike will sit a little higher. (ie, the preload is higher / "harder"). But because of th rising rate linkage, it effectively makes the spring rate lower / softer!

I'm leaning towards it being fucked tyres causing the poor handling at the moment. Once the roads have cleared up a bit better, an i've got fresh rubber fitted i'll start fiddling again.
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 23:58 - 05 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Noxious89123 wrote:
I'm only 8st! Front suspension is all standard (although i tried it with 1/4 turn more compression and rebound. Made little / no difference). Rear suspension i;ve got the preload set 1 notch above standard. Makes the steering feel much more precise an responsive, so a definite + point to that change. Was rather bouncy feeling at times, so increased the compression a bit. Just felt a little less compliant with bumps. It's nearly a 10y/o bike, so the damping oil is probably waaay past it's best by now. An aftermarket rear shock is so expensive though, and i'm not sure yet if i want to keep this bike or sell it in a year or two. (Mmm, 929).


Again, shame the racetech spring thing is out of order, but I suspect you have the the same problem .. i.e the wrong spring rate (in your case too heavy/strong rather than to light/weak) ...

You are wasting your time fecking about with damping if you have the wrong springs in there ...

I am not surprised you are getting a harsh ride if you are 8st ....

IIRC most Jap bikes are based on a 10-11st rider .... but again without knowing the spring rates that are in there and the geometry, its hard to say for specific bikes ... racetech website was good for that Sad
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Bikeless
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PostPosted: 10:23 - 06 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

fireblade2102 wrote:
I haven't seen any conflicting answers and my advice comes from setting my own bike up and talking to Nick White at KAIS who done my forks not some bike magazine.Why pay £50 for something which is easy to do yourself.


Blue sv 650,i think you missed my point,i didn't pay to have my standard forks set up,i had them rebuilt with springs to suit my weight,new oil and altered damping.I set up the suspension myself on advice from a suspension company,i did not pay for this advice,it was given to me when the work was being done.

When i said some bike magazine i wasn't slating bike magazine setup guides,they are very helpful,the ones i have read anyway.


Last edited by Bikeless on 10:36 - 06 Mar 2009; edited 2 times in total
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Wafer_Thin_Ham
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PostPosted: 10:32 - 06 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

Put it all back to standard and go from there.

If you aren't sure how to set the sag then don't bother.

(Although it's easy and would take you and a mate about 20 minutes.)

And yes sounds like the guy you spoke to was trying to pull a fast one. If it was really that dangerous you would feel it. Wink
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MarJay
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PostPosted: 10:42 - 06 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

www.majay.co.uk/setup.pdf

Its free, its good and it tells you everything you need to know.

The thing is, if this guy didn't tell you your setup was crap then would you have even cared? No. This makes him a cnut. Also, how does he know its not a good setup for you and the way you ride?

Cnut.
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Blue_SV650S
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PostPosted: 12:03 - 06 Mar 2009    Post subject: Reply with quote

fireblade2102 wrote:

Blue sv 650,i think you missed my point,i didn't pay to have my standard forks set up,i had them rebuilt with springs to suit my weight,new oil and altered damping.I set up the suspension myself on advice from a suspension company,i did not pay for this advice,it was given to me when the work was being done.

When i said some bike magazine i wasn't slating bike magazine setup guides,they are very helpful,the ones i have read anyway.


You are right, I misread that Embarassed ... you are agreeing £50 on a pro is unnecessary, not that you spent £50 on a pro and think mags/listing to people (interweb) is silly Embarassed
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