Another R1 question, suspension.

P.addy · Red Rocket Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :

My rear suspension is damn hard. In Spain and their superb roads, this may not be an issue, but shit it shakes you to bits on the UK roads.

Front is fairly hard but it at least has some noticeable movement. Laughing

Any idea how I can remove the stiffness from the rear shock, it is the stock one and its one notch from the highest height wise, there is an adjuster on the side, screwdriver style. Is it simply undo a few notches and retest? It barely sags lower when I sit on it. Thumbs Up

mudcow007 · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 Feb 2012 Karma :

eat some fried chicken.... Thumbs Up

my cg looks lowered when i get on it

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

P.addy · Red Rocket Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :

Ta MarJay, shall have a read now.

It just feels far too stiff to be user friendly you know Laughing

Edit .. having a quick flick through, definitely VERY detailed. Gonna take that downstairs with me after having a few reads. Problem 1 is the "2 mates" part.

I have 2 mates in total. So this is going well Laughing

Should have stated, I'm heading to Spain with luggage... I should really leave this until I get back, but I assume the static sag as it is would be inclusive of the luggage?

Walloper · Super Spammer Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Karma :

It's stiff to handle the power. If it was like a pram (for babies) the bike would not handle worth a fcuk under power.
Try to sit more balanced and equalize your weight. It's the wee bubbles in the road that do the most hurt. They just catch your diaphragm on the rebound which upsets one's tea. You need to MTFU a bit. Very Happy

I have setting adjustment on my bike (using the ignition key). Never needed to touch it. But then most folk don't understand what their suspension is doing most of the time so, as said, you can mess it up worsesersesr if you 'ave a go.
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P.addy · Red Rocket Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :

Seriously, it is far too stiff for UK roads. I rarely have a pillion but when someone was on the back, christ.. it was solid. Laughing

I think I'm gonna sit and read this a handful of times, realistically, the front feels bang on, a tiny bit hard but it appears that can be dialled out quite simply.

Walloper · Super Spammer Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Karma :

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

What most people refer to as 'stiffness' is often just compression damping. You'll need to make sure you definitely back off the compression damping and not the rebound, as a lack of rebound can have a nasty effect on the handling.

It really really is worth setting up the bike for your own weight. It is possible to set the static sag without the aid of two friends. I did it loosely on the KR1S forks by using a cable tie to measure the static sag, and leaning the bike onto its sidestand to set the cable tie to the highest point and measure once I'd let the bike settle.

It'll make a massive difference for going to Spain.
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P.addy · Red Rocket Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :

I'll do it tomorrow, gives me lots of time Mr. Green

Lyam · Spanner Monkey Joined: 06 Apr 2011 Karma :

Reset it to factory settings, at least it should be balanced then

Fizzer Thou · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 Aug 2011 Karma :

When I first bought my 5JJ R1 from a friend it wallowed all over the place on standard settings.The previous owner was a friend who had not a clue on how to set up the suspension and so left everything as he had bought it new from the shop.

But it was terrible Confused

So I checked to ensure that the clickers all moved ok,then set about making some changes.

The rear shock has three adjusters.The top screwdriver adjuster is for the 'Compression damping'.The stepped adjuster above the spring is for the 'Preload' and the screwdriver slot at the bottom of the shock is for the 'Rebound damping'.

So,if the spring preload is on number 8 of 9,then I would use a 'C' spanner and back off the preload to say step 6 of 9,so that the spring is now longer.This will allow more travel and feel more 'plush' as the yanks call the feel of the rear shock.

I would adjust the compression and rebound adjusters to 4 clicks out from fully clockwise.These are the standard settings for a rider and pillion.To make any worthwhile changes,start with the Rebound clicker at the base of the shock and go two clicks +/- after the initial ride to see if you can feel that you can improve on the feel of the suspension.If you prefer it set as 4 clicks out,then turn your attention to the Compression adjuster at the top and try 2 clicks +/- from the standard 4 clicks out from fully clockwise.If you prefer the feel that you had with 4 clicks out then return it to that setting.

The standard rear shocks are pretty good.But I can feel the difference that the Ohlins rear shock that I have fitted gives my ride.

https://i666.photobucket.com/albums/vv23/WiNot_Rhencullen/Workshop/BikesBikesBikes347.jpg
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Howling TerrorOutOfOffice · Super Spammer Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Karma :

Dave Moss does some decent videos on suspension setup.

https://youtu.be/mK3flKxf41U?t=15s
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