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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha World Chat Champion
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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ThatDippyTwat |
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ThatDippyTwat World Chat Champion
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Posted: 18:33 - 04 Jan 2018 Post subject: |
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I have aftermarket shocks, there is no adjustment, but that's because I ordered the cheapest shite that would work. It's a ratted cruiser, not a track weapon ____________________ '98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine) |
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Howling Terror |
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Howling Terror Super Spammer
Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Karma :
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Posted: 18:49 - 04 Jan 2018 Post subject: |
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Oh Trev! This is a can of worms dude. You think 'Simple question'...Tell yer it is the darkest of arts with many proclaiming they are the doktor.
With that said have you changed the fork oil recently and checked the spring lengths etc as these give you a stable platform to compare from.
e.g The oil in the ST2 is old, I know this because during a long ride or if I'm making good progress I notice the change in rebound. If the adjusters were at the fork tops I'd be adding a couple of clicks.
So in answer to Q1 No.
As for Q2 it's common for aftermarket manufactures to offer suspension parts that are made to measure. Again using the ST2 as an example. The rear shock is undersprung for what I carry on it. My guess is that the bike was tested by a couple of slender Italians who packed nothing but skimpy underwear into the panniers and not a 13 stone bloke (possibly 14 stone when fully soaked through in winter kit and helmet.) carrying a 9 stone pillion and camping gear for 10 days.
I set the preload so I've got about 20-30mm of travel (front and back obvs) when I sit on the bike kitted up. marker pen and tape measure and using the wall of the shed to aid me as I'm trying to read the measurement..Requires 2 people for pedantry purposes.
Then using the factory compression and rebound 'recommendations' I ride the bike and ride and unless it's glaringly obvious like crazy fork dive or iron girder compression I stick with it for a good while before making subtle adjustments....which TBH is a complete compromise.
It's never quite right for the bad surfaced rutted roads nor is it for the ultra smooth long sweeping corners.
It's surprising how you can ignore a poor setup if you're riding conservatively. My friend didn't notice only one fork had oil in his duevlle and the preload was on max (he weighs nowt).
Signed
doktor HT (PTSD) ____________________ Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project |
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The Shaggy D.A. |
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The Shaggy D.A. Super Spammer
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Posted: 18:52 - 04 Jan 2018 Post subject: |
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I just stiffen the rear preload, because I'm a fat fuck. ____________________ Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5 |
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TheMadRatter |
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TheMadRatter Scooby Slapper
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Howling Terror |
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Howling Terror Super Spammer
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Blah blah |
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Blah blah Scooby Slapper
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M.C |
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M.C Super Spammer
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Kawasaki Jimbo |
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Kawasaki Jimbo World Chat Champion
Joined: 09 Oct 2015 Karma :
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Posted: 20:07 - 04 Jan 2018 Post subject: |
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I've always made adjustments to the suspension settings whilst leaving tyre pressures as standard (36 psi front, 42 psi rear). You can make a noticeable improvement in how the bike enters and exits a corner, for example if you find your bike tends to run wide. It's a tricky task, and changes to the front can affect the rear (and vice versa). The Go Star Racing set up guide below is pretty good.
https://www.gostar-racing.com/club/motorcycle_suspension_set-up.htm
Last edited by Kawasaki Jimbo on 20:11 - 04 Jan 2018; edited 1 time in total |
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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notbike |
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notbike Formerly known as notabikeranymore
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Bozzy. |
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Bozzy. Scooby Slapper
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MarJay |
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MarJay But it's British!
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thx1138 |
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thx1138 World Chat Champion
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redeem ouzzer |
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redeem ouzzer World Chat Champion
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Howling Terror |
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Howling Terror Super Spammer
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redeem ouzzer |
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redeem ouzzer World Chat Champion
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stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
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Posted: 00:15 - 05 Jan 2018 Post subject: |
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Bought springs and shock of Wilburs. Did what they told me.
Was observed running wide on corners by a racer friend who advised dropping the front end about an inch, mainly because I'd been used to riding round with about 4" of rider sag before I resprung the bike and it felt like I was riding round doing a wheelie all the time. Did that too.
Both made a huge difference. ____________________ “Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :
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Posted: 12:12 - 05 Jan 2018 Post subject: Re: your bike's / bikes' suspension settings |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha wrote: | Quick question |
Quote: | If you've fitted after-market forks / fork internals / rear shock(s), etc. how did you arrive at the settings you now use? E.g. did you set the sag yourself, or get a dedicated place to do it? Etc. |
Pure blind luck
The non-standard rear shock was set up for me by the chap who fitted it. Well, I say set up - he asked me what my weight was, and dialled it in for that.
The front forks were a lucky find. I was after R1 forks, and got a set that had the K-Tech magic already worked on them. Now, it may be that they could be set up to be even better than they currently are, but I have not been able to fault them as they came.
In the past, I have put up with some shocking ( ) set-ups, simply because I don't really know (as in "haven't got a fucking clue mate" ) what I'm doing with it all myself. Never stopped me from riding a bike as hard as I could, although obviously poor suspension set-ups were probably limiting that - considerably in some cases. If in doubt, I tended to set up to a fairly 'harsh' ride, as I prefer something that feels controlled on a smooth road to having the thing wallowing all over the shop. That's about as technical as I ever got with it. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE! |
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Monkeypony |
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Monkeypony World Chat Champion
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Dr. DaveJPS |
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Dr. DaveJPS World Chat Champion
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Fizzer Thou |
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Fizzer Thou World Chat Champion
Joined: 06 Aug 2011 Karma :
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Posted: 16:10 - 05 Jan 2018 Post subject: |
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A friend was at Brands for a trackday on his 675 and was not perfectly happy with the setup that he had.So he approached the attending 'expert' who questioned the riders weight and then set about adjusting what was available....for £80.After another session out on track then the 'expert' was revisited and more adjustments made,none of which seemed like good value for money as the bike handled better,but not £80 better.
Now I am no suspension expert and only know what I have tried over the years by trial and error.But when the symptoms were explained,it suggested that the front was running too high.I suggested that maybe the forks should be dropped by maybe 5-6mm through the yokes.With this suggestion in mind,the 'expert' was revisited once again.The response by the 'expert' was why does every keyboard warrior think that dropping the forks makes for a perfect handling bike.Well,the bike was not adjusted by the 'expert' in the way suggested and my friend returned to the pit lane none the wiser.After another session on track,we did drop the forks by 6mm and the difference was worth the effort,so my friend said afterwards.
On a personal note,when I first bought my Exup1000,I had never owned a bike that the magazines said handled so well handle so badly.The front wallowed all over the place,so this seemed like the best place to start.
So I measured the fork springs and they had sacked out slightly but were well within service limits,according to the Yamaha manual (not the Haynes).So a pair of 'Progressive Suspension' springs were bought and installed,together with some quality fork oil of the correct amount and weight.But,no matter how much I adjusted things,it did not go where I wanted.The Yamaha manual also gave details about how the standard rear shock should be adjusted for preload and damping settings for a single rider.After a ten mile rideout to test those settings,it still did not feel right.The damping setting suggested 4 or 5 clicks out from hardest and the preload suggestion was a certain measured amount and so I cranked up the preload to hardest and the damping setting,which the book suggests is rebound,set to 3 clicks out from hardest.This stopped the rear from sagging so much and stopped the front from going so light under hard acceleration.A much improved situation with a little bit of trial and error.
But it still did not seem as good as it could be.
Another friend had tried an EMC Race shock on his FireBlade track bike and had never found that 'sweet' setting that many search for.The Race shock had adjusters for preload,compression and rebound damping but only came with a preload spanner and no instructions.I was assured that the clickers were set up for a person my weight and riding style and so the shocks were transposed.The preload was adjusted for the right SAG and after a test ride it felt worse than the standard shock.A compromise was sought and so I rode down to the south of France with it as best as I could get.I kept notes about what I adjusted along the way,but again I never found that sweet setting that I was after.
After I returned I was out with another friend when the shock blew the seals along the A272 and I got home on a bike where the back end pogoed about all over the place.As I was due to go to Assen for the WSB the next day the only option was to use the standard shock,so on that went.The handling was transformed from what I had.
At the end of the day I replaced the EMC shock,which could not be rebuilt for some reason,with an Ohlins unit that I bought for a very good price.This changed the rear completely.So much so that the front progressively wound springs did not balance the bike,so they were replaced with Ohlins straight rate springs.With weights and amounts of oil adjusted after I had installed some 'Cartridge Fork Emulators' from Race-Tech in the USA,the handling is almost perfect.
And yes,dropping the forks through the yokes by a few millimetres did make a difference ____________________ Just talk bikes.What else is there?
Always have a 'Plan B' |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha |
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha World Chat Champion
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chickenstrip |
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chickenstrip Super Spammer
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Posted: 09:21 - 06 Jan 2018 Post subject: |
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I think some suspension units you could play around with forever and never get things handling nicely. Even some modern fully adjustable units I suspect just don't have the quality, or something like that.
Before the R1 forks went on mine, I too dropped the bike down the standard forks by about 10mm. It made for a noticeably quicker turn-in, the only downside I found was that it lost some stability right at the very top speed, which was worth the trade-off as it's not very often I see 150+mph on the clock, and an adjustment in riding position seemed to settle it anyway.
The R1 forks are set up to give me the standard bike's geometry. People on the Fazer forum have questioned whether an R6 rear shock can ever be right for the heavier Fazer 1000. All I know is that it is better than a brand new Hagon unit (which I had on an earlier bike), although that wasn't bad, and light years ahead of the performance of the standard item, even when in reasonable fettle.
The first thing I did was the R6 shock replacement. This improved things enough that I was able to push the bike to the point where I would swear I was noticing some flex in the standard forks. So the R1 forks seemed like a worthwhile investment, and so have proved to be. In fact, I had thought that the rear shock replacement would make the most difference, but the fork replacement absolutely transformed the bike, way beyond my expectations.
I am now at a point where I feel I no longer need to mess with it all, bearing in mind it is strictly a road bike. This is the first time in more than 30 years of riding I have been at this point
I do wonder about whether the forks could possibly now do with servicing by K-Tech - no idea if they recommend this from time to time for more than just taking more money off folks - but I haven't noticed any drop-off in performance in probably something like 30k miles.
Quite a few of the guys on the Fazer forum highly recommend Nitron rear shocks, which is probably who I would go to if the R6 unit supply ever dried up. ____________________ Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE! |
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 6 years, 110 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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