Suspension Gurus Help Me!!!!!

[nora2004]

Hey all, dont post much on here, more of a viewer but lets see if you can help, I have a Mito 350 which is great, but with the engine physically been bigger once in the frame there is a shit load more weigh over the front of the bike, soo much infact that when the bike is at a standstill the forks will drop down by an inch under its own weight, and if I go over a really bad pothole I can sometimes bottom them out, which is bad!!

Now Im no suspension expert but this is what I think is happening, coming to a corner Im on the brakes, I then get off before I turn, just as I tip the bike, so about a qtr through the corner I'll get on the throttle, just a tab to keep the bike stable and moving. Now from what I understand when I get on the throttle most of the weight is supposed to transfer to the back end releasing the load of the front tyre so it doesnt tuck, but with the Mito rear spring been soo damn hard this doesnt happen, so now with the front forks been under too much load the bike will want to run wide, and the more I lean it to try and counteract this the more the bike feels unstable and the fron end will go very vague and I cant feel much from it anymore, this is the point I get scared and try and straighten up.

This problem becomed more apparent when going into a corner which gets tighter as it goes round as I have to lean more, but as stated above this just doesnt happen!

I know it all comes down to the fact that the front fork spring is too weak, especially as it only has one, so I rang maxton but they want 400 quid and 6 weeks to sort em out!! lol

So is there anything I can do with oil weights and amounts to try and solve this, or are all mitos naturally like this, I dont know as Ive never ridden a std one before, or seen a std ones forks!

Ive also got a fully adjustable erar spring which I can adjust to make softer I suppose, but with me not knowing jack shit about suspension I dont know which knob to turn or where to even start, so I havent even put it on yet!

I know stuff like this goes on weight and shit, so my skinny 9st 5ft8" frame isnt going to help any, but what about tyres can they have a big part in this, at the mo I have a dunlop d207rr on the front and a, dont laugh, bridgestone Bt92 on the rear, which I know is shit, which is why I ordered a set of Bt090's, will these make a big difference in anyway, is it the suspension, is it in my head or am I just a pussy?

Give me your thought!

Cheers

[craigs23]

I'd get your front end sorted to begin with - atleast with uprated springs that can tolerate the required static sag needed to keep the bike's poise.

Why's there only 1 spring? There should be 2; one for each fork leg?

[nora2004]

Thats just the way the forks are, same as the rs125's!

Its not just as easy as getting new springs though, everything is sealed and I would need a new cartridge, this is what will cost the money, I was just hoping there might of been something I could of done!

[the grim reaper]

If I remember correctly, the forks are set up so that there is a spring in one fork leg and the oil in the other. You should be able to make the front end stiffer by adding oil of the correct weight and minimising the air gap in the oil fork leg. Measure the existing air gap and add oil to reduce it by 10mm at a time, then go out and test it. It doesn't take much more oil to make the front end a lot stiffer.

To adjust the back end, I'd recommend backing the pre-load off to get a bit more static sag and then wind off the compression a bit to allow the rear shock to move more easily (if you can, the shock might not have compression adjustment). It might be worth winding off the rebound (again, if you can) to stop any pogoing of the back end.

To help in future, the preload, rebound and compression are as follows.

Pre-load - Applies pressure to the existing spring to make the shock or forks more resistant to the riders mass. By minimising the static sag (the amount the suspension compresses at standstill with the rider on it) you get a ride that is not too harsh but still enjoy the full suspension movement.

Compression - the force required to get the suspension (forks or shock) moving in the first place, wind this down and you'll get a ride that wallows, wind it up and it'll be like riding a hardtail.

Rebound - the force that the suspension pushes back with. Once the suspension is compressed, rebound controls how fast and hard the shock then pushes back to it's original position. Wind this down and the suspension won't recover before the next bump, wind it up and the ride will be bouncy as the suspension pushes back hard.

Cheers

Grim
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[Dark]

What adjustments are available to you front and rear? ie preload, compression and rebound
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