suss spension

[arthur dunga]

not long after i had my bike on the road i did the front fork pre load & dampening settings i read from one of your posts & as it turned out thats what they had been set on anyway .but since i've been riding i've hit a few pot holes , not reel deep either & it seems to bottom out is there any way to check the springs ,say for a stamp or no. to make sure they are the genuine units ? <i></i>

[Blackzook]

Hey mate not sure where you are located but I suggest you go to a local Racetech dealer and have them either set the bike up for your weight and riding style or fit the correct springs/gold valves to suit. <i></i>

[harleymark]

Just to see if it is bottoming or just to mutch dampaning soften the rebound and or compression by 1 click but dont do both together <i></i>

[BEAR]

get someone to check for sag on the front, that will sort out the spring rates. Also, stick a small zip tie around the fork leg at the bottom, go for a ride, and do some stopping. Do light stops first and check the zip tie position, then harder and harder, checking all the time. There's supposed to be about 30mm of cuhioning at the bottom of the travel, so that's where it should stop. If it goes to the bottom, there's been worjk done on the forks.
If you are at all unsure, do as suggested and get to a bike suspension guy. Should take about 20min to check it all out and recommend a fix. <i></i>

[harleymark]

30 ml sag why you are more than likely only going to get 40 plus i am a big bloke and 43 ml works fine .that 30 ml may be fine on smooth roads <i></i>

[spamanglenn]

Aim for 40 -45mm total sag for the road,front and back.That makes it nice enough over bumps and will keep the tyres on the ground.Revalve or shim the front,change the fork oil and put 1.1-1.2kg springs in it.the front will be 100% better for about 4-600 bucks.The rear benefits alot too but do the front first and then let the rear annoy you so you will appreciate an upgrade.you can upgrade the stock shock or buy an aftermarket one.I personally have been happier with aftermarket but thats your choice. Glenn the Spa Man<i></i>

[arthur dunga]

thanks 4 the input, thats whats great about this site ,& for free to.havent had a chance to go for a ride till to day,live next to the kinglake national park & don't wont to leave the house for long on these fireban days.i did soften up the pre load & that has seemed to improve things a lot maybe a little less feel & with the cable tie only 10-15 mm which doesn't seem a lot left, sfa really .went out early this morning looking for pot holes ,carn't find em when you want to, did some hard stops but i dont think i'd wanna stand it up & drop it. its the homer simpson in me if i see an ajustment i have to alter it i'll have a bit more of a play before i take it to a shop i think,doesn't matter if i stuff up on my bike.cheers arthur <i></i>

[Maj750t]

I think Bear & Harleymark are talking about 2 different things
Bear mentioned 30mm fork left unused , this can be raised or lowered by the fluid level in the forks, if its bottoming hard and the spring rate is good most times and the static sag is good, then raise the fluid level 10mm, this creates more of an air cushion at the end of your travel .
Harleymark mentioned sag, which is an indication of your spring rate , with your gear on sitting supported on the bike in riding position you should have used ~30-35mm of the suspension travel , less if you like it firm.
45mm would be using up nearly 1/2 of the suspension travel just standing still, not much left for bumps.. <i></i>

[BEAR]

The un-used bit I was talking about is the extreme bit of travel left at the bottom. This is set as a anti bottoming type of cushion, which can be removed if you're really really keen on getting the max travel out of the forks, but if it then does bottom out under extreme bumps or braking it goes solid, metal to metal and you're probably in strife. So only for racing on smooth tracks! The sag is the movement taken up by the riders weight and I would have thought 30mm for smooth roads is OK. But yep, more for rougher roads. It's a compromise though, more sag = softer springs, so you don't want to use up too much travel with sag.
Mine was set at 30mm by going up slightly in spring stifness (1.1kg/mm I recall). I asked for suspension suitable for track days but mainly road use. <i></i>