Setting up suspension

[mitch179]

ok i have an 03 zx6r .. its setup wayyy too stiff for me , i barely move the suspension when i sit on it and it feels very stiff when im riding around..

but i wanna set it up right or close to for my weight... the guy i bought it off says its setup for someone weighing around 80kg... i only weigh around 68 kg

so if anyone has a link on how to do it or can give me some tips i would appreciate it!

[Steve_TLS]

Here's one I reproduced >> http://wotid.com/tls/content/view/22/53/

Here's another couple

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0006_susp/

http://www.sasbk.co.za/suspension_setup_guidelines.htm

[mitch179]

thanks for the links steve, i'll have a crack at setting it up, cant see myself doing too much harm

[Nanna10r]

Mitch it's a Barra after all so You'll probably have to change the rear spring, for one not Designed for Industrial use. Next ride Day we both go on I'll bring the infamous "Road side Suspension Workshop" & We'll get you closer to where it's meant to be. Too Easy.
Cheers Brett

[mitch179]

hell yeah sounds like a solution to me, ill definately be booking it in to the road side suspension workshop pontikate haha, also just looking on the sportrider link, they have 'suggested settings' for my bike and i can say mine is way stiffer than that now.. so i might dial in what they suggest and see how that goes.

just a couple of Q's :

1) when it says 'front rebound damping 6 clicks out' i assume u go to full hard then wind it out 6 clicks (and does it actually click or is that some kind of jargon) and i assume when it says X amount of turns or clicks out it means from fully wound in (duh i guess)

2) it says front comp damping 'full soft' does that mean i wind it out as far as it goes ... ?

3) i have no fucking idea which each thing is (apart from the preload adjusters) so if someone could explain with screw does what that would be a great help...

sorry for being a complete noob but i had a cbr250rr before this and it had basically no potential for adjustment so ive never had to worry about this! but atm i just want something a bit softer, im not riding the bike hard yet still getting a feel for it so if its not dialed in perfectly i can live with that until i get someone that knows what they are doing to give me a hand with it !

[Nanna10r]

The Spring preload adjustment is the most important thing Mitch, you count the number of rings showing above the Hex adjustment on the Front & Number of Threads showing on the Back.
Rebound Dampning is the Screw on top of the forks & Bottom of the rear shock it controls rate of spring reaction to Bumps. Compression DAMPNING is on the bottom of the fork legs its controls the rate of oil flow through the Valves, it's also the adjuctment on the Canister on the rear shock. .Fully in or clockwise is Increasing action on all adjustments .
If they dont click count the number of turns,
Try to do one adjustment at a time & ride the same peice of road (make it a crap peice of road too) The order I Adjust stuff is Rebound to 35mm Rider SAG back then front (including Stiction), then rebound to make if behave "Nose Diving under brakes" then compression Dampning INCREASED to take the bumps outta the handlebars. .
Also whack a little cable tie on one fork leg (not overly tightl) place it at the bottom & when you stop it will show how much of the travel you are using.
This is only a mugs guide mate there are some pretty cluey people in here with a lot more experience/understanding then me..
Oh btw what tyres did the Barra come with, cause tyre pressure is pretty critical & certain brands like different pressures but as a Ball park figure go 34/35 front & 36/38 back.
I recon suspension is an ongoing adjustment as you continue to find improvements as time goes on. Tiggr keeps getting Better every time i have a play with his suspension,
hth.
cheers Brett

[mitch179]

thanks heaps pontikat, i dialed in the suggested setup from the sport rider site for now until i have someone to help me do it just right. I just gotta ride it to see how it feels, mainly the front was way too stiff (going on what they suggested and how my bike was set up) so im hoping that makes it feel a little better, i liked how it handled but it did feel a lil too stiff for normal road riding.

[Neilp]

ok i have an 03 zx6r .. its setup wayyy too stiff for me , i barely move the suspension when i sit on it and it feels very stiff when im riding around..

but i wanna set it up right or close to for my weight... the guy i bought it off says its setup for someone weighing around 80kg... i only weigh around 68 kg

so if anyone has a link on how to do it or can give me some tips i would appreciate it!

Hi Mitch179 here is a shortcut to the Ohlins web page, download this document it has some very helpful tips regarding suspension setup. If you look on page 5 it tells you how to set the sag for your weight. You will need 2 or 3 people to set the sag properly as you need to be on the bike with all your gear, in your normal riding postion. We can probably organise a workshop/spanner day in the near future if anyone is interested. Anyway here is the link to the document.

http://www.ohlins.com/pdf/07241-02A.pdf

Any questions drop me a pm.

Neil

[gizmo]

I weigh 82kg's now & my 636 has a lighter rear spring on it.
The 03/04 636 suspension sucks, it would be a good idea to spend some $$$ on springs for your weight & some revalving done for it, something I will definitely be doing once I get the coin.

[mitch179]

Yeah a day of setting up suspension would be awesome, cause at the moment i really have nfi and wouldnt mind someone on hand to help me do it right...

[hoffy]

[gizmo]

You could also hassle bob to burn you a copy of his suspension for mortals 2 DVD set, gives you lots of info for general bike setup as well!

[Barrabob]

Have a few diferent weight springs for the rear as well as a stock shockie that has been revalved here too, think i am growing into the rear spring I am useing atm.

[Nanna10r]

Have a few diferent weight springs for the rear as well as a stock shockie that has been revalved here too, think i am growing into the rear spring I am useing atm.

Sounds painful Barra

cheers Brett

[mitch179]

hahaha,

thanks for everyones help ive set it to the stock settings suggested in the owners manual, which is sposed to be for a 68kg rider, so should work out alright!

thanks in advance barrabob for the dvd