Suspension Setup Question

[Yellow Bullet]

I'm riding a CBR and am wondering about how I should setup my front forks. Right now they are in the middle between hard and soft.

I was more or less wondering how everyone else has there suspension setup? Also, what are the pros and cons for each setting?


Disclamer: I like my Honda... I know that some of you dont. But that is not what I inteded this thread for. Thank you.

[bandido]

Honda sucks.

[Devaclis]

I am hoping that in a week or two I can help you answer this questions

[konichd]

Talk to IRDAVE on the board, he setup my 636 suspension and when I was down at VIR I had Ohlin's spring my front works. Dave's settings were right on according to them and they didn't change a thing setting wise.

[~Barn~]

Assuming your preload is setup for your geared weight, you can pretty much just play around with fork and shock settings, to find what you think is most appealing to you. I don't know what the range of suspension settings is for your stock CBR, but typically you can adjust both rebound and compression damping, front and back.

Picture hitting a bump on your bike. That is compression. If you overly damp your compression, the "spring" action of the forks/shock will not absorb it very well, and it will jar you. It will be noticable. My recomendation to you (again, assuming you have your sag aka preload dialed), would be to start from the most damped and work your way softer. Take some test rides and see if you like the way the bike absorbs bumps. Work a click at a time, and eventually you'll find a sweetspot where the bike feels good to you. And keep in mind that "good" may not be the same commuting to work, as it would be lapping PMP or whatever.

On the flipside, the rebound damping is the action of the spring returning back. Again, if it's overly damped, the spring won't return to it's natural rested state quickly enough and may not be prepared for the next bump it encounters. Overly un-damped, and the bike will probably wallow all over the place. Same philosophy applies if you're going to dial this in yourself. Work a click at a time and go from the most restricted outward. It'll take some time and some test rides, but you'll find what you like.

[Clarkie]

Work a click at a time and go from the most restricted outward.

this advice could land you on your head very very easily and is probably the worst thing you can do, I would just call Dave

[~Barn~]

Sportbikes in general can land you on your head very very easily. If having your suspension clicked all the way to the far end of adjustment is enough to stick you in the ground like a golf tee, then even Dave's help isn't going to save you from yourself.


Mileage may vary.

[Clarkie]

i have seen a stock set of forks effectively 'lock up' when the rebound and/or compression is cranked all the way in, more commonly you can get chatter caused by the forks packing down which cause a lot of street crashes, it's this thing with fluid dynamics and stuff.

But hey what do i know, it's not like i test suspension components for one of the top US suspension companies is it?

[Bueller]

Yeah, Clarkie don't know nothing about going fast

[~Barn~]

But hey what do i know, it's not like i test suspension components for one of the top US suspension companies is it?

Damn. Sorry careerbuilder.com. I guess I had no idea of your vast suspension testing pedigree.

Yellow Bullet... I take it back. In light of new information, I recommend that you never fiddle with anything that is adjustable on your bike. Take it to people who have seen stuff.

:disaster averted:







Edit: And yes... before anybody starts telling me about how Aaron is this and that and the other, I do realize he's an accomplished racer, and undoubtedly knows plenty about being fast and going fast. He could surely outride me on his worst day, with a patch over one eye. Regardless of his racing prowess, and even of his profession though, I still have no qualms with my suggestion to Y.B, of dialing in his suspension to see what he likes. His question never alluded to "how can I cut down my lap times...", or "where would you recommend I take my bike...". He asked for advise on how he could do something. Freak accidents and unusual occurances aside, I don't think Y.B. is in any grave danger, by applying a little suspension test-n-tune. It's not like I told him to run his tires at 50psi or adjust his chain slack to 4 inches.

[BigE]

Hey Yellow, you're up here in Loveland right? If so give me a pm.
If you're in Denver check with Mike S. at Supertune in Arvada.

[Bassil Duwaik]

It's not the end of the world if you touch your suspen, trust me. The main thing to be sure about is that the front doesn't bounce differently then the back. In essence the bike doesn't do like a seesaw. Here's a site that will help you adjust.

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_...gs/index3.html

[Clarkie]

Edit: And yes... before anybody starts telling me about how Aaron is this and that and the other, I do realize he's an accomplished racer, and undoubtedly knows plenty about being fast and going fast. He could surely outride me on his worst day, with a patch over one eye. Regardless of his racing prowess, and even of his profession though, I still have no qualms with my suggestion to Y.B, of dialing in his suspension to see what he likes. His question never alluded to "how can I cut down my lap times...", or "where would you recommend I take my bike...". He asked for advise on how he could do something. Freak accidents and unusual occurances aside, I don't think Y.B. is in any grave danger, by applying a little suspension test-n-tune. It's not like I told him to run his tires at 50psi or adjust his chain slack to 4 inches.

Barn i never said dont adjust it, playing with it as you suggested is a good way to find a setup you like, I would just advise against cranking the adjuster all the way in. On some forks/shock bottoming out the adjuster wont actually do anything at all, on other bikes it can cause problems.

Suspension isnt the black art people think it is, but once you have the information in front of you, you can make leaps and bounds towards getting your bike working well for you.

The most important thing (as you said) is to get the correct spring rates and sag for you and your bike. Dave Moss (I have no affiliation with him) has a couple of good DVD's that explain suspenion really well, while he contradicts himself a lot and a lot of his ideas i dont agree with, his DVD's are pretty good http://www.feelthetrack.com/index.html

[pilot]

PM sent.

[Yellow Bullet]

Thanks guys, I'll start adjusting it on Sunday.

Now body weight also makes a difference on how this should be setup also, correct?

[Yellow Bullet]

A question that I have on the tip of my tounge would have to be; how bad does your bikes front end dive when stopping?

[~Barn~]

Thanks guys, I'll start adjusting it on Sunday.

Now body weight also makes a difference on how this should be setup also, correct?

G'luck with whatever route to decide to take. A well sorted suspension is an awesome difference to experience.

And to answer your last question before I check outta here, yes your body weight does make a difference in how you setup your suspension. "Weight" in essence, is exactly what your suspension is managing.

The weight of you, the weight of your bike's frame & engine, the weight of your gear, passengers, exhaust, etc.

Certain parts of your bike are not carried by the suspension however, such as wheels, brake rotors, and the like. You'll hear the term "unsprung weight" thrown around, and that refers to exactly these pieces, as they are not riding on the suspension.

First and foremost though, read-up on setting your "sag" or "preload". This is the baseline adjustment you'll need to make, before you even worry about your damping rates. If you're a pretty large dude, you might even look into different springs more suited for your weight. It's not entirely necessary, but if you have the money to spend on it, and you only want to do it once, it's worth looking into. Clarkie said it best, in that it's not a black-art. You find the setup that you like, based on your style of riding, and that's that. Some will lean toward a comfy and plush ride and others will want their bike dialed to feel a real connection with the road/track; it's up to you.

Like I said though, good luck. And good-lookin'-out for even wanting to sort your suspension, and not focusing on power gains.


Oh yeah, Honda sucks.

[Yellow Bullet]

G'luck with whatever route to decide to take. A well sorted suspension is an awesome difference to experience.

And to answer your last question before I check outta here, yes your body weight does make a difference in how you setup your suspension. "Weight" in essence, is exactly what your suspension is managing.

The weight of you, the weight of your bike's frame & engine, the weight of your gear, passengers, exhaust, etc.

Certain parts of your bike are not carried by the suspension however, such as wheels, brake rotors, and the like. You'll hear the term "unsprung weight" thrown around, and that refers to exactly these pieces, as they are not riding on the suspension.

First and foremost though, read-up on setting your "sag" or "preload". This is the baseline adjustment you'll need to make, before you even worry about your damping rates. If you're a pretty large dude, you might even look into different springs more suited for your weight. It's not entirely necessary, but if you have the money to spend on it, and you only want to do it once, it's worth looking into. Clarkie said it best, in that it's not a black-art. You find the setup that you like, based on your style of riding, and that's that. Some will lean toward a comfy and plush ride and others will want their bike dialed to feel a real connection with the road/track; it's up to you.

Like I said though, good luck. And good-lookin'-out for even wanting to sort your suspension, and not focusing on power gains.

Well, what I'm looking into now is how I can improve my riding skill before I try to manage more power. I can handle the power now. And everyone always wants more, it the nature of a male.

But I have been thinking about how my bike is setup now and wondering if I change the settings, it might improve my riding style. I've had the bike for about a year now and haven't messed with it yet. That's why I was wondering so much. I've gotten used to what the bike wants to do, and what I can do with it. Although, I'm still learning (never-ending cycle) I want to experiment and see if I can find something that I can really work

Oh yeah, Honda sucks.

We have a comedian.

[Bueller]

And everyone always wants more, it the nature of a male.

Not necessarily, small underpowered bikes are one of the best ways to learn to ride efficiently. I enjoy the smaller light weight bikes much more. I have been steadily moving to less weight and displacement and bigger fun factor. 160mph in a straight line doesn't mean much to me.

And yes the static sag and race sag figures will tell you if you should change your spring rate. Get the correct sag set first and formost as all other adjustments hinge on this initial setting. If it were me I would center all clickers and adjust one at a time, one click at a time(adjust both forks simultaneously though). You can adjust them in the extreme ends to feel the effect so you know what each does, but don't ride the bike at normal speeds because of what Clarkie was eluding to, it is just a way to get a feel for the reaction of the adjustment.

BTW the Honduh sucks thing is a long running joke, maybe.

[pilot]

Not necessarily, small underpowered bikes are one of the best ways to learn to ride efficiently. I enjoy the smaller light weight bikes much more. I have been steadily moving to less weight and displacement and bigger fun factor. 160mph in a straight line doesn't mean much to me.

And yes the static sag and race sag figures will tell you if you should change your spring rate. Get the correct sag set first and formost as all other adjustments hinge on this initial setting. If it were me I would center all clickers and adjust one at a time, one click at a time(adjust both forks simultaneously though). You can adjust them in the extreme ends to feel the effect so you know what each does, but don't ride the bike at normal speeds because of what Clarkie was eluding to, it is just a way to get a feel for the reaction of the adjustment.

BTW the Honduh sucks thing is a long running joke, maybe.

Yah, you shoulda seen Marty on his 125cc ride running with the 600's. Down the straights everybody goes zoomin by. Then between nine and 10, at Pueblo, he's back up in the middle of the pack. Imagine all that passing. That bike weighs like 160. Not to mention he was the fastest back on the gas in turn 10--of what I saw.

[tarded400]

Yellow- I live in loveland too, so I could help you adjust the bike if you want. Also- I had an 00' cbr and had IRDAVE change my fork oil- made a HUGE difference. Might be something to check out, its probably about time in your bike.

[supertune]

Hi,
I am Mike, owner of SuperTune Motorsports shop in Wheat Ridge. I can help you with setting up your suspension.
It is best to balance the bike with adjusting springs both front & rear to work well for you and the bike.
After the springs are set up, we can help with compression and rebound damper settings to help make the bike more stable and consistent for your riding (street/canyon/track days). When the bike is more stable and predictable for how you ride, THEN you can work on and improve your riding technique.
Give me a call or stop over to the shop.

[swademaster]

for Mike at Supertune.

He did a great job setting up my suspension with all the Racetech goodies I took him. I went from a Bitubo rear shock and stock forks at my first day at MPH. The second time I had the Bitubo set up better and Racetech goodies in the forks, all set up by Mike. I am sure that knowing the track helped, but having the suspension poperly set up probably helped more in getting my knee down for the first time on my second track day at MPH.

[pf702]

Ditto...Hondas SUCK !!