Uneven compression adjustment?

[Nooch]

Im no suspension pro by any means, but tonight I decided to get my hands dirty after reading up on adjustments and I tightened up the factory settings on my R6. I adjusted the front and rear compression damping and made it harder and then rode it around the neighborhood a bit. Its definitely a noticeable difference already and I think I did everything right (following the user manual instructions). I used two wrenches on the front adjusters and turned them both at the same time and tried to make it as even as possible but of course I can only eyeball it. But on the off chance that I turned the wrenches just a bit unevenly, how much of an impact will it have on handling/tire wear? Is there a better way to adjust two bolts simultaneously?

[Vellos]

The goal is to get an equal rebound of your bike (front and back). On the street it won't be a big deal, but for track you want to dial it in fully. Also what year R6? Most bike's compression settings are at the bottom of the forks that take a screwdriver to adjust.

[Nooch]

The goal is to get an equal rebound of your bike (front and back). On the street it won't be a big deal, but for track you want to dial it in fully. Also what year R6? Most bike's compression settings are at the bottom of the forks that take a screwdriver to adjust.

Its a 2010. According to the user manual, the rebound adjuster is a screw at the top of the fork at the triple clamp. The compression adjuster is at the bottom, but there is no screw on the bottom, just a bolt. Honestly, I can't tell just yet whether the rebound is in need of adjustment, but I can definitely tell the compression is too soft. Im a bigger guy (225 lbs) and the factory settings were causing me to notice some weird squatting during hard cornering and some serious chatter in the rear end on certain sections of interstates.

[asp_125]

Well, the only way to be sure is to turn it in all the way to the stops, and then back it out, counting the number of turns.

[Vellos]

Should just get your suspension done so you don't have to worry about it. Also is your SAG set properly? ~150lbs is typical stock suspension.

[Nooch]

Should just get your suspension done so you don't have to worry about it. Also is your SAG set properly? ~150lbs is typical stock suspension.

Its not. Im having a hard time finding a competent partner to help me set the sag, I was just hoping to tighten up the compression a little in the meantime. Im sure the worst case scenario is probably one side is off by MAYBE 1/8 of a turn, and Im generally a pessimist anyway. Im pretty sure Im just being a bit paranoid, but I figured its safer to be prepared for the possible repercussions just in case. I only tightened the front about 1.5 turns total.

[dragos13]

Its not. Im having a hard time finding a competent partner to help me set the sag, I was just hoping to tighten up the compression a little in the meantime. Im sure the worst case scenario is probably one side is off by MAYBE 1/8 of a turn, and Im generally a pessimist anyway. Im pretty sure Im just being a bit paranoid, but I figured its safer to be prepared for the possible repercussions just in case. I only tightened the front about 1.5 turns total.

If you are trying to tighten compression, you need to be making the adjustments at the bottom of the forks. There, you will find both high speed and low speed adjustments.

High speed will be the outer nut, low speed is the inner flat head. "Speed" is going to refer to how fast the fork moves in. High speed would be hitting a bump or pot hole. Low speed will be gradual changes such as braking or transitioning from downhill to uphill.

If you push on the front end and it feels "soft" start adjusting the low speed. You won't know if they are even unless you tighten them all the way in, then count an appropriate amount of turns back out. Also, after making adjustments you should test ride in an area where you tend to notice issues, such as riding in the canyons. Around the neighborhood might not be accurate in how the bike is going to feel at higher speeds. If the front end is stock, you will never be able to get correct sag and compression for your body weight. It would require changing out the springs. You can make it better though with proper changes.

Another change to consider is preload, which is the nut on the top of the forks. This will change how much pressure is put against the springs when the front end isn't under load. It also changes the geometry which will affect the overall handling. The flat head screw on the top is your rebound.

Can you further explain what you feel when riding? What do you mean by "squat" on the front end? Squat is typically a term used to describe the rear end when exiting a corner under power. How does the bike handle coming into a turn? Under braking? Mid turn? Etc...

A great book for suspension beginners is Sportbike Suspension Tuning by Andrew Trevitt. I used this bike to dial in my 06 R6 during the last couple race seasons and it helps a lot.

Post up more info and I'd be happy to help you out.

[Nooch]

If you are trying to tighten compression, you need to be making the adjustments at the bottom of the forks. There, you will find both high speed and low speed adjustments.

On my bike (stock forks) I don't have the flathead adjustment on the bottom nut. My user manual also does not reflect this.

Another change to consider is preload, which is the nut on the top of the forks. This will change how much pressure is put against the springs when the front end isn't under load. It also changes the geometry which will affect the overall handling.

I was under the impression that I shouldn't mess with preload until I set my static and free sag properly. Is this not the case?

Can you further explain what you feel when riding? What do you mean by "squat" on the front end? Squat is typically a term used to describe the rear end when exiting a corner under power. How does the bike handle coming into a turn? Under braking? Mid turn? Etc...

Overall the bike feels bouncy and unstable on uneven surfaces at high speed (55+ MPH). I also notice alot of front end dive under normal braking conditions. As far as cornering, the best way I can describe it is that the bike feels "wobbly" in corners. The more lean angle, the more pronounced the "wobble" becomes. If my throttle control is precise enough and I dont have to move my body around much on the bike, the bike will sit into the corner nicely and I can hold my lines pretty well. But if I shift my weight a little, or if I roll off the throttle a bit due to gravel or something in the road, the bike will start to bounce a little bit forcing me to either run wide or power out of the corner harder to make the bike sit back down. Im sure I need to adjust the rebound as well, but I chose to tighten up the compression first to remove some of the downward bounce so that I can better feel the rebound forces and figure out what adjustments I need to make there. Hope this helps, sorry if my wording is confusing.


Thanks very much for all the input! This is my 4th bike and I have dialed suspensions before but it has been 5 years and this is my first R6 (coming from older ZX6Rs) and easily the most adjustable suspension setup Ive ever worked with.

[675Rider]

From what Ive read you should set sag first and foremost, actually geometry but Id just do sag to keep it simple. Then set rebound to where your suspension settles back after you push down on the side youre adjusting in about a second. You also want to make sure both ends are balanced by pushin in the middle of the bike. Then compression is done by feel and is more of a fine tuning method. Its best to work in halves. So if you have a range of 10 clicks start at 5 then half of that in either direction you feel it needs to go. This is all from a great book by Andrew Trevitt. Theres a good video how to at the end of Twist of the Wrist 2 on how to set rider sag, prob on youtube as well.

[Vellos]

Keiths Code's SAG adjustment is not very well done.

Here'ya go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK3flKxf41U

[Nooch]

Keiths Code's SAG adjustment is not very well done.

Here'ya go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK3flKxf41U

Thanks man thats super helpful! I just need to find an assistant to help me get it set up. 3 roommates and I can't get them to stop playing Xbox long enough to help with this lol!

[Nooch]

Alright so I finally conned a buddy into helping me with the sag adjustments. Took a bit but turns out I had to set the shock preload to the softest setting and the fork preload to 1 line away from the softest setting. Im within the recommended measurements now for street riding. No chance to test it out yet though. Front end feels good now (havent touched the rebound or compression yet), rear end feels a bit "spongy" still but definitely better. Rebound seems pretty equal between front and rear when I push down on the seat and the clipons. Went to a parking lot around the corner and ran over some speed bumps and it felt pretty even.

Could be all in my head, but I swear the steering feels a bit quicker turning left than it does turning right. Any chance this could have something to do with my original issue assuming the compression adjustments are slightly off after all?

[dragos13]

Could be all in my head, but I swear the steering feels a bit quicker turning left than it does turning right. Any chance this could have something to do with my original issue assuming the compression adjustments are slightly off after all?

Since the front wheel is fixed into the steering stem and across the axle, uneven adjustments from the left side to the right side will not make a difference between left and right turning.

When the bike is on the stands, make sure the bars turn left and right without any drag. Sometimes cables, steering dampers, etc can get in the way when turning a certain way. Also make sure your throttle cable and clutch cable are routed correctly and not pulling tight when you turn the bars right.

That said, you should still try and make both settings even. Just click them all the way in counting the clicks or turns, split the difference then turn them back out. That way everything is the same and it will also let you know where you are currently set. Once you have a baseline, you can actually start making adjustments. This way, if things get worse you can revert back to where they were.

[dragos13]

Another thing to check is to make sure your forks are straight in the triple, and not twisted. Twisted forks will make steering different from left to right. To do this, you need two thin metal dowels. Set one on the top of the triple at the front of the forks and the other at the bottom of the forks just above the fender. Make sure the two dowels run parallel with each other.