[urymoto]

ok boys, truth is im a newb too, but every thing we learn that makes us stray from squidicity is a lesson well learned..here is mine:

exhaust? no...power commy? nope...better tires?nope..know your fuc#en bike, and mod your brakes and suspensiion before adding a useless slip-on (i admit, i did add a slip on first)

I realized my suspension was off!!! and being 180lbs gear inc...my rear preload was set in such a way that all threads showed (=the spring had very little vertical slack= made for a fat man, a pretty fat one at that)...and my front preload showed 7 bars...(=made for a borat=build human, but much shorter=130=132lbs)..so one half of the machine is designed for a skinny jap, the other for a fat fart...how idiotic

so i tweaked it...had 4.5 lines showing in the front instead of 7, and made the rear less stiff= 20mm of thread showing...

ALL IN ALL I WAS SCREAMING IN MY HELMET THE WHOLE ride through my neighbhourhood...it was a different machine!! it was incredible....absolutely insane!! in one part..i usually make the distance in like 42 seconds....i made it in like 32 secs....no joke...it made me more confident, faster, it was more fun...the back no longer skipped like crazy=me had no more fear of my out of control elephant...!!

set up your sag...or the least you can do is see if its blatantly out of synch...like mine was....

cheers

 

[jdgun_13]

Glad to hear someone actually took the time out to do this..
Seems that 80% of the bike owners have no problem spending all their hard earned money on the bike, when they could get so much more for just an hour of time setting up the bike, TO THEM..

Goes back to show with most people that if you CAN'T see it,show it off or touch it, it isnt cool..
Same thing you see with people and buying exhausts,PCIII, and never getting them tuned...cant touch a map which you pay $300-400 for.
But experience shows when you look at what a person has done to a bike, time and time again...

Sounds like you are on track and having fun..Enjoy

 

[luxuryliquidator]

i have always wanted to try to tune in my suspension but havent found any really good info on how to do it correctly. ive been looking online and cant find any good info with pictures to show exactly what needs to be changed and what effects those changes will have.
i currently have a 05 zzr600 with a 05 rear shock but still havent been able to tune it or find a shop in my area that can do it. im 200 lbs with gear. what setting would you recommend or info so i can try to set it myself

 

[berettagtz117]

I would also like to see how you adjust the supsension.. I am about 185 w/ gear..06 ZX6R

 

[Reject]

Originally posted by urymoto

ok boys, truth is im a newb too, but every thing we learn that makes us stray from squidicity is a lesson well learned..here is mine:

exhaust? no...power commy? nope...better tires?nope..know your fuc#en bike, and mod your brakes and suspensiion before adding a useless slip-on (i admit, i did add a slip on first)

I realized my suspension was off!!! and being 180lbs gear inc...my rear preload was set in such a way that all threads showed (=the spring had very little vertical slack= made for a fat man, a pretty fat one at that)...and my front preload showed 7 bars...(=made for a borat=build human, but much shorter=130=132lbs)..so one half of the machine is designed for a skinny jap, the other for a fat fart...how idiotic

so i tweaked it...had 4.5 lines showing in the front instead of 7, and made the rear less stiff= 20mm of thread showing...

ALL IN ALL I WAS SCREAMING IN MY HELMET THE WHOLE ride through my neighbhourhood...it was a different machine!! it was incredible....absolutely insane!! in one part..i usually make the distance in like 42 seconds....i made it in like 32 secs....no joke...it made me more confident, faster, it was more fun...the back no longer skipped like crazy=me had no more fear of my out of control elephant...!!

set up your sag...or the least you can do is see if its blatantly out of synch...like mine was....

cheers

Did you do it properly or did you just guess at the settings? The first thing I did when I got my bike was take it home, got two friends, did the math and set the sag properly.

 

[luxuryliquidator]

how do you do the math properly?
ive read my manual over and over again. it shows how to set each thing rebound, dampaning, and compression. but it gives no equation to give you a idea of where these settings should be for your wieght only where the stock positions are.
is there any tricks we should know?

 

[calen636]

Originally posted by luxuryliquidator
how do you do the math properly?
ive read my manual over and over again. it shows how to set each thing rebound, dampaning, and compression. but it gives no equation to give you a idea of where these settings should be for your wieght only where the stock positions are.
is there any tricks we should know?

[:+1] Manual only gives baseline stock setting. Says nothing about how many threads per 10 lbs or anything like that. Probably too many variables with rider weight, ability, riding style, two up or solo etc...

 

[urymoto]

actually, ive been debating this...do i measure or do i guess....in my case what was obvious was that it was BLATANTLY out of synch...maxed out in front (too little preload) and maexed out in the back (too much)...i knew the sag was wrong, i idnt need friends to measure it...plus measuring sag will only tell you if your over or under saged..it wont tell you how much to tweak, u gotta experiment...and i did that...it also helped some of the specs some riders here use on the same bike and same weight....


the front preload settings are on the handlebars...they are those big bolts on top...u need a 14 wrench to tweak them...thats real easy..the back are on top of the spring...you need to unscrew thses screws and as they move up the spring, they cause the spring to stretch and be more soft.....
do a search on "sag"

 

[hokie636]

Suspension is key for having a proper handling bike. Mine's set as close as I can get it. I'm 210 and have the preload cranked on front and back, and comp and reb set good. It's much better than it was, but I'm not spending a ton on suspension upgrades and parts.

 

[ZeRo_C0oL]

My front was set two completely different ways.. [:0]

hokie636 helped me out with that one, because I had read about setting the suspension up but hadn't had any actual hands on experience and really didn't know what I was doing.. feels much better now

 

[99Ninja6r]

Good suspension info: http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0006_susp/

also www.feelthetrack.com

good luck.

 

[jorge]

hey i just bought my first ninja, always rode on gixxer, but im not sure on how to adjust the suspension and i want to do this before i change anything else on it if anybody can help me out pleas get back to me asap i weigh about 180 with gear

 

[RossMan]

I went with the settings that my Sportrider Mag suggested and
then tweaked it from there! Seems to be working so far for me
and it was pretty damn easy!

 

[Ernie]

Set the front for about 35 mm of total sag and the rear for about 28mm.

total sag is static sag plus rider sag. That means the amount the bike sags from fully extended to sitting unloaded on its supension is static sag... Go for 20mm there. The amount the bike sags further when the rider sits on the bike is rider sag. The two together ( from full extended to rider sitting on bike) is total sag.

Once you have set sag, set rebound damping to SLIGHTLY retard the upward return when you push down hard on the front or rear. That is a start. Set compression damping 2-3 turns out, the spring does most of the damping for compression you just fine tune it. Probably the least important of the adjustments.

These simple adjustments will get you 90% of the way to a good setup. The magazine figures are everywhere from dead on to ricockulous. Don't go by someone else's setting, set your bike to your weight and style.

 

[kermitz636]

i have been thinking of doing this, the rear could really use some help. it feels too soft over bumps. i am a little nervous about messing with the settings though. i might just have the bike shop do it.

 

[garry]

Setting sag is simple as Ernie posted. It's easy to measure how much the bike settles with you sitting on it (from fully extended). Of course this takes a helper (or two if you want to be anal about it). It's just a wrench for the forks and channel lock pliers for the rear shock. Yes, it's a bit tedious, but well worth it. Note that setting the sag won't make up for having the wrong rate springs in there (if you're very light or very heavy).

I was aiming for 30mm front, 25 mm rear, but ended up with 28mm rear and called it close enough. The rear was WAY soft from the dealer, front was pretty close for my weight (170 in street clothes)

 

[Ernie]

Garry, try a bit more sag in front. Unless you are running through your springs and bottoming out, you will probably find the bike a bit easier to turn and not quite as prone to wheelie.

 

[LovinPSDs]

Hey guys, I have a question.. one of my asshole freinds let all the air outa the rear shock part.. atleast he said he did. Any info on that? I have never even heard anyone talk about that part... what am I missing here?

 

[S4one]

I had mine set last week at the track, what an insane difference.

 

[Ernie]

Originally posted by LovinPSDs
Hey guys, I have a question.. one of my asshole freinds let all the air outa the rear shock part.. atleast he said he did. Any info on that? I have never even heard anyone talk about that part... what am I missing here?

If he did, charge him for the refill, it is nitrogen, not air, at about 150-250 psi.