[Speedvlaze]

Kawasaki did that on purpose in order to keep the wheel planted on the pavement as much as possible. Some people say they went too extreme, but then again, it is a race bike.

 

[Skelatorr]

My only gripe on this magnificent piece of machinery is .........the rear shock........[|)]its too damn stiff!!! I mean every magazine i read featuring the 03 636 said the same thing.... problems finding neutral(yep),kinda of nervous handling(yep) but Geesh, Ive never been bumped off the seat so many times on any bike, cant complain about the midrange, its Awsome off the corners but..................have any of U other 636 riders experienced this and if so have u tried resetting the suspension. Ive read up on how to do it bt havent tried as of yet,
any additional feedback appreciated

 

[sportsbikekid]

Originally posted by Skelatorr

My only gripe on this magnificent piece of machinery is .........the rear shock........[|)]its too damn stiff!!! I mean every magazine i read featuring the 03 636 said the same thing.... problems finding neutral(yep),kinda of nervous handling(yep) but Geesh, Ive never been bumped off the seat so many times on any bike, cant complain about the midrange, its Awsome off the corners but..................have any of U other 636 riders experienced this and if so have u tried resetting the suspension. Ive read up on how to do it bt havent tried as of yet,
any additional feedback appreciated

bro I got you....I did not know u found this site....I was gonna email it to ya. Anyways check out this suspension site...it was on the RR board:


http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_susp_settings/


holla


RoadRunnaz/Synergy Scope 4 Life, http://www.roadrunnaz.com

 

[MikeO]

Sportsbikekid,
I went to that site and adjusted the suspension on my '03 636 to their suggested settings. What is the best way to loosen the ring around my rear shock to adjust it to the recommended 30mm? What tool do you use? I weight 170lbs. Are those the best settings for my weight?

 

[micty]

Just a second opinion on the subject: Initially, I also thought the suspension was too hard (especially since my former bike was an EX500, which has the opposite problem). But it didn't take long for me to notice how much more planted it was, so now I'm pretty happy with the trade-off. If I'm about to a big bump, I just rise off the seat.

 

[kc8cks]

MikeO: I used a brass drift punch and shop hammer to break the jam nut loose. Ideally you want to have someone lift the tail while you are adjusting it.(makes the nuts easier to turn) but you can tap it carefully with a punch to the desired preload. I tried the settings listed in sport rider and found them to be a little too soft for me. (200lb rider) Then I read the tuning guide on the web page and set my preload based on the amount a sag when I sat on the bike and that worked better.

 

[MikeO]

Thanks kc8cks. What is sag and what is the tuning procedure you are referring to?

 

[kc8cks]

Sag is the difference between the unloaded suspension height and the height with the rider in the riding position. (Off the sidestand) You'll need 3 people to do it correctly. You, on the bike, one person to hold the bike steady in the upright position, and one to measure. I think the recommended sag for the rear is 30mm (33 for the front?? not sure) there was a whole thread somewhere on this board discussing it.

 

[dj dunzie]

Here's a link (click here) that many of the newer members of the board have found good learning material if you aren't right up on suspension tuning.

Skeletor, just curious what you weigh if the bike is bucking you that bad. Have you set the suspension up to suit your size and riding style ??? I find lighter riders are the ones having the most problems with the rear end, actually suits me fairly well now that I've got it dialed.

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"Keep yer feet on the pegs and your right hand cranked."