Ok, a number of people have dropped me a line about suspension so I've decided to put together a thread about translating feel in to adjustment.
First sag. Rider sag for either base or S is Rear @ 26-28mm this is with the rider fully kitted in what ever gear he or she wares and half a tank of gas
Front @28-32mm, air gap in forks 190-210mm depending on riding conditions, 190mm road, 200 to 210 race. This will vary a little between base or S, but not much. I found both the base and S were potentially over sprung. Which is fine if ur racing or over 90kg.
So the bike had a tendency to rebound too fast, this is down to springs and light oil, the stock oil is 5 weight. The valving is ok but needs to be set at the high end where it feels stiff to combat the spring weight.
This translates in to the bike feeling like its squatting, it leads to the bike running wide. However if you are committed and push the front so the fork is in the middle of the stroke then its settled and will not rebound so quickly.
Some people will wind up the rear to try to load up the forks to stop this feeling. That leads to wheel spin and a feeling that the bike is unsettled.
At racing speeds the ohlins kit on the S/Tri and R is fine. For medium to fast road riding the bike feels like its fitting to get to the middle of the stroke where it needs to be at the apex of the corner just before the rider loads the rear by rolling on the throttle.
I've been getting back on the gas pre apex to combat this, which means I'm still loading the front whilst applying the throttle, stopping or reducing the impact of weight transition. So, its not so much that the bike squats, more that the front unloads too quickly. I set the electronic settings for the road using race rebound settings and road (sport) compression settings, this effectively rescued the speed at which the forks would rebound, trying to maintain the mid stroke movement.
The rear TTX is valved ok but sprung too heavy, the options are to run more rider sag on the stock spring but the impact of this will create pumping which will be exaggerated by the traction control. This forces the rider to stand the bike up before driving the bike hard from the corner, which in turn "tears" the tyre.
So spring weight is everything, once you've got the right weight springs the damping can be set to the conditions and riding style.
Finally, I want to just give thought to the technology, the system allows the owner to change settings, just because they are called race and sport doesn't mean they need to be set at race and sport, you can chose to have fast road and comfort, its a matter of getting the spring rate right and setting your modes to your style. Not all of you will take your bike on the track, but might run through the mountains on the weekend and then need to have a slower ride home, the electronic system allows you to have a setting for both... Race doesn't have to mean race...
I wish I'd had a pani when I raced the TT, or Bathurst, road racing on this bike would be awesome. Those of you who race and read this, feel free to add your thoughts, I've been rebuilding, setting and racing bikes but am still open to other thoughts around suspension.
Any questions ask away.
Bowdy
