- Joined
- Jan 30, 2015
- Messages
- 946
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
I have been riding with my 1299S in FIXED suspension mode for a few days now and find that I prefer it that way for extremely spirited street riding. Not to say that the Dynamic mode isn't brilliant, because it is, but with fixed, I can get the suspension set exactly to my SPECIFIC tastes..
The factory must have thousands of hours into researching the Dynamic settings and so what I am proposing is that some of us like our bikes a bit stiffer, some like them a bit softer.. Some like a compliant front end... Personal preference can be more important than a textbook "correct" setting and as we know, the key to being fast around a track is all about confidence.. If you trust the bike and more specifically, the suspension, you are faster.
What I would like to find, is some deeply technical description of how EXACTLY our dynamic mode works and what the parameters are for it's settings, i.e.; is there a kind of "reference table" that is used for the bike that the control unit "picks" from? It might help us understand how to REALLY get these bikes optimized in terms of suspension, so if anyone has come across some information that might be useful, please post a link in this thread.
In another post, I mentioned that I had Dave Moss come by my house and set my Fixed settings up; after riding the bike about as hard as I ever have on the street, the bike was phenomenal..!! I had my Triumph Daytona 675R set up by Dave as well (it basically has identical suspension to the 1299S, without the electronics: TTX36 rear shock and NIX 30 forks) and that bike was my previous benchmark for best handling Motorcycle I have ever ridden, but now with the 1299S set to my personal preferences, I can safely say that the 1299 is even better.
My local favorite "loop" is around 45 miles of undulating, twisties, with some big open sweepers, some hairpins, some great cambered corners, some off-camber stuff, some smooth, some bumpy... Generally a great mix. I must have ridden that loop over 500 times and know every bump, crack, ripple in it; I know exactly where there will still be damp patches from last night's fog, or from 2 weeks ago when it rained...
The 1299 turns in perfectly; it goes exactly where I want to go; it likes to be trail braked. The light weight means the bike flicks down immediately - unlike my BMW S1000RR which had to be muscled down. The 1299 holds a line incredibly well and with the suspension being set perfectly, it absorbs mid-corner bumps amazingly well - it doesn't get thrown off line.
While down in the corner, the bike is stable and "quiet" with no corrections needed, if you picked your line and apex correctly.
Accelerating out from the apex, the bike doesn't steer wide, or try to stand up.. it lets you steer out under complete control, without you needing to tighten or widen your line.
Getting back on the power, it feels linear and if the traction control kicks in, you barely feel it, if at all. My BMW S1000RR (2011) was horrible, just horrible, compared to the way this system works. The traction is immense and consequently, you get MASSIVE drive very early in the corner.
I will reserve final judgement for the track, but as it stands right now, with the settings I have reached in fixed mode, I can safely say this is the best handling bike I have ever ridden. On my last ride on my "loop" I rode the bike harder than I have ridden on the street in more than 20 years and it felt better, more stable and more planted that any bike I have ridden; never in the 500+ times that I have ridden that road have I gone that fast with that level of confidence and the bike had PLENTY in reserve.
One more note; no headshake at all, except for one BIG one due to me being lazy and having incorrect body position (I was sitting pretty upright).. This bike likes you to keep your weight VERY forward and when you do that, it's freaking brilliant. I will have to change my body positioning at the track, since I had just got it fixed for the BMW S1000RR, with my coach...
Here is the contact information for Dave Moss; call him, Facebook him, book him to set up your suspension, get him to your location to do a local "clinic" for you and your buddies...
https://www.facebook.com/davemosstuning
My Fixed Mode settings at 195lbs body weight:
Sag Front 35mm
Sag Rear 26 mm
Front Compression 14
Front Rebound 12
Rear Compression 10
Rear Rebound 9
Steering Damper 14
Cheers.
The factory must have thousands of hours into researching the Dynamic settings and so what I am proposing is that some of us like our bikes a bit stiffer, some like them a bit softer.. Some like a compliant front end... Personal preference can be more important than a textbook "correct" setting and as we know, the key to being fast around a track is all about confidence.. If you trust the bike and more specifically, the suspension, you are faster.
What I would like to find, is some deeply technical description of how EXACTLY our dynamic mode works and what the parameters are for it's settings, i.e.; is there a kind of "reference table" that is used for the bike that the control unit "picks" from? It might help us understand how to REALLY get these bikes optimized in terms of suspension, so if anyone has come across some information that might be useful, please post a link in this thread.
In another post, I mentioned that I had Dave Moss come by my house and set my Fixed settings up; after riding the bike about as hard as I ever have on the street, the bike was phenomenal..!! I had my Triumph Daytona 675R set up by Dave as well (it basically has identical suspension to the 1299S, without the electronics: TTX36 rear shock and NIX 30 forks) and that bike was my previous benchmark for best handling Motorcycle I have ever ridden, but now with the 1299S set to my personal preferences, I can safely say that the 1299 is even better.
My local favorite "loop" is around 45 miles of undulating, twisties, with some big open sweepers, some hairpins, some great cambered corners, some off-camber stuff, some smooth, some bumpy... Generally a great mix. I must have ridden that loop over 500 times and know every bump, crack, ripple in it; I know exactly where there will still be damp patches from last night's fog, or from 2 weeks ago when it rained...
The 1299 turns in perfectly; it goes exactly where I want to go; it likes to be trail braked. The light weight means the bike flicks down immediately - unlike my BMW S1000RR which had to be muscled down. The 1299 holds a line incredibly well and with the suspension being set perfectly, it absorbs mid-corner bumps amazingly well - it doesn't get thrown off line.
While down in the corner, the bike is stable and "quiet" with no corrections needed, if you picked your line and apex correctly.
Accelerating out from the apex, the bike doesn't steer wide, or try to stand up.. it lets you steer out under complete control, without you needing to tighten or widen your line.
Getting back on the power, it feels linear and if the traction control kicks in, you barely feel it, if at all. My BMW S1000RR (2011) was horrible, just horrible, compared to the way this system works. The traction is immense and consequently, you get MASSIVE drive very early in the corner.
I will reserve final judgement for the track, but as it stands right now, with the settings I have reached in fixed mode, I can safely say this is the best handling bike I have ever ridden. On my last ride on my "loop" I rode the bike harder than I have ridden on the street in more than 20 years and it felt better, more stable and more planted that any bike I have ridden; never in the 500+ times that I have ridden that road have I gone that fast with that level of confidence and the bike had PLENTY in reserve.
One more note; no headshake at all, except for one BIG one due to me being lazy and having incorrect body position (I was sitting pretty upright).. This bike likes you to keep your weight VERY forward and when you do that, it's freaking brilliant. I will have to change my body positioning at the track, since I had just got it fixed for the BMW S1000RR, with my coach...
Here is the contact information for Dave Moss; call him, Facebook him, book him to set up your suspension, get him to your location to do a local "clinic" for you and your buddies...
https://www.facebook.com/davemosstuning
My Fixed Mode settings at 195lbs body weight:
Sag Front 35mm
Sag Rear 26 mm
Front Compression 14
Front Rebound 12
Rear Compression 10
Rear Rebound 9
Steering Damper 14
Cheers.
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