Shock length adjustment

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outhouse, I will get the sag set back to 30mm (is this what you run?) and try the lower tire pressures you suggest. It would be great if the bike loses that "bouncy" and "way too nervous" feel it has to it in bumpy corners. I concur in regards to the tar snakes - I am all over the place when it hits them - the bike feels like it wants to come out from under me!! Can you tell me why you think the factory suggests such high pressures - for load carrying capacity versus controlling the temp (and resultant pressure) increase when the tires are worked hard? Thanks a lot (once again) for all the help.
 
HarmonyJim said:
outhouse, I will get the sag set back to 30mm (is this what you run?) and try the lower tire pressures you suggest. It would be great if the bike loses that "bouncy" and "way too nervous" feel it has to it in bumpy corners. I concur in regards to the tar snakes - I am all over the place when it hits them - the bike feels like it wants to come out from under me!! Can you tell me why you think the factory suggests such high pressures - for load carrying capacity versus controlling the temp (and resultant pressure) increase when the tires are worked hard? Thanks a lot (once again) for all the help.
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Yep im close, I think we measured at 27mm

I also run F because I want the linear movement. That and Im in sport mode, stock settings.



What the manufacturer states doesn't have much to do with how we ride these bikes.

Set your sag 30 rear 35 front
get your tires at 32 f 31 r for a base.


I don't think we raise the tire pressure that much on the road even pushing hard. Surely a few pounds, never needed to check.


What I can tell you is with those settings you can push the bike as hard as you want in the canyon, and this bike makes you feel like a rock star its so stable at high corner speed.

This bike took me less then a week to get used to and im already much faster then I ever would have been on the 848.


Get your foundation right and I promise you will loose all that nervous or bouncy feel. In the two weeks ive been pushing the 1199 ive only lost traction once and slipped a foot while layed over due to gravel, but since I was on the gas I powered right through it and kept going. I ride rough pavement and love these settings.
 
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HarmonyJim said:
outhouse, I am running the OEM pressures (and tires) that is listed on the frame sticker. 34 front and 38 rear cold.
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Important to note that there are two different sets of tire pressures documented (at least on my base).

Frame sticker shows 33.4 PSI (f) and 37.8 PSI (r) which is used for GVWR loading (front/rear)
OTOH, the manual (pp 231) states pressures at 30.46 PSI (f) and 31.9 PSI (r).
 
Charliem90, outhouse, and jarelj - thanks to all of you for the information. I was unaware of the tire pressures being stated differently in the owners manual, and it appears I have them much higher than you guys. To be honest, there is so many references in the owners manual regarding "have your dealer perform ....", that I don't waste much time with it. I suppose I should peruse it once again to see what else I may have missed. I do appreciate very much all your help, and have my quill full of fresh arrows to try. I will report back as to how these changes work out. Thanks again.
 
HarmonyJim said:
jarelj, your comments are especially interesting in regards to the compression damping and sag comments. I have recently decreased compression damping on the shock to the bare minimum (#31), and have decreased the spring preload to the absolute minimum (on a 2-step softer spring). This undoubtedly increased sag significantly. I will reset the rear sag to the 30mm suggested by Dan Kyle, and experiment again with slightly increasing the compression damping (shock). I have been concerned with the rear packing down due to the very minimal compression damping working together with a softer spring, but still at relatively normal rebound damping (#15). I will also try and determine exactly where in the turn the tendency to run wide is occurring - your method/cause description is fascinating. My best evaluation so far is at the exit, so the sag/comp damping appears the area to develop further. Thanks so much for the information.
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Yeah, that's way out of whack, sounds like the issue is the rear squatting too much and not geometry at all. Try it again after getting your sag back to 30mm and set compression to the middle of the range to start with.
 
jarelj, I made the changes as you suggested (sag to 30mm, compression damping to #15), along with decreasing the tire air pressure to 31/30 (thanks Charliem90), and the results were fantastic!! It actually steers again, doesn't want to run way wide, and still feels nice and light at the bars. I am still approx. 10mm higher than stock at the rear (shock length adjustment), and may go even a bit further as I like the change in balance towards the front. The change in compression damping made the bike considerably harsher than it was at the minimum levels, but other than that, no complaints. The decrease in tire pressures has quieted down the bike considerably - at 38psi rear pressure, the rear end was bouncing and nervous on any bumps - far more subdued now. Thanks so much to all of you for your input. I will continue experimenting, and report back again.
 
If you like it front biased I'd suggest dropping the front by 2-3mm and dialing back the length on the shock.

I've dropped my front, run a shorter than stock rear shock length and have gone down 1 rate on the rear. 40mm sag front and 30mm rear.

I also had to add some oil to the front forks to help with it bottoming out under heavy braking. I did not want to raise the compression as I only needed help at the bottom of the stroke.

Bike steers fantastic and its calmed down significantly from stock.
 
veck said:
If you like it front biased I'd suggest dropping the front by 2-3mm and dialing back the length on the shock.
QUOTE]

+1 on that recommendation! As mentioned previously, raising the rear end up too high has a detrimental effect on grip under hard throttle on corner exits. In general for ride height changes, if you want to improve turn-in you should do that by changing the front ride height, and if you want to improve corner exits you should do that by changing the rear ride height.
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veck said:
If you like it front biased I'd suggest dropping the front by 2-3mm and dialing back the length on the shock.

I've dropped my front, run a shorter than stock rear shock length and have gone down 1 rate on the rear. 40mm sag front and 30mm rear.

I also had to add some oil to the front forks to help with it bottoming out under heavy braking. I did not want to raise the compression as I only needed help at the bottom of the stroke.

Bike steers fantastic and its calmed down significantly from stock.
Click to expand...

+1. This is the route I took with my base. Didn't want to add anti-squat by raising the rear a lot, so I dropped the front. Started with 3mm more tube showing and am now at 10mm total, with the rear back to stock shock length. Have Q3's on it now, so the net front drop vs stock is less since the Q3 drops the rear ride height 3.5mm from the OEM Pirelli. At 155lbs out of gear, I'm running 9.5/80NM springs front/rear with the link on F. Still need to raise the oil height in the Marzocchi's to get some progressivity in the forks for braking, but need some guidance on whether setting air gap in the RAC50's works like any other fork (i.e., open 'em up, pour in the top and measure the gap) - my dealer has nothing to offer on it.

End result is a wee bit steeper rake and reduced trail, with lower overall ride height for better stability. Plus more compliance over bumpy roads without going to P in back, which is a bandaid for an oversprung rear imho.
 
Thanks a lot in regards to the front ride height change suggestions. I would like to try that, but am unsure as to how to access the lower clamp allens. Do I need to remove the upper fairing, or do you have a trick to get to them? Did you remove that lower horizontal plastic piece (would require the horn come off to get that one black small allen blocked by it) that is on the underside of the upper fairing and wraps around the fork tubes? As stated previously, I really appreciate the input and help.
 
HarmonyJim said:
Thanks a lot in regards to the front ride height change suggestions. I would like to try that, but am unsure as to how to access the lower clamp allens. Do I need to remove the upper fairing, or do you have a trick to get to them? Did you remove that lower horizontal plastic piece (would require the horn come off to get that one black small allen blocked by it) that is on the underside of the upper fairing and wraps around the fork tubes? As stated previously, I really appreciate the input and help.
Click to expand...

I was able to get to mine without removing anything. Fiddly and a PitA, but that's normal wrenching on the Pani. ;) Was alarmed at how little torque mine had from the factory, to be honest.
 
Steve B said:
I was able to get to mine without removing anything. Fiddly and a PitA, but that's normal wrenching on the Pani. ;) Was alarmed at how little torque mine had from the factory, to be honest.
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Agreed, don't need to take the fairing off. Its a tight fit if you have big hands but the torque settings are low so its not too hard.

Be sure to follow the tightening sequence on the lowers when you clamp it back down.
 
SteveB and veck, did you just use an allen wrench, and thus didn't torque the fasteners when tightening them? Obviously, the upper triple tree fasteners are no problem to torque, but the lowers are pretty darn tight in there. Veck, what is the sequence for the three lower allens? Thanks once again for the input.
 
HarmonyJim said:
SteveB and veck, did you just use an allen wrench, and thus didn't torque the fasteners when tightening them? Obviously, the upper triple tree fasteners are no problem to torque, but the lowers are pretty darn tight in there. Veck, what is the sequence for the three lower allens? Thanks once again for the input.
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Yes, for my part. The bolts on mine were super easy to loosen at factory tightness, even with a small allen wrench. Went back tighter, but not a ton, and did them by feel. Tightened bottom/top/middle and back over to even them up by feel. Maybe not ideal, but I always used to be able to torque bolts to spec by hand when I was turning wrenches for a living - won quite a few beers that way... ;)
 
Snap-On Tools "Stubby" allen set is what I use at the track, otherwise remove the fairings to make it easier.
 
I used a small stubby wrench which I was able to get it in and get the torque set correctly. At the track I use a stubby allen wrench.

If I remember the manual the sequence was 1 2 3 starting from the bottom.
 
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Dropped the front 5mm (total of 9mm now exposed above the triple clamp), and have left the rear as is which was previously set at 10mm higher than stock. Will give it a run tomorrow to see how it feels. What amount of drop in the front have you (with Ohlins equipped Panigales) tried and what were your results (jarelj, SteveB, veck, outhouse, et al)? Did you do anything with the rear ride height? Thanks to all for your participation in this thread, and for all your assistance.
 

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