Suspension setup. Again.

tjprattctr01 · Jun 19, 2015

So, I've had this 1199s for a year now. Love everything about the bike but the suspension. I am by no means a suspension guru (obviously), but u can't seem to get the suspension in a spot where the wheels follow the road and doesn't kill me.
I've tried setting the sag, if I did it correctly I'm running around 35 rear and front. Which as I understand it, should be on the soft side. But it sure doesn't feel it. I weigh 180.
On my first ride after setting the sag the front wheel was way to stiff, wouldn't follow the road at all. Last time I was on here I was told to stop messing with the rebound and compression and set the sag. So I did. I reset the electronic settings and set sag. And it feels worse.

Here are my questions. Now that it's in the neighborhood of where it should be sag - wise, where should I start?

Just to be clear, when I turn the front fork nuts clockwise, that is stiffening the front (and when I turn them counterclockwise it should soften the front)?

And on the rear shock, compressing the spring more should tighten or harden the suspension (and taking pressure of the rear spring should soften the suspension)?

I want to make sure I'm doing this part right before I move on to the rebound and compression.

Yes, I will apologize ahead of time for the nube questions. I'm just really frustrated at this point.

80shilling · Jun 19, 2015

Most important thing... TAKE NOTES! Write down your exact starting point and each change you make, so you can always go back to a known point.

You should have set sag by having a friend or two lift the front then the rear of the bike, until the wheel is off the ground.. Take a measurement. Set the bike back down and then you sit on it.. Bounce it a few times, then take the same measurement. Ohlins USA says you want 38mm front sag and 28mm rear sag for TRACK riding.. If you want more compliance and ability to absorb bumps, they recommend 40mm front and 30mm rear as a good start.

and, yes. For the forks, you turn clockwise to stiffen and add preload which will lessen your sag and counterclockwise to soften or increase sag. For the rear, you are winding the collar so it travels towards the rear wheel to stiffen and away from the rear wheel to soften.

For damping, the best thing to do, is to start with the compression. Wind the compression all the way out, then wind it all the way in (stiff).. Count the number of clicks, then set compression in the middle, I.e., if you get 30 clicks, then set it to 15 clicks from fully out (soft), same for the rear shock. Rebound is the most important thing to get right. Once you have all the rest of the settings done, you can come back and adjust your compression to your liking.. Less compression damping will make the bike more comfortable, but will also cause the forks to start to dive to much, too quickly past a certain point.

For rebound, you have to set the forks first. You want the front forks to rebound up and stop dead.. Soften the rebound until it bounces at the top and start to come back down, then dial a click or two back in and set it there. You have to push down on the bars HARD to compress the front end, then allow the front end to bounce back up, without you interfering with it. You have to set rebound on the shock to match the front.. When you have it right, when you push down HARD on the seat and compress the whole bike.. Both ends should rise at exactly the same rate.. If they don't, then you don't have it right.

Have a couple of buddies help you and it should take less than 15 minutes to get it right, if you have the right tools.

Once you have done this a few times, it starts to make a lot more sense. Don't be afraid to set it, ride it, then come back and change it.. Always keep notes on where you started and which settings feel better or worse, so you get an idea of if you are going in the right direction.

jyli19 · Jun 19, 2015

what is your biggest issue? after all, there are no magic settings. tackle 1st what bothers you most, then fine tune from there.

based on your experience with suspension, I would take it to a suspension guy, spend the $40 and have him/her dial in a good base set up for you. Then self experiment with small changes.

Prince Albert · Jun 19, 2015

David Moss

ScrapperX · Jun 19, 2015

80shilling said:
Most important thing... TAKE NOTES! Write down your exact starting point and each change you make, so you can always go back to a known point.

You should have set sag by having a friend or two lift the front then the rear of the bike, until the wheel is off the ground.. Take a measurement. Set the bike back down and then you sit on it.. Bounce it a few times, then take the same measurement. Ohlins USA says you want 38mm front sag and 28mm rear sag for TRACK riding.. If you want more compliance and ability to absorb bumps, they recommend 40mm front and 30mm rear as a good start.

and, yes. For the forks, you turn clockwise to stiffen and add preload which will lessen your sag and counterclockwise to soften or increase sag. For the rear, you are winding the collar so it travels towards the rear wheel to stiffen and away from the rear wheel to soften.

For damping, the best thing to do, is to start with the compression. Wind the compression all the way out, then wind it all the way in (stiff).. Count the number of clicks, then set compression in the middle, I.e., if you get 30 clicks, then set it to 15 clicks from fully out (soft), same for the rear shock. Rebound is the most important thing to get right. Once you have all the rest of the settings done, you can come back and adjust your compression to your liking.. Less compression damping will make the bike more comfortable, but will also cause the forks to start to dive to much, too quickly past a certain point.

For rebound, you have to set the forks first. You want the front forks to rebound up and stop dead.. Soften the rebound until it bounces at the top and start to come back down, then dial a click or two back in and set it there. You have to push down on the bars HARD to compress the front end, then allow the front end to bounce back up, without you interfering with it. You have to set rebound on the shock to match the front.. When you have it right, when you push down HARD on the seat and compress the whole bike.. Both ends should rise at exactly the same rate.. If they don't, then you don't have it right.

Have a couple of buddies help you and it should take less than 15 minutes to get it right, if you have the right tools.

Once you have done this a few times, it starts to make a lot more sense. Don't be afraid to set it, ride it, then come back and change it.. Always keep notes on where you started and which settings feel better or worse, so you get an idea of if you are going in the right direction.

+1 and if you want a softer ride make sure your rear is set to progressive. Use a zip tie on the front fork to measure the travel when setting your front forks preload Make sure the zip ties are not too loose or too tight. Do some really hard braking, cornering, accelerating, wheelies, etc and you should leave about 10 mm of travel left before bottoming out this is for those unsuspected pot holes.

TurboLag · Jun 20, 2015

A linear spring is still x kg/mm, no matter how much preload you set. Changing preload will only change the working start point for the damper and ride height. To get a stiffer ride on the same spring, change compression damping. Rebound should be as low as possible without pogoing as a starting point in order not to reduce the pressure in the contact patch, then you can tune the rebound a bit if you can't get the desired characteristics by compression alone. There is also wear characteristics to consider, but I don't understand that part 100% yet, but I'm close enough for basic tuning.

Suspension setup. Again.

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