SDR Suspension set-up by Perry Leask at HMRacing

I just got my SDR set-up by suspension guru and ex motorcross champ Perry Leask at HMRacing in Kent.

I asked him for two set-ups, one for London's Streets and the second for track days, and after an hour or so of bouncing around on my bike in his workshop I now have everything set up for my weight and riding prefernces.

He rates the WP set-up (although recommends Ohlins of course) and commented that the front springs are very hard and not ideal for someone under 80 kilos. Although he said he got the bike working for my weight (74kg dry) I would get better results from softer front springs. The rear was spot on.

(If any of you big fellas who ride a standard SD - with softer springs - wanna swap fork internals, give me a shout, LOL).

Anyway, the ride home was much better and I finally felt confident enough to throw the bike on it's ear round corners without worrying about the front losing traction on badly surfaced tarmac. Considering the work was all done with a tape measure and some workshop bouncing it's an amazing job.

The bike tracks the bumps and ripples much better, and the ride was more compliant on my backside... although no thanks to KTM's "ergo" seat. It's not exactly a comfort item. My re-padded standard seat (by Viking Vinyl) was MUCH better.

I've only had the SD-R for a short time with only one track day so far. These are my setting so far, still sorting them out. I'm about 90kg.

Front preload: Set to 40mm Rider SAG.
Front rebound: 6-7 Street / 5-4 Track clicks out from full in.
Front compression: 18 Street / 17 Track clicks out from full in.

Rear preload: Set to 36mm Rider SAG.
Rear rebound: 19 Street / 18 Track clicks out from full in.
Rear compression Lo: 17-16 Street / 14 Track clicks out from full in.
Hi: 2.5 Street / 2.25 Track turns out from full in.

My street settings are the best overall for me at my weight. Step 1: Set your sag settings first with the rebound all the way out, than second do all the other settings.

Recommended settings for Spring Pre-Load (Rider SAG):
35-50mm Front
30-40mm Rear

Out of interest, how much did they charge for the setup? I've been thinking about having mine set up.

Is it the same suspension my -07sdr has

Im intrested to se what setting you have

Here's the lowdown...

Perry had to raise the static sag at the back, as I was too far into the bottom end of travel, which made the suspension stiffer. Considering how light I am, this may be a common problem on SDRs?

Anyway, here's what he did.

FRONT FORK: (Compromised, as springs are a little hard for my weight)

Full tavel 155mm (was 155)
Static Sag 32mm (was 30)
Ride Sag 44mm (was 42)

Compression Damping -19 (was -18 ) [TRACK -17]
Rebound Damping -7 (was -15) [TRACK -4]

REAR SHOCK

Full travel 459mm (was 459mm)
Static Sag 12mm (was 20)
Ride Sag 30mm (was 39)

High Speed Compression -2.5 (as before) [TRACK 2.25]
Low Speed Compression -17 (was -11) [TRACK -14]
Rebound Damping -19 (was -19)

what are the wp recomended static and rider sag on the sd, my sdr front seems in the ballpark but on the rear I am getting 7mm static and 38mm rider sag 7mm seems a bit low?

I have a WP PDF about sag and stuff somewhere....if you PM me with an email addy i will fire it off tomorrow for ya if ya like.

Maybe we can sort out a way to have it downloadable on here...?

Hi, wouldn't mind a copy as well if poss. I am a tad over 11 stone and my 07 SDR is great but really stiff. Seems we should be changing the front springs. Is this an easy job to switch them?