Just picked up SD. Few problems

Well, finally got the SD today. Nice enough bike, private sale, good price.

Got the bike home as quick as i could and put in a few hours on it going over the thing. I'm a mechanic to trade so no probs getting stuck into it. I'll update the tweaks in the "what did you do to your SD today" thead.

Noticed a few problems on it. In inital ignitian on it shows "17ws" on the display breifly. Any ideas??? Is this a workshop fault code?

The fuel light is on constantly. Brimmed the tank and set about getting rid of the monster chicken strip that were on the tyres and it went off. Sticky tank sender unit maybe?? Are they bad for that??

Biggest problem is the forks. On the short test run the front end was way way too soft. Bugger all rebound damping and the front would bob up and down on and off the throttle. Went over some setting when i got it home

Set all my sags, rear was miles out. Started going over the damping and the front adjustment is very poor. Basically, to get the front feeling like its got any decent damping control at all i'm running rebound -3 and comp -5 both from full hard. Front rider sag is now at 32mm to get any feeling out it. Theres no signs of any leaks or weeps from fork seals. Going by the tyres and the soot inside the pipes, the thing has spent its life bolt upright tootling along at cruising speed.

Full suspention setting are (all going by feel)

Front-
Sag- static 20mm, rider 32mm
Comp- -5
Rebound- -3

Rear-
Sag- static 9mm, rider 35mm
Comp- -25
Rebound- -17
Hight speed comp- 2 turns

Tyres are Pirelli Diablo Corsas running pressures of 32front and 30rear

17WS is telling you the speedo is set for a 17 inch front wheel. - It's all good baby.

Cheers bro.

Any idea on the forks? I't expect the adjustment on to be pretty wide so hard is very hard and soft is very soft. Dont seem that way for me.

service the forks... it is probably 6 year old oil... and lacks the viscosity it once did ans well as the seals... that should sort that out.

but they are a softer setup than a traditional sportbike... and if you do manage to make them firm, the bike does no like to handle as well as they usually do...dont know why, geometry?

part of the other reason that it all happens in the last few clicks is that the valve needles on the wp suspension is good but it has come from a dirtbike background... the needls are short so that when the forks flex on a landing of a big jump that you dont ruin the valve needle.

showa and ohlins use longer needles so that the effects can be fine tuned more easily.... does not mean that the WP is not top quality gear though.

the WP gear is one of the few bikes that you dont have to upgrade to gold valves.... the stock ones are fine... all you need to do is change the shim stacks when springs are changed


also i noticed that you trailored the bike home... try bleading the air out of the forks that can happen over a decent trip (very common thing to happen if you dont put a wheel support in when you tie them down)

Cheers for the detailed replies guys. This is why i asked for a "like" or "rep" system on the board, be good to give acknowledgement for great info like that.

It's a 2005 with bang on 8000miles.

In two minds. I'm a bit of verging on OCD when i work and with my bikes and cars so always want them to be absolutley spot on. Part of me wants to rip it apart and get everything done, but my sensible side it telling me just to get out and ride it.

Try These from my SD 05 (I have forks level with triple clamp)

Super Duke New Road Settings
Front
14 Clicks Compression Dampening
12 Clicks Re-Bound Dampening

Rear
10 Clicks Compression Dampening
23 Clicks Re-Bound Dampening


Front Sag 25mm
Front Rider Sag 34mm

Rear Sag 6mm
Rear Rider Sag 35mm

Thanks mate. But our rider and static sag won't be the same unless we are the same weight.

Got sag all set now and happy enough with it. Agree that its got longer travel that what I'm used to so there will be more movement.

Need the forks serviced I think. On the settings above its like a pogo stick. The adjusters are working ok, just that it needs to be fully hard before it starts doing any kind of damping. So full refresh is next on the list and it should be good to go.

Fuel light came on after. 25 miles from full. Something not right there. Still loads of fuel left in the tank.

[quote]The fuel light is on constantly. Brimmed the tank and set about getting rid of the monster chicken strip that were on the tyres and it went off. Sticky tank sender unit maybe?? Are they bad for that??
The fuel light stays on for 8 miles unless you reset it after filling up!! Just hold the reset button down for 3 second when its on the reserve mode, it will then go off!
hope this helps

Quick question. I post from my mobile so have limited access to downloads on the forum.

Can anyone check the workshop manual and give me the fork oil grade and air gap. I'm doing this in the next few.days but my mobile won't let me read it on the sticky.

Cheers.