The Official Suspension Settings Thread!

THIS IS NOT A DISCUSSION THREAD, SUSPENSION DETAILS ONLY - IF YOU WISH TO DISCUSS START A NEW THREAD!!!!!

Having seen ALOT of members posting thier suspension settings i thought we should just put them all in 1 place (abit like our engine mapping thread). This may be useful for new owners of an SD/R who may want/need a similar set-up to yourself!?

A basic description of the bike, your weight, suspension settings (obviously) what the bikes use is (road or track) and who did the set-up!

2005 SD, 9.5 weight front fork springs, SDR rear shock with standard 180 weight spring. I currently weigh 200lbs in full kit. Bike is used for mainly trackdays and was set-up by Colin @ 100% Suspension -

Front

Fork tops flush with top clamps
Static sag - 25/26mm (this equals 5 full turns of pre-load)
Rider sag - 39/40mm
Rebound - 5clicks
Compression - 7clicks

Rear

Static sag - 10mm
Rider sag - 30mm
Rebound - 18clicks
Low speed compression - 14clicks
High speed compression - 2.25turns

If it does ever go on the road i jusy knock 4/5 clicks off the front and rear compressions to soften it up a little!

Good idea Ash

I will dig out my settings from HMRacing tomorrow and get them up here. They are good set up settings - mainly for smooth track rather than road. I have two settings for my weight - standard white spring and orange 185 spring.

Everyone can then just start eating pies so they match my 15 stone and they're set up!

by conversion, I am little over 16 stones. I'll try your set up after you post it...

Ya see, I don't agree with internet suspension threads. Suspension is very personal and will vary greatly with bike age, mileage, rider weight and most importantly, rider style. There are a lot of guys on here who do talk the talk real well, then you see a pic of the bike with chicken strips or a track vid that's like driving miss daisy. That's not intended as a dig as there are a lot of good good guys on here, but also a lot of chaff and typical biker bullshit talk. Just the way it is with bikes and forums. It is def one of the better biking forums out there though.

I would always say if the guy can set rider sag correctly, may need to change the springs to hit this, but if he can get it in range, then set damping to standard and go out and ride it and adjust damping as its needed then they will find the setting that suits them.

Personally I've had to change to 420ml of 10wt oil in front forks to get enough rebound damping range for my liking. Front and rear sag set ok with std springs. Rear shock had enough damping range to work with. Dropped forks 5mm through yokes and did oil and bike is now perfect for me. It does exactly what I want without having to think about it. If another guy at 14stone kitted with an 8k miles 05 model set up the same as me it might totally work against his riding style and mess his handling up totally.

Set rider sag. Learn how damping works. Set everything the standard and get out and ride then adjust from there.

Just my 2p worth. .

^^
Going on from above, I set mine up to the recommended basic setting from the book when first got the bike and have had no real need to change it, as in it's never thrown a wobbly (apart from light head shake giving it some over rough ground) and I've now got no unused rubber on the rear, but I must be a bit unusual .

I'm not saying that I wouldn't benefit from a slight tweek, but I'm happy where I am.

Other's may wish to try a similar weighted persons settings to see if it'll help, and I don't blame them if it makes them enjoy the ride a bit more.

Now, if anyone could merge all the suspension threads together.....

Ok guys to stop this just turning into another suspension thread could you try and not over post it but just keep it to your bike, suspension settings and your thoughts on them. I will combine it with the other suspension thread in the sticky. I may well delete posts to try and keep it tidy so please dont be offended.

Your dedication to this site is ace. Be great to put a face to your avatar. You must be taller than you look. I'll bung you a beer on Sunday. Delete this when read.

Track Day Settings

Rider 185 lbs

Flat Bars (Ducati monster)
Seat Padding removed (due short legs....and settings)

Front
Fork tops flush with top clamps
9.0 Springs
13 Clicks Compression Dampening
8 Clicks Re-Bound Dampening
Front Sag 25mm
Front Rider Sag 34mm

Rear
180 spring (Superduke 'R' Shock)
10 Clicks Compression Dampening
2.5 Turns High Speed Commpression
22 Clicks Re-Bound Dampening
Rear Sag 9mm
Rear Rider Sag 27mm

Turns in good, just stable and Maximum Ground Clearance

(started to grind clutch case...next thing that touches down after footrest .....not a good idea)

2008 SDR, Stock front fork springs, stock rear shock with standard 180 weight spring. I currently weigh 200lbs. Bike is used mainly for mountain roads and 2-4 trackdays per season.

Suspension setup:

Front:
Fork tops flush with top clamps.
Rider sag - 40mm
Rebound – 4/5 clicks
Compression - 18 clicks
Streeing Damper: 8 clicks

Rear:
Rider sag - 35mm
Rebound - 18 clicks
Low speed compression - 16/15 clicks
High speed compression – 2.5/2.25turns

These setting give the SDR and very tight feeling with little to no bounce in the front (rebound). If I want a little smoother ride for the street I’ll open the front rebound to 5 clicks out. For the track I’ll sometimes stiffen-up the preload for the front and rear to 35mm front and 30mm rear depending on track surface conditions.

2008 SD, I weigh 235 lbs. (107Kg., 16.8 stone ). 260 with full gear. Bike is primarily for the street (mostly urban - not much freeway; but some canyons/mountains/twisties), and only used occasionally for trackdays (once or twice a year). Factory shock and forks, both have been revalved. Pistons, needles, etc - all stock.

Front
Springs: 1.1 Kg/mm (11 N/mm)
Oil: 5 Wt. Silkolene fork oil.
Oil fill level: 110 mm from top edge of fork tube.
Fork cap flush with top triple clamp (down 1 or 2 mm from factory).
Rider sag: 45 mm (preload adjusters completely backed out).
Rebound and Compression - not relevant, as the forks have been revalved.

Rear
Spring: 21.4 Kg/mm (214 N/mm, 1200 Lb/in.), 178 mm (7 in.) length.
Static sag: 7mm
Rider sag: 30mm (6 mm spring preload)
Shock N2 pressure: 10.3 bar (150 PSI).
Rebound, high speed, and low-speed compression - not relevant, as the shock has been revalved.