Suspension setup - Worth it?

[banksy6118]

Hi guys n gals.

looking to get my bike setup for my weight and riding style.

Just wanted to ask here if anyone has had their bike setup and if so did you notice any difference?

And also where you got it done if possible

cheers people!

 

[Nicky]

Clarence Bell will be the only man for that job @ PLR Suspension. He does all the suspension for our Irish and Ulster championship winning RMZ's, along with stuff for the North West championship bikes, so he knows what he's at

Edit- Phone number would be handy... Lol

02842788854

 

[banksy6118]

Clarence Bell will be the only man for that job @ PLR Suspension. He does all the suspension for our Irish and Ulster championship winning RMZ's, along with stuff for the North West championship bikes, so he knows what he's at

Edit- Phone number would be handy... Lol

02842788854

cheers buddy!

 

[J55NI]

Phillip mcallens in lisburn offer this service too , Works out around £40 IIRC

 

[mikey]

Just out of curiosity one day I played with settings on my Triumph (fully adjustable front and rear) and truthfully didn't notice any difference in characteristics of handling during acceleration, braking and cornering at either end of the adjustment scale. All I noticed was front was very juddery and physically sore on my wrists when front compression damping was wound up. Maybe it's a crap suspension on the bike not really allowing adjustment or you have to be very finely tuned to notice the differences. 8 years of riding behind me maybe isn't enough lol.

 

[kmk84]

As above philip mc callen is good, i spent £3000 on my gsxr1000 and the £50 in mccallens was best money I spent on it, the bike came out of the crate ready for the track but our roads here arent like that, bike handled alot better when setup properly.. money well spent!

 

[banksy6118]

As above philip mc callen is good, i spent £3000 on my gsxr1000 and the £50 in mccallens was best money I spent on it, the bike came out of the crate ready for the track but our roads here arent like that, bike handled alot better when setup properly.. money well spent!

im in mcallens alot so may ask when i next pop in.
also ask them to fit race spec valves and oil in my ohlins damper to as the oem setup is a load of pish!

 

[fabiostar]

unless theres something wrong with it or your getting the thing in knots at track days. dont fix what aint broken.

 

[mike150]

Check all the settings now and write down what they are then set up the rider sag for your weight and soften or harden the damping depending on how the bike feels.
You will learn more!

 

[Gareth]

Worth every penny. I have Ohlins road and track forks and an Ohlins rear shock in the 'Blade. Everyones set-up is different, my bike is set-up quite firm and very front heavy. A friend of mine (ISB and Clubman's race winner) doesn't like my set-up as it doesn't work for him and I'm the same if I ride his GSXR, I find it very soft, but we both get along up the road rightly.

There's a few things I'd recommend though,

How old and when was the suspension last serviced?
Standard suspension is designed to encompass a wide range of rider weight so small changes will give little returns.
How much are you willing to spend on refreshing/upgrading/set-up your suspension.

A set-up is a waste of money if the front and rear units need serviced. I'd recommend you get the service manual and set the bike to stock setting and go for a ride. See how you get on, if it's fast to turn in, slow to turn in, bottoming out etc etc There's loads of stuff online on setting up suspension and I'd recommend you try it yourself. No point in spending money on a set-up and not know what each knob/adjuster does if it's not set-up quite right.

Last time PLR (Clarence Bell) serviced my Ohlins forks, they rode differently than before. 2 clicks back on the compression and all was back to normal. In the case of the Ohlins, 2 clicks of compression could be as many as 5/6 clicks on a standard fork to get the same results, but you get the idea.

 

[banksy6118]

Worth every penny. I have Ohlins road and track forks and an Ohlins rear shock in the 'Blade. Everyones set-up is different, my bike is set-up quite firm and very front heavy. A friend of mine (ISB and Clubman's race winner) doesn't like my set-up as it doesn't work for him and I'm the same if I ride his GSXR, I find it very soft, but we both get along up the road rightly.

There's a few things I'd recommend though,

How old and when was the suspension last serviced?
Standard suspension is designed to encompass a wide range of rider weight so small changes will give little returns.
How much are you willing to spend on refreshing/upgrading/set-up your suspension.

A set-up is a waste of money if the front and rear units need serviced. I'd recommend you get the service manual and set the bike to stock setting and go for a ride. See how you get on, if it's fast to turn in, slow to turn in, bottoming out etc etc There's loads of stuff online on setting up suspension and I'd recommend you try it yourself. No point in spending money on a set-up and not know what each knob/adjuster does if it's not set-up quite right.

Last time PLR (Clarence Bell) serviced my Ohlins forks, they rode differently than before. 2 clicks back on the compression and all was back to normal. In the case of the Ohlins, 2 clicks of compression could be as many as 5/6 clicks on a standard fork to get the same results, but you get the idea.

The bike is 3 years old and suspension has not been serviced since new.

Il get the manual out and see what i can do thanks buddy!

Suppose i cant go wrong really as long as i can set back to factory eh..

 

[Gareth]

That's the idea. It's a good base to start with and take it from there. If you get it all wrong, then you can go back to the default setting and start all over again. My problem is, I have £3500 worth of suspension in my bike, if it wasn't set-up right then it'd be worth fook all.

 

[banksy6118]

Thought I'd revive an old ish thread here, I took peoples advice and tackled it myself. The amount iv learnt over the past few months is unreal!
Also now iv got the gsxr750 I can feel and see the difference to the adjustments I make and also learning a little about geometry of the bike to!!

A tip for anyone messing with there suspension set-up,, RECORD EVERYTHING!!

 

[Gareth]

Stock suspension doesn't offer a load of adjustment, but once you get into the world of aftermarket suspension, 1 or 2 clicks of pre-load is the diference between a sweet handling bike and a dog.

 

[banksy6118]

Stock suspension doesn't offer a load of adjustment, but once you get into the world of aftermarket suspension, 1 or 2 clicks of pre-load is the diference between a sweet handling bike and a dog.

For my skill level the oem stuff is adequate. i'd rather put the money into fuel and tires for now untill i feel that i could utilise a set of aftermarket shocks and forks,

 

[moran]

I had a play with mine at kirkistown a few weeks ago. Dofference in how the bike felt by setting the sag then the rebound then the compression was unbelieveable! Actually got my knee down on my first day after being that confident

 

[BobSpounge]

McCallen is the man for doing this. Personally I can't stand him but he's damn good at setting up suspension on a bike.

 

[banksy6118]

Iv got my road bike sorted. Finally got it dialed in earlier today. Just my track bike to sort now. Got it in a sweet spot last month but I feel more is to be had.