Yesterday I had an email response from Dave Moss of On The Throttle suspension fame. Dave has long been a suspension guru in the US and originally hails from our very own shores, from Manchester. He has a great deal of experience and runs the On The Throttle video series on YouTube along with the Feel the track and catalyst reaction websites and even has his own app on the iPhone and Android devices. I sent him an email following putting in some base settings the other night while trying to set my preload. The following is the email trail to and from him should you wish to have a 'play'. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Dave, A massive fan here from the UK and have learned much from your you tube vids. I love the way you describe everything in a way that even the layman can understand. I have owned most of the seminal litre bikes and don't mind trying to get things set up myself. I just need to ask a little advice if you don't mind. I have just purchased a 10k mile 09 CBR1000RR and would like to get it set up in the ball park area until I can afford a suspension overhaul. I am around 15 stone (92Kg without kit) and last night I checked the bike to find all settings still as standard. Last night I borrowed a pair of hands to help me set the preload. Standard was 6 turns out from fully soft out of 15 turns. Ended up at 12 turns out and around 38mm of sag at the front. Doing the bounce push thing it goes down then rises back to top out then drops to settle with no further bounce so I assume that is just about right. The rear was on the standard setting of 4 notches from 10 which also showed around 40mm confirming that the rear spring is of a heavier setting than the forks. I'll probably increase the rear preload by one notch today at some point to decrease the sag a little. Also had to firm up the rear rebound as it was coming up a lot slower than the front so the rear tyre is showing a little ragged edge (scalloped). Ended up with about a quarter of a turn left to use. When pushing down on the bike it comes back up level now and at the same speed as the front although it may be a tad stiff now (should this be slowed a little to arrive back up just after the front?). Busy today but maybe get out and try it on Wednesday to see how it feels. I have not touched the compression front or rear as I'm not too sure where to go with that, should I wait until it's not he road to see where to go with it? Any advice on the above? I'm not a track fiend and our roads around the UK are shite so does around 38mm sound fine at the front? It was showing almost 50mm at the front when I started, although on the road it still felt quite composed. Cheers Lyn --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Lyn, Thanks for the detailed email and kind words! Glad you have put all that information to good use on your bikes. As for the 09 Blade, the settings I would install given your weight would be as follows: Forks in stock position preload as you have it, rebound at 1.25 turns out from max clockwise, compression 1 - 1.5 turns out from max clockwise Shock preload 3 notches from max, compression at 1.5 turns out from max clockwise, rebound at 1 turn out from max clockwise. The bike will benefit from a 190/60 rear tire but those tend to be much more expensive than the 190/55. I know the UK roads well as I was 29 when I left England for the US (born in Manchester), nor is the weather often favorable. Have you looked at the DM Tuning App yet for Android and Apple phones? Everything I know is getting dumped into this in text, podcast and video. http://feelthetrack.com/mobile-apps/ Let me know how those settings work for you.Cheers,Dave Dave Moss Facebook:- davemosstuning http://www.feelthetrack.com http://www.youtube.com/CatalystReactionSBW ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nice that someone with his experience and in business doing this for a living would take the time out to offer his advice for free! Also quite pleased I got the front preload and rear rebound pretty much where it needs to be on my own!!! I'll be having a play later this morning and will report back once I've been out. I hope you guys find this useful. At least it will be a good starting point to make adjustments.
Cheers I'm around 14.5 stone so will give that a go ... I've had my suspension setup by KAIS but feels a little stiff for me on the road.
Be interesting to see the setting dialled in by Kais and compare these here. Could you post them up at some point?
Well, after doing 40-50 miles this morning I can confirm these settings are damn near perfect for me! After setting the front preload last week I never got round to setting the rear properly and left it at 4 notches and 40mm and asked for Dave's advice (thinking another 1 notch may improve things). Dave's settings suggested 7 notches and I think that's what has made the difference. It no longer feels nervous on the front and feels much more planted in the turn (It never felt nervous on the original factory settings but when the front was set up it did). This morning it instantly felt more neutral and I felt like I could push it harder in the turns. Testament to the fact is my chicken strips are almost gone!! Before the suspension was adjusted and following a 20 mile run. This morning.
great if you're happy with these settings ! But personally, i found 7 on rear preload is very hard ! Do you have good grip ? I 'm 87 kg and with a 2012 shock i 'm on the 5 notches
I had no issues today and I was trying! lol. I'm 92kg plus kit. Not for me to say it'll be perfect for everyone but for me it's good.
In terms of damping, i agree the 12' shock are so much better. But in terms of preload yes cause the spring is exactly the same ( 10,8 to 12 kg ).
Hadn't even thought about that! As can be confirmed by the tyre, not tearing it up and no sliding and these are just Dunlop Qualifiers. Hardly the stickiest tyre out there and cold roads but no issues whatsoever.
Even the C&R settings would cause it to slip and slide and if the 12 is noticeably better then maybe thats why you had issues at more than 5 notches. Honestly this is nigh on perfect.
I'm gonna try increasing preload as mine is on 4... Will probably increase to 6. But I want to record all settings before I mess about ... Have you actually checked sag measurements? Front and rear? What are they?
i v' no issues lol. My settings is perfect for the road, perfect grip, sag and tire wear. I had 2 09 bike too so i know them and even on my 2 09 bike, same 5 notches. So everyone is different about suspension. Glad you find a set up you like.
