weehe
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Posts: 67
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Registered: Oct 26, 2020 7:25:36 GMT -7
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Post by weehe on Dec 20, 2020 16:40:02 GMT -7
Trying to dial in my suspension. Bike is a 2017 with 15.6k miles on it, I've put the 600 miles on it. The settings were at stock when I got it, I put 500 miles on the bike with those settings and am using it as a baseline. When I started adjusting the suspension I was incorrectly measuring sag, resulting in a 1 turn in preload, 10 clicks out comp, 3 clicks out rebound. Bike felt great (turn in/absorbing bumps) after making this change, just a little soft under hard braking.
Now that I know how to correctly measure sag, I got the following for preload: 10 turns out - 34.3mm 8 turns out - 36.7mm 6 turns out - 37.3mm 4 turns out - 41.4mm
Preload 6-10 were measured cold, 4 was after a 10min ride. So I'm assuming 6-10 should be 1-2mm higher. I also tested down to 6 clicks out for comp, but 10 felt better.
Now, based on the manual 10 turns for 34-35mm sag is where I should have it. However, 4 turns feels miles better. At 10 turns the front does not want to turn in and fights me to keep turning. At 4 it turns in easy and stays turning.
For all of the front preload testing the rear settings have been, sag 33mm, high comp 2.5, low comp 7, rebound 4. Rear doesn't feet too soft or hard.
Since the settings were stock when I got it, I'm guessing the springs are stock. I'm only 160lb with gear on, so am guessing the springs have softened up a bit.
Is there any issue with having this high of front sag (41.4mm)? Is there anything else I should look into? Only reason I'm question it is because the manual says 35mm.
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kratosfz10
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Registered: Jul 15, 2017 18:39:39 GMT -7
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Post by kratosfz10 on Dec 22, 2020 11:23:49 GMT -7
Have you put a cable tie on the fork to see how much travel you actually use? Suspension settings are personal preference, the values you see in the manual are set as a starting point for the general population. I think generally sag for street is in the 35-40mm range, but it's important to know how much of the travel you are using. If 41.4mm feels good to you, that's what matters, but you also need to know if you are, or are close to bottoming out with your particular riding style.
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weehe
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Posts: 67
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Registered: Oct 26, 2020 7:25:36 GMT -7
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Post by weehe on Dec 22, 2020 15:35:32 GMT -7
Have you put a cable tie on the fork to see how much travel you actually use? Suspension settings are personal preference, the values you see in the manual are set as a starting point for the general population. I think generally sag for street is in the 35-40mm range, but it's important to know how much of the travel you are using. If 41.4mm feels good to you, that's what matters, but you also need to know if you are, or are close to bottoming out with your particular riding style. Looks like from my normal ride I am 12.6mm from bottoming out. Seems close to me, but not sure what is acceptable.
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kratosfz10
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Registered: Jul 15, 2017 18:39:39 GMT -7
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Post by kratosfz10 on Dec 22, 2020 16:33:09 GMT -7
Looking at Race Tech's site, it says street bikes run between 25-33 percent of their total travel, so you would want to be somewhere in the top 3rd of the travel with you on the bike loaded normally. The FZ-10 forks have 4.7" or 119mm of travel, so you would need to fully extend the forks, then measure that amount down the length of the inner tube from the bottom of the outer tube (not dust seal) to find the true bottom-out point, it may not be the actual bottom of the tube.
I'm around 220lbs in full gear and in talking with Stoltec, they said the stock front springs are actually just about right for my weight. If you're only 160lbs and the springs are stock, I'd have to think they are way too stiff.
If you haven't already, would be worth making sure your static sag is within the limits when you have your rider sag set, may help clue you in to whether or not you need different springs.
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weehe
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Posts: 67
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Registered: Oct 26, 2020 7:25:36 GMT -7
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Post by weehe on Dec 22, 2020 18:59:19 GMT -7
Good to know not to measure from the dust seal. Will need to remeasure to know what the true extra is after bottom out. I had measured it at 13.5mm, but will need to add the dust seal now. However, my sag measurements should still be correct.
Static sag at 4 turns is 19.2mm. I thought I read this should be 10mm, so the springs are actually too soft (if I understand correctly).
That 12mm of travel left was also a worst case. Have some rough train tracks I go over on my way in. Ride home resulted in 40mm left.
I will also note that when I was at 1 turn preload the front felt too soft and would nose dive a bit more than I'd want.
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weehe
Junior Member
Posts: 67
Likes: 17
Registered: Oct 26, 2020 7:25:36 GMT -7
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Post by weehe on Dec 22, 2020 19:03:41 GMT -7
Also, I'm assuming the springs are stock but do not know for sure. The bike came with a full exhaust, tune and added quick shift. But then the air filter had never been changed and the suspension settings were stock. So it's hard to guess if the previous owner changed the springs (why change springs and keep stock settings).
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goodman4
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Registered: Nov 9, 2020 15:09:57 GMT -7
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Post by goodman4 on Dec 22, 2020 19:19:05 GMT -7
Suspension settings are personal preference, the values you see in the manual are set as a starting point for the general population. I think generally sag for street is in the 35-40mm range, but it's important to know how much of the travel you are using. If 41.4mm feels good to you, that's what matters, but you also need to know if you are, or are close to bottoming out with your particular riding style. This --^ Since preload is just for the purpose of getting your shock in the middle of it's ability to perform, you are fine as long is it isn't bottoming out or topping out. I am close to the top end of the weight for the stock spring so I was bottoming out until I added lots of preload. Now it performs great but the bike is taller, which I didn't like at first, but am used to now. Setting rebound was the part I got screwed up on, but ended up back close to the stock setting once I was done. At 160, you should be good with the stock spring.
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ballmead
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Registered: Jul 22, 2020 1:59:00 GMT -7
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Post by ballmead on Dec 29, 2020 4:28:32 GMT -7
Suspension settings are personal preference, the values you see in the manual are set as a starting point for the general population. I think generally sag for street is in the 35-40mm range, but it's important to know how much of the travel you are using. If 41.4mm feels good to you, that's what matters, but you also need to know if you are, or are close to bottoming out with your particular riding style. This --^ Since preload is just for the purpose of getting your shock in the middle of it's ability to perform, you are fine as long is it isn't bottoming out or topping out. I am close to the top end of the weight for the stock spring so I was bottoming out until I added lots of preload. Now it performs great but the bike is taller, which I didn't like at first, but am used to now. Setting rebound was the part I got screwed up on, but ended up back close to the stock setting once I was done. At 160, you should be good with the stock spring. Raise the forks in the triple clamps until the 3rd line. The bike will turn in much quicker and still be stable.
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weehe
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Posts: 67
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Registered: Oct 26, 2020 7:25:36 GMT -7
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Post by weehe on Dec 29, 2020 22:46:46 GMT -7
This --^ Since preload is just for the purpose of getting your shock in the middle of it's ability to perform, you are fine as long is it isn't bottoming out or topping out. I am close to the top end of the weight for the stock spring so I was bottoming out until I added lots of preload. Now it performs great but the bike is taller, which I didn't like at first, but am used to now. Setting rebound was the part I got screwed up on, but ended up back close to the stock setting once I was done. At 160, you should be good with the stock spring. Raise the forks in the triple clamps until the 3rd line. The bike will turn in much quicker and still be stable. Looks like I might be at the first line. It's about 5mm from flush and I can see an actual line on the fork tubes. So there should be two more lines below it to adjust to?
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