06 HONDA VFR SUSPENSION TWEEKING

[Duccer]

Hi Everyone
I need some advice on tweeking suspension. I've ridden my VFR out of the showroom to just over 4000 kms. Now it's time to take the twitches out of the cornering.

It's my understanding Honda sets the suspension at the factory for riders, with or without their accessories, to approx. 185 lbs. I know riding style has a lot to do with adjusting suspension (touring with bags, riding 2 up or single, etc)

For now, I'm riding single with full leathers - rider weight is about 145 lbs. The local performance shop, suggests Owen rear shocks & oil/bushing change for the front - very expensive at over $2000. That makes sense if I'm racing, but I'm not.

I can't believe Honda would make such a crappy suspension (especially on a VFR, with racing history) that the only solution to my problem is to change the suspension.

In a nutshell, I'm looking for a shortcut to tweeking the suspension, other than going through the pain of trial & error (adjusting shocks by small increments & recording the changes)

Any advice?

[Johnj]

The 'pain of trial and error' makes the gain so much sweeter. All you can do is change the settings on the rear to see which work best for you. If your forks are too stiff go to a lighter weight fork oil like a 5w if they're not stiff enough try a 15w or 20w. It's also not to hard to change out the springs in the forks, if you want to go that way.

[Sev]

Suspension isn't a science, it's an art. And unless you've got a million years experience the only way to do it is step by step. That's how I did mine. Pick a bumpy road and ride it, make a change, record the change, and ride it again. Did the ride get better or worse? Keep going.

There are several tutorials that'll tell you what you should be adjusting to get rid of certain problems, but I'd start by doing small adjustments to the rebound and compression damping. You'll want to be turning it down slightly.

If you turn it down too much you'll run into oversteering, if you have it set to high then you'll run into oversteer. Trial and error my good man, trial and error.

Personally, I prefer a nice stiff suspension - even for every day riding, and touring. But that's personal preference.

Best of luck to you.

[Duccer]

Thanks for your input Johnj & Sev

Ya I figured it would be trial & error schedule. I've just started on the journey now.
The VFR abs model has a preload knob which makes things a little easier, and a damper adjustment nut at the bottom of the rear shock.
I'm a light framed guy so I'm starting with the preload knob only - setting it back 1 click at a time - to see what happens. Once I'm in a happy place, I'll be playing with the damper adjustment.

It's going to be an interesting.

I'm long past being a "tricycle squid".

Regards

[Duccer]

As I understand it with the VFR suspension, I have option of adjusting preload & damping on the rear shocks.

The front shocks are limited to preload adjustments, that's it. Otherwise it's playing around with changing oil & springs. Would it be moving in the right direction, if I changed the front shocks to more adjustable shocks? If so, any recommendations.
If shocks are changed, should both front/rear be changed at the same time?
Or is it a better bet to play with what you've got first?

I have the 50 questions, because this is new territory for me.