Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Write down the stock settings and go from there.

Mintbread wrote:Write down the stock settings and go from there.

yeah but, testing it is the hard part.

say i test it on a canyon and the settings i chose are bad, then i could crash right?

i'd love to read the whole article on the sport rider but i'll work tomorrow then party later that night, then i'll go to the bike show on saturday, and then it's sunday... i'll go to the tracks and watch a race and then have my suspension worked on.

I don't think you realise how subtle changes from one setting to the next are.

As I said, it is an ongoing process where you make a change, feel a slight difference. If it is better, go a little more, if not head back in the other direction with your changes, hence why doing it yourself and more than once is necessary.

All racers let their mechanics know exactly how the changes affect the bike and they set it accordingly, for each track and each race. All the time.

Mintbread wrote:I don't think you realise how subtle changes from one setting to the next are.

i see... so it's subtle enough not be a crash and burn issue but still enough to notice the handling difference.

thanks!

i'll see if i can find time to read the whole article before sunday and if i understand the article, i'll try it.

ZooTech wrote:Hey, Verm, for $20.00 I'll set your suspension up for ya, air up your tires, and even take it to the gas station and top 'er off. These are the things a poor, starving racer-wannabe needs to know how to do on his/her own since you can't afford a pit crew.

will you clean the chain too????

When I saw the title of this post I was sure you just saved a bundle of money on your car insurance by switching to Geico.

Guess I can't always be right...

Verm, I know you posted to get the advice from all of the guys on the thread about a suspension setup. But you need to stick to your guns sometimes. If going to the track to let the professionals tune your suspension is what you really want to do, then do it. If you don't feel comfortable doing it on your own, then don't. It seems that these guys are pulling you around.

9000white wrote:

ZooTech wrote:Hey, Verm, for $20.00 I'll set your suspension up for ya, air up your tires, and even take it to the gas station and top 'er off. These are the things a poor, starving racer-wannabe needs to know how to do on his/her own since you can't afford a pit crew.

will you clean the chain too????

Hell yeah! And for just $100.00 more I'll plug in his TRE, hook his shifter up backwards, and insert his key for him. If he adds a decent salary to the pot (with medical and dental) I'll even ride the bike for him!

Mr_Salad wrote:Verm, I know you posted to get the advice from all of the guys on the thread about a suspension setup. But you need to stick to your guns sometimes. If going to the track to let the professionals tune your suspension is what you really want to do, then do it. If you don't feel comfortable doing it on your own, then don't. It seems that these guys are pulling you around.

We're not pulling him around. It's just frustrating to see a rider so fixated on going straight from a crawl to a pole-vault. He wrecked one bike inside of a few months and hasn't even made it to the 2nd oil change on this one (which he can't or won't do himself) yet he has his sights set on dragging a knee around a track. I believe it would serve him well to concentrate on just learning to ride (commuting, weekend canyon carving) and learning to wrench for himself.

ZooTech wrote: and learning to wrench for himself.

Definitely agree with you here. You need to know this stuff yourself Verm - if you have no clue what the settings do it is pretty difficult to peg what is "wrong" with your setup. Say you have your suspension adjusted, but for your riding style (and your style makes just as much difference as your weight, etc) the compression damping is too soft. If you don't now what conditions are caused by soft compression damping, how are you going to fix it later? Or are you just going to say "well I paid to have this done by a pro, so this is the best!"???

The sport rider article is very good - and there are even more resources. Traxxion Dynamics for instance, sells a DVD on suspension setup. I suggest you learn the W's of suspension setup, learning the how probably isn't a bad idea either.

Learning to wrench for oneself is always a good thing. However, you have to start small. Maybe Verm should invest in a Clymer or Haynes Repair Shop manual and start doing regular maintenance by himself. And then work up to things such as suspension adjustments and tire changes etc.

I just got my bike about 3 weeks ago and am going to adjust its suspension this weekend. (Or whenever the damn Clymer manual comes in the mail ) But being an engineer, I get off on stuff like that. So I definately agree with the fact that a basic understanding of how your bike works is almost a necessary part of riding. It just seems that Verm has been taking alot of s*$% lately.


Someone needs to stick up for the guy.