motonuts

Member
Sep 5, 2005
38
0
i cant seem to set up my bike susp. to go faster with more confidence. in the desert the bike hits a section of whoops and i got to back off the throttle to feel in control. i've had both ends revalved and resprung for my weight. i dont know if i should speed up the rebound or adjust compression, front or rear first..?? any suspension techs out there..ive read race tech "how to set-up".
 

Feb 17, 2005
84
0
Details?

What bike? what sag setting?

I'm not a pro tuner but I have alot of experiance with sandy whoops and rockers (being I live and ride in Florida).

Assuming this is a MX bike... Tuning for off road whoops can be tricky at first but once you get the nack its not that hard. In most cases you will find a sag setting of around 104 to 105mm is best. Set it at 104 to 105mm and leave it for now.

Next, with the clickers set at a decent preset and the forks set in the clamps at a decent height (dont push the forks too high in the clamps for off road whoops, 5mm down is a decent setting to start with)... you will need to focus on fork oil height. Too low and the rear will overpower the front, too high and the front will *snag* the tips of the whoops and screw up everything. You can use the forks bleeder to add oil. Add oil in 5 ml increments to feel a change. You will be looking for a balanced feel between the rear and front when going at a decently fast pace through the whoops.

After you get this done the bike should feel basicly balanced and should only need some clicker tuning. Start with the shocks rebound. try all different rebound settings and leave it at the one that feels best in the whoops. Next set the high speed compression to what feels best again in the whoops, then the low speed compression. Then set the forks compression for the whoops, then the forks rebound. Then start all over at the shocks rebound and do them all over again since they all effect each other some. its good to go through it twice to help balance them out in harmony. On the second round they should not need more then one click change either way per setting.

After that it should feel pretty good and stable through the whoops. Only thing now would be to set the forks rebound for better cornering.
 

motonuts

Member
Sep 5, 2005
38
0
ok, i'm confused. high and low speed compression..
i have a 98 kx250-cartridge fork i think. i have rebound and compression clickers.comp-bottom,rebound-top.
rear susp. rebound-bottom,comp.-top.

i took apart forks to measure fork oil level w/ no spring...110mm,from top of fork to oil level.

i also noticed my spring is not compressing when screwing the fork cap back on.. is that pre-load? what's front preload?

bike feels wallowy, how do you keep it level/straight?
 

Danger

Member
Jan 15, 2004
88
0
I ride lots of whoops here. I used to stand and lean back on my YZ's. Very tiring. I now have my KTM setup stiffer in the front and now ride more centred or over the front. I use the power to keep the front up. This is so much easier as your not trying to hold on from falling off the back. Also the rear end doesn't hit you in the butt.
You may need to look at how much stroke your forks are using. I run a stiffer midvalve for sand and whoops.
You need to adjust your suspension to suit. If the front end is low, increase fork comp and reduce rebound damping. If the bike feels wallowy, increase compression damping. If the rear is coming up to high, increase rear rebound and compression. If its swapping, increase compression. Get it? You need higher LS compression for sand whoops. Go to far on rebound and you will get packing, so you need to experiment. Sort out your riding position first, then try to balance the attitude of the bike to suit.
 

motonuts

Member
Sep 5, 2005
38
0
ok,i went riding the other day and messed with the suspension. i set all clickers at 10 clicks from all the way in. the front felt soft. i stiffened the front and rode it through whoops, hills, and sand. i'm using all of my fork travel. i think i need to stiffen the mid stroke. i think it blows through. comp. in forks are 2 clicks from all the way in. i softened the rear to keep the bike from making the front dive. or sould i have stiffened the rear? i just like my bike plush, not to stiff.
 
Feb 17, 2005
84
0
Seems like you narrowed your problem down to the forks.

Most people dont know that the rebound on forks and shocks also effects the low speed compression. So I would first tune in your forks rebound to what you can only think is correct for now.

(Assuming the springs are heavy enough for you), I would then start adding 5ml at a time in the forks untill the mid stroke starts to give some feedback and then you can back the forks compression down some, and add maybe 5 ml moreor so. If you have to add 30 ml before anything is felt than give up and service the forks.
 

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