Stock suspension set-up ??? SP2PILOT any thoughts ?

Any reason why a stock suspension can not be set up for the streets properly ?? I know Ohlins is the way to go , but just can not afford the it right now. I bought my bike used and the previous owner had the stock suspension set-up for him, seems a bit on the stiff side for me. should I just set everything back to factory settings. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I plan on doing the fork revalving in the near future.

Roland / Ikaika808

SEARCH....grasshopper...SEARCH

read........... all applies unless it's an 02.

http://www.motophotos.com/rc51...s.doc

(I'm not SP2pilot, but i play him on television )

Have done a search and most settings around are for a person in full gear over the 200 lbs mark. I am 185 lbs in full gear, and yes my bike is an '02 .

i'm not the expert here. however, i can tell you that the 2002 model forks are a royal pain in the ass to adjust. they're similar to Ohlins R&T forks. i went through the same thing, so i feel your pain. this is what helped me.......

from another thread i read regarding RC51's and 02 forks:

Due to top out springs, they do not allow the forks to fully extend. The internal damping cartridge is also about 10 mm longer on the '02s to accomodate the longer top out spring.

You need to set your rider sag first. Try 35 mm. Back both preload adjuster out fully, then turn both in the same number of turns until you get your rider sag correct, then measure your static sag.

Most suspension tuners like 25 to 30% of the total travel as a starting point for rider sag in front forks. In your case 110 mm x 30% = 33 mm.

As an experiment try to set your static sag to 15 mm with the preload adjusters then measure your rider sag.

The top out springs are preventing the forks from extending the last 10 mm of their travel. In theory you have a built in 10 mm of static sag that you can not use because of the top out springs. On the '02s, with stock springs, if you have enough preload to acheive the correct rider sag the static sag will be almost nill unless you weigh 125 lbs.

One of the advantages of having forks reworked for your weight is if you have the correct rate and length springs in your forks, staic sag is set by the preload adjusters and rider sag is set by the spring rate.

keep turning the preload adjusters in [closkwise] until you have the correct rider sag. If may take 20 + turns from full out to put some preload on the main springs. This applies to the '02's ONLY!

The '02 RC51 forks use a preload adjuster similar to the Ohlins R&T forks. The RC51 Ohlins forks with the correct springs take 10 to 14 turns to get the sag correct.

credits go to wstaab from the RC51.org forums.

Thanks for the info Rice. Just trying to get a good baseline for my weight and street / canyon riding !

If anyone has a suggestion.....i'm all ears as well, since i'm not POSITIVE i got mine right. (although it feels good at this point......)

No one is going to be able to tell you what setting are best for you. It depends on your weight and riding style. Everyone likes their bikes set up different ways. If I were you I would set everything back to the stock settings, write it down in a note book EX: fork compression 8 out / fork rebound 3out etc... Then ride and make adjustments from there alwys writting down the adjustments you made until you find something you like.

I have no idea what the stock setting are but, you can really start from anywhere as long as you keep a good record of where you started and the adjustments you made.

Craig

I loved my stock forks. They just had clearance issues once I cut holes in the bodywork for frame sliders so i had to go aftermarket. I can sell them to you if you want, they were proffesionaly set up by Todd at a NESBA track day. This guy knows his shit too. I just couldnt make them work with the new frame sliders, so now they sit in the garage

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rookie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I loved my stock forks. They just had clearance issues once I cut holes in the bodywork for frame sliders so i had to go aftermarket. I can sell them to you if you want, they were proffesionaly set up by Todd at a NESBA track day. This guy knows his shit too. I just couldnt make them work with the new frame sliders, so now they sit in the garage</TD></TR></TABLE>

what the heck are you talking about...? What do framesliders have to do with anything.....related to forks???

how big are these phuckin frame sliders, dude?

(post pic........ if there's enough bandwidth to show them, of course. )

stock is......
front:
preload is 4 turns out from full soft.

rebound is 2 turns out.

damping is 2 turns out.


rear:

preload 5 out (#5 shock setting)

rebound 1 out

damping 6 out


chart: http://www.sportrider.com/bike...honda

Oh, come on. That was a little funny wasnt it?

(looking for emoticon with hand passing over top of head..........)

Diesel fuel is funny... Frame slider's are not...

IM me with your phone numbers and I will call you. Probably can get you close to a ridable set-up.

IM sent !

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sp2pilot &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">IM me with your phone numbers and I will call you. Probably can get you close to a ridable set-up. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Man, once again helping someone else on his own dime