[crjBeez]

Hey guys! Could use a bit of help. I'm not usually a poster, but I've screwed myself and thought I would come for help.

My SP2 has OEM forks, mostly cause I didn't get to the cartridge kit in time, now I must use what I have for Road America next weekend. Anyways, here are the measurements I have, hopefully somebody has some input for a decent starting point.

Under the weight of the bike w/ no preload, I've got 84mm from bottom of dust seal. On it, I'm at about 73-74mm. What's the deal? At about 10 turns in, I was 60 something, but forgot to write it down. I weigh 170 in full gear.

I know full travel should be about 130, I'm guessing that doesn't include the top out springs, but I'm not very familiar with then.

Can somebody give me some pointers and a place I should aim for?

 

[johnyisthedevil]

realy 39 views and nobody has anything?

any way it is very hard to get repeatable numbers with the stock top out springs in place. 170lbs fully geared is about what the stock springs are good for, so you are in the right range. I've tried numerous things to get the sag set properly and tbh the best thing I have found is the old zip tie trick. you are prolly going to bottom them out under heavy braking. It happens. in this case the search function is your friend. there have been many threads about setting up the stockers. you'll read through about a thousand posts saying just get them reworked or buy ohlins, cause they are crap stock. To a point it's true, but you can definitely get a usable setup for street or track... not ideal, but usable. you'll probably end up with the preload cranked in the front almost to max, and all of the preload taken off of the shock to get anywhere near the laden sag #s you need. as far as the clickers go you are kinda on your own there. it all depends on the surface you'll be riding on. but you'll likely need to go up a few clicks on the compression to help keep it from bottoming on the brakes. I'll try to get out later and measure what exactly my laden sag measurement is.

 

[K-town RC]

1st let me say, YOU LUCKY DOG!!!! Road America is awesome!!!

+1 to what Johnny said. zip tie the fork leg to check your travel.
Your biggest load will be at turns 5, 8, and Canada corner.
Also a quick and easy help to the stock front end is new fork oil.

Track day, or racing? Either way I`m guessing there should be a suspension
guru at the track.... Normally at Road America there is some one there working.

Have fun you lucky dog!!

 

[johnyisthedevil]

watch this video. it's long, but worth it and may shed some light on why you can't get good numbers.


Dave Moss: Unsprung- Top-out Spring: what that is, where it is, what it does, and how it affect, Top-out springs in forks have a specific purpose. Find out...

 

[crjBeez]

Thanks guys. I spoke with Dave a few days back and he offered some advice. I'll probably use Superbike Suspension while I'm at Road America. I'm familiar with the track, as I've been through the paces on my old ninja many times there, bit the Honda will be a new test. The rear has a penske triple at the moment, the race tech 25 kit should arrive soon, but it'll be after Road America. Was supposed to get a rough idea at Gingerman a week ago, but work got in the way.

Can't wait to charge up that hill towards the Toyota sign at 6!!!

 

[crjBeez]

Well WTF? Charged towards a Corvette sign at 6 this year! Set things up the best we could and I bottomed out the forks every time at 1, 5, 8, and even Canada Corner. Definitely exposed the weaknesses of the front end! By the end of the day, I found myself braking far earlier to prevent abusing the poor zip ties any more. Compression SUUUUUUCKED!

 

[Newera]

Get your rear shock re-sprung and forks revalved & re-sprung, set up on a dyno to work for your weight and riding style. If it's done right, the handling will be much improved over standard.

There are probably specialists in the States, but the best I've found from personal experience is: Maxton Suspension home page
Maxton has decades of experience in suspension engineering for bikes and support many UK & European professional race teams including those competing on the IOM (Tuning race suspension for use bumpy roads being a difficult task).

 

[Frezon]

I'm stealing your thread a bit but;
I have the Ohlins rear shock, but OEM forks om my SP2. Should I jack up the rear (Ohlins ride height is adjustable) and/or raise the forks in the triples to help the steering? Right now I have a hard time flicking it. I'm looking for a track setup to get me through five days of madness on one of Swedens finest tracks: Gotland Ring.

 

[mondo]

The most basic thing you can do is set the sag height to your weight.Raising the rear wont make it turn in like you are thinking.Setting the forks through the triple clamps(more pokeing out the top) have more effect.Setting the bike front/rear with the same compression rebound rates is a good start.

 

[ZeroGara]

compression damping and anti-dive

If you are using too much compression damping to the point you think it is harsh but still bottoming out you may add a little bit more oil 5-10ml at a time.
This will not affect damping rate but will decrease the air volume and give you a higher rising rate spring effect. Do not over do it as it will eventually leak past the seals.
Raise the bike off the ground and vent the forks, if it is ridden long and been sitting on its own weight air will escape past the seals and lower your sag.

If you can set up the suspension right and maintain it right you may have better results than a full Ohlins racing package that is not set-up right. IMHO