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Basic Suspension Upgrade

4K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  R6init 
#1 ·
Hopefully this gets some decent attention in this section :laugh

I want to do a minor suspension upgrade i.e. springs for my weight 210lbs - 220 and possible valve kit

would the valve kit yield noticeable results? what exactly does it do?

thanks for the help fellas

:toocool:
 
#2 ·
Your best bet is to send it in to some place like race tech or dave moss at catalyst reaction. You tell them your weight and the riding level you are at. Riding level means street riding only, occasional track days bust mostly street, or competition, track days and racing only. they will valve the bike based on your weight, and riding application.

The suspension will usually be much stiffer when re-valved. Some race bikes are like riding on train tracks with no suspension. If you set the bike up for track it will be very stiff. The adjustments will also be more narrowed in. There will still be roughly the same number of clicks, however each click will represent less of a change than stock. This is so that you can really narrow down on things. If you still can't get the damping you want you will have to send it in and have it re-valved again. But now you will have feedback as to what range you need. For the most part the range is wide enough that you can get something that works.

If you do a lot of street riding and are currently bothered by stiff suspension don't get it re-valved. It will be stiffer. The new springs will be stiffer as well for your weight and will be a marked improvement over stock.
 
#3 ·
The springs will make a huge difference.

When I changed my springs I also replaced the oil with a heavier weight. Stock oil is 0W and I went with 10W. I think the 10W is a bit too heavy, so I will probably switch back out to 7.5 or so. It's sort of not entirely unlike a revalve...
 
#7 ·
Just make sure when getting your springs to use the weight you are with whatever you ride with.

That means helmet, gloves, boots, leather jacket, pants and any other things you may be wearing when on the bike....
 
#8 ·
Just out of curiosity, Killa, what is the suspension not doing to your liking? Been watching this thread since you posted and all the suggestions coming in, and I'm wondering what you are trying to fix?
 
#9 ·
I'm happy with the suspension on the street...but i was told that when i got to the track that i'd at least want to have springs that are built for my weight...170lbs. is the max weight for stock suspension (or so i've been told), and i fluctuate between 210-225lbs.

i dunno anything about suspension, but if i'm out-weighing the recommended spring weight, doesn't that mean i can "bottom out" the stock springs and crash!? :jacked
 
#11 ·
I don't know. Can't completely answer that for you. But the 08 R6 has a .90 kg/mm front and a 9.8 kg/mm set of springs. Recommended for your weight is .935 kg/mm front and 9.75 kg/mm rear spring.

Everyone is troubleshooting a suspension that may not need much. Ride the thing and either go through basic setup or take it to a trackday suspension tuner before you start spending money. Just my two cents.
 
#10 ·
It's not that you will crash. It is that certain issues will arise that you can't fix because the springs are wrong. The suspension is designed to work a certain way. Forget about compression and damping for the moment. Lets just assume suspension travel. The suspension works best when it is in the middle of the last 1/3rd of travel. So basically the suspension works best somewhere between 70% - 90% of it's travel. However it also needs to have room to deal with other things. If the suspension is already in that sweet spot a sudden jolt will remove it from that " ZONE " and the handling of the bike will be diminished.

That is why sag is an important part of suspension set up. It is the starting point in which the suspension works from. If the spring is to light for you when sag is set properly you will run into handling issues because the suspension is always to low and it regularly bottoms out. It goes the other way as well. If the bike has to stiff of a spring for you and you set sag. the bike will always ride high and could make the ride very rough and the bike may be harder to turn. If you have the correct spring and set the sag correctly the suspension will be in the optimal working area more often and compression and rebound setting will be more effective. When your speed exceeds the valving's ability to handle the extra stress of speed you will need to re- valve in order to compensate. Some will run thicker oil as a cheap way to re-valve, others will send their suspension in and have it physically re-valved.
 
#13 ·
Based on those numbers your suspension is sprung as close as it needs to be for your weight actually. I may be at Buttonwillow in March myself. I know for a fact I will be there in Feb. I usually hit at least one track day a month sometimes two. Keep in touch and perhaps we can talk sometime during the day and work on things. One thing to keep in mind with suspension is that if it ain't broke don't fix it. If there is nothing wrong that you can discern then there is nothing wrong. read up on this link to get an idea.

http://aprilia.rsvmille.home.comcast.net/~aprilia.rsvmille/bikes/suspension_guide.htm

It is a good tool to start grasping suspension dynamics.
 
#14 ·
killa-set your sag and see what happens, that is really the first thing to do. Like everyone on here already said your springs look like they are pretty close so you may be OK. If you have to use other adjustments to help get your sag numbers right then you will most likely need a spring change.
Set your sag and then do the bounce and check method to get your front and rear close then ride it and adjust accordingly. Check out some Dave Moss tips and videos for the bouncing methods and adjustments.
Once you ride it then you may need a spring change but it all depends on the rider, reccomended springs work for some people and others like it stiffer and also some like it softer. Usually the faster you go the heavier the spring you will need.
 
#17 ·
Another thing to keep in mind when setting up your suspension: The action of the fork and shock becomes much more fluid after the oil inside the suspension heat up. Example: Your rebound will become much faster. For those of you riding the track, definately keep this in mind. If is always a good idea to check how your suspension reacts after a 20 minute session on the track, or an aggressive riding session on the street.
 
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