[S!de St3p Nate]

I live in the hamptons roads area of VA and the bumps around here are intense. Huge slabs of rounded concrete raised on the interstate(s) at different sections. Both my tires hit it hard and it just feels like the suspension isn't softning it at all. My tires feels like it comes up off the ground and I think it literally does. If I don't stand up to allow my a$$ to not suffer it, it will hurt even more of course. Anyway, My rear spring is on the next to softest setting. A while back I tried tweaking all of the other settings but not sure how well of a job I did. I will probably go get it professionally tuned but I'm not sure of any bike shops in my area other than my stealership. I'm 120LBs. Any suggestions for settings for my 07 R6 or should I simply take it straight to a professional to have it tuned. If I should take it to a professional, any suggestions as far as where to go in my area? Thanks.

 

[totaleclipse]

To be honest and I find this out after I purchase the bike.......... The R6 is not design for street ride at all. Exspecially ours 06-08..... any way I've mess with the clicking thinggy base on the manual...... that's right I call it "clicking thinggy". Try to play with it, but remember to write down what you did and keep every thing the same on both side of the bike. Or els..........
Good luck. I'm about 20bls more than you so when you figure it out let me know.

 

[S!de St3p Nate]

I put the rear preload, fast compression, slow compression and rebound all on their lowest settings. Its better but I don't think the bike is made for such a low weight rider.

 

[Paytheon]

Get your suspension done by a pro.

 

[DanQ]

Set your sag to about 35 mm, then adjust rebound damping so it smoothly returns to the top of the stroke without beginning a second downward stroke. At that point, adjust compression damping to suit your needs.

There is no "one size fits all" with suspension adjustments. You have to adjust to the conditions you face. The newer R6 has both high and low speed compression damping. The low speed is the one you will make most adjustments to, and fine tune the high speed for the ripples and other things you'll encounter at speed.

Get the sag right and post up further, I can try to help you as you go along.

 

[Thee See 5]

The stock springs are designed for a 170 180 ish rider, no matter what you do to tweak the settings, it will still be too stiff for you. You need to change your fork and shock springs to a lower spring rate in order to set the correct sag. Check out racetech.com and use their spring rate calculator to determine whats best for you.

 

[ichibon_kokojin]

The stock springs are designed for a 170 180 ish rider, no matter what you do to tweak the settings, it will still be too stiff for you. You need to change your fork and shock springs to a lower spring rate in order to set the correct sag. Check out racetech.com and use their spring rate calculator to determine whats best for you.

Exactly.... you are just a little lite in the ass to be expecting any comfort on the R6.opcorn:

 

[S!de St3p Nate]

well i like my light ass lol. but yea, I thought the R6 had a minimum weight that the springs were designed for. I lowered the rear suspension settings to their lowest and its much better; definitely doable. THanks though. I may change springs and stuff in the future but who knows.

 

[DanQ]

well i like my light ass lol. but yea, I thought the R6 had a minimum weight that the springs were designed for. I lowered the rear suspension settings to their lowest and its much better; definitely doable. THanks though. I may change springs and stuff in the future but who knows.

Did you measure the sag? If it's in or close to tolerance, the valving can likely be adjusted to suit you.

 

[S!de St3p Nate]

No I haven't done that. It feels so much better there just by me lowering all the rear settings. What's the easiest way to measure the sag accurately?

 

[Thee See 5]

Put masking tape on the tail section right above the rear axle and mark a line on it. Get someone to lift the bike from the tail section so that the rear wheel is off the ground measure the distance from the rear axle to the line you drew. record that number. get on the bike in riding position full gear and all and have someone hold the bike and measure the distance to the line again. subtract the numbers and that is your rider sag. most people recommend about 30mm to 40mm rider sag for the rear

edit: for the front its the same thing just measure the forks instead front sag should be around 35-48mm

 

[S!de St3p Nate]

So its simply the distance between the tire and the given point on the tail?

 

[CosmoK]

The stock springs are designed for a 170 180 ish rider, no matter what you do to tweak the settings, it will still be too stiff for you. You need to change your fork and shock springs to a lower spring rate in order to set the correct sag. Check out racetech.com and use their spring rate calculator to determine whats best for you.

Couldn't agree more. You can't expect equipment to perform its job if it is incorrectly sized. Shell out some dough and buy the correct springs.

 

[DanQ]

No I haven't done that. It feels so much better there just by me lowering all the rear settings. What's the easiest way to measure the sag accurately?

This is from something I am working on:

Suspension setup basics:

- Static Sag: The amount of suspension travel used by the combined weight of the machine and rider
- Free Sag: The amount of suspension travel used by the weight of the machine alone.
- Damping:
- Compression
- Rebound
- Stiction: This is the drag placed on suspension components due to friction, drag, linkage and other moving parts of the suspension. DO NOT be surprised if this is a large amount as in the Kayaba forks used in the YZF and ZX10R.

Tools needed

Part I Setting Sag
The first step to setting any suspension is to set the sag. Simply stated, sag is the distance the spring compresses from fully topped out. Race Tech and others have information on the different methods used to measure this on their websites etc, but I’m going to stick with explaining the method used by Race Tech due to the high amount of stiction found in the Kayaba forks.

Rear: When taking your measurements at the rear of the machine, you will need to measure from the center of the axle to a point directly above the axle.

Step 1: You will need to fully extend the rear suspension. You can do this with jacks, some really strong friends to dead lift the bike, or carefully pull it over onto the kickstand. Just remember the R1 has an aluminum kickstand. Measure from the axle to the point directly above on the frame.

This measurement is L1.

Step 2: With an extra person holding the bike balanced from the front, have the rider get on the machine in all normal riding gear and get into a the normal position they ride in. Yes, it does make a small difference. Firmly push down on the rear of the machine about 1 inch and VERY SLOWLY release the pressure. Again, measure from the axle to the point directly above on the frame.

This measurement is L2.

Step 3: Next, lift up on the rear of the machine about 1 inch, and again VERY SLOWLY let the rear end down. Again, measure from the axle to the point directly above on the frame.

This measurement is L3.

Step 4: Because of stiction, you should have a difference between L2 and L3. So the average of the two would be where the static sag is. To calculate do the following:

L1 – ((L2+L3) / 2)

Or in English, add L2 and L3 together, divide by two, then subtract from L1.

This number is your sag and should be between 25 – 30 mm (track) and 30 – 35 mm (street).

Once you have the measurement made, you will likely need to adjust to get to these numbers. If the measured sag is too large, you will need to increase the preload on the shock. Too small, you will need to decrease the preload.

Front: There are a couple of ways to do this, but I’m going to explain the Racetech method. Mine involves a zip tie and less measuring. But I’ve checked both methods and not withstanding stiction, they come up with the same result. I may explain my method later on. For now I want to stick with something from someone reputable. Thing to note about measuring the front is there will be a minor difference in measuring conventional and inverted cartridge forks. Aside from that, it’s all the same.
Step 1:Using assistants or a front stand that lifts from the triple clamp, fully extend the front suspension. Again, the kickstand can be used CAREFULLY. Measure from the dust seal to the bottom of the triple clamp (conventional) or from the dust seal to where the inner fork tube meets the lower casting (inverted cartridge).
This measurement is L1.
Step 2:Using an assistant to steady the rear of the machine, have the rider get on the machine in all normal riding gear and get into the normal position they ride in. Firmly push down on the rear of the machine about 1 inch and VERY SLOWLY release the pressure. Again, measure from the dust seal to the bottom of the triple clamp (conventional) or from the dust seal to where the inner fork tube meets the lower casting (inverted cartridge).
This measurement is L2.
Step 3: With the rider still on the machine lift up on the front end about 1 inch and VERY SLOWLY release the pressure. Again, measure from the dust seal to the bottom of the triple clamp (conventional) or from the dust seal to where the inner fork tube meets the lower casting (inverted cartridge).
This measurement is L3.

Step 4: Because of stiction, you should have a difference between L2 and L3. So the average of the two would be where the static sag is. To calculate do the following:

L1 – ((L2+L3) / 2)

Or in English, add L2 and L3 together, divide by two, then subtract from L1.

This number is your sag and should be between 25 – 30 mm (track) and 30 – 35 mm (street).

Once you have the measurement made, you will likely need to adjust to get to these numbers. If the measured sag is too large, you will need to increase the preload on the shock. Too small, you will need to decrease the preload.

Do NOT be surprised by large differences between L2 and L3. There is notably a large amount of stiction in the Kayaba forks, and this is normal.

 

[ichibon_kokojin]

As a ex-designer (CADD) that worked closely with FOX Racing...
Set everything to lowest setting. This includes the front-end as well.

Find a stretch of road for testing and work from there. Make changes, and run the same stretch of road each time.

SAG is a must.... but the valving and spring rate for a given STOCK shock can't be compensated for. To acheive happiness you will have to $$$$ front and rear.

It will be fun for sure, because you will learn the machine, then control the machine.

 

[DanQ]

As a ex-designer (CADD) that worked closely with FOX Racing...
Set everything to lowest setting. This includes the front-end as well.

Find a stretch of road for testing and work from there. Make changes, and run the same stretch of road each time.

SAG is a must.... but the valving and spring rate for a given STOCK shock can't be compensated for. To acheive happiness you will have to $$$$ front and rear.

It will be fun for sure, because you will learn the machine, then control the machine.

Exactly! That's why I post this stuff one piece at a time. Once we get the sag, we can start looking at rebound damping, then compression. Maybe even discuss geometry. If not here, definitely on the R1-Forum.

 

[SeanJohn]

I live in the hamptons roads area of VA and the bumps around here are intense. Huge slabs of rounded concrete raised on the interstate(s) at different sections. Both my tires hit it hard and it just feels like the suspension isn't softning it at all. My tires feels like it comes up off the ground and I think it literally does. If I don't stand up to allow my a$$ to not suffer it, it will hurt even more of course. Anyway, My rear spring is on the next to softest setting. A while back I tried tweaking all of the other settings but not sure how well of a job I did. I will probably go get it professionally tuned but I'm not sure of any bike shops in my area other than my stealership. I'm 120LBs. Any suggestions for settings for my 07 R6 or should I simply take it straight to a professional to have it tuned. If I should take it to a professional, any suggestions as far as where to go in my area? Thanks.

Nate, I'm seanjohn and I lived in that area. If you want a shop to take a look at go to Extreme Motorcycles Concepts, They are my site sponsor/good friends they do all my work on my bikes. Im sure they can help you out.

I personally just deal with it. most of the bumps your can go around pretty easily, or just rise off the seat a bit.

Also check out my forum, Sevacycles.com, Its a local forum for HR and Richmond area.