True, but if I tell him my weight I can dial in a setting that could be better than it is now. i'm guessing if I'm heaviear than him, I need to keep it a little stiffer than he has it.

Thank you for posting this article. Could not have asked for it at a better time, as I am sorting out my current bike's suspension settings.

The author seems to have put together a concise summary after gaining valuable inputs from various sources (conflicting too) ... so gives a nice perspective.

The author indicates how to arrive at highly personalized settings for any generic bike. If you can find general "track riding" or "road riding" settings for your specific bike, for a particular range of rider(s) weight, those are pretty good too, from my experience with my previous bike.

That may or may not work but it would be better if you set it up yourself. It's a pain but someone has got to do it

Right now, the R1 doesn't inspire too much confidence while cornering.

@SF, Blade: You're both right. It is possible to get a much better setup by just copying the setting from a similarly specced bike ridden by a rider with the same/similar weight as you. But sometimes it turns out to be worse than before.

But this is the the best/fastest way if you're around the same weight as me. Before doing so, make sure you note the settings you are currently using so if it turns out to be worse, you can always go back to that one. But this exercise depends on you using the same tyres, tyre size, tyre pressures and whether the sprung weight varies every time you ride out. By that I mean if you set up the bike for your weight only, and when you ride, if you wear full leathers plus other gear, the dynamic will change.

So you need to set it up with full gear.

PS: It's sort of surprising that you don't like the R1's cornering. The 07-08 R1 characteristic is a very quick turn-in.

Wow I come back after a week and thread has already reached two pages. Anyways i accidently stumbled upon another article on Satic Suspension. Short, sweet and to the point. I thought this thread would serve good repository for Suspension setups

Here it is

Tech Tip - How To Set Motorcycle Suspension Static Sag
By Andrew Trevitt
Dear Geek:
What is static sag and how do I set it?
Nigel Godfrey, Melbourne, Australia

1 Static sag is a measure of how much your bike settles on its suspension with you on board. We generally recommend the Race-Tech method of measuring sag, which takes into account any stiction in the suspension components. With a couple of friends helping, fully extend the front suspension and measure from the fork seal to the bottom triple clamp (for conventional forks) or from the seal to the fork bottom (for inverted forks, as shown here). This measurement is L1.

2 Put on your regular riding gear and hop on your bike, assuming your normal riding position. Have one friend hold the rear of the bike so that you can keep both feet on the pegs. Your second pal needs to take the same measurement as in step one-once after pushing down on the front end and slowly letting it settle up (L2), and again after gently lifting the front end and letting it settle down (L3). L2 and L3 would be identical in a perfect, frictionless world.

3 Static sag is calculated as: sag= L1-(L3+L2)/2. Averaging the two measurements with you sitting on the bike negates any stiction that may be present. Aim for approximately 30mm of static sag for street riding and 25mm for the track. If you have too much sag, tighten up the front preload. Too little, and you'll have to loosen the adjusters accordingly. One turn on the adjuster will usually change sag by about one millimeter.

4 Moving to the rear of the bike, extend the suspension and measure from the axle to a solid point directly above. Try to avoid measuring to the bodywork, as it tends to move about when you lift the rear end or sit on the seat. Instead, measure to a point on the subframe (or something equally solid). As before, this measurement is L1.

5 Repeat steps two and three, with one person holding the front of the motorcycle while the other takes the two measurements at the rear. As with the front end, 30mm of sag is a good starting point for street riding, 25mm for the track.

6 Calculate the static sag and adjust the rear preload accordingly -one turn of preload usually equates to between two and three millimeters of sag. Here's a tip to check that your rear spring rate is in the ballpark. With your bike unladen, lift the rear end until the suspension tops out, then gently let it settle-how much it drops is the free sag, which should be approximately five millimeters. If the suspension doesn't drop at all, you've dialed in a lot of preload and should consider a stiffer spring. Too much free sag is a sign that a softer spring may be in order.


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Its not that I don't like the turn in. Its just that it feels too stiff while cornering so I wouldn't take a chance, especially on the stupid cement and cobbled roads we have in Bombay these days.

I think for street riding it would be better if its a little on the softer side. Can you post pictures showing what you need to turn for what? For eg. I know what to turn for Preload. Is it the outer thing that you turn for damping?

Dunno if this was posted here before....but anyways chk this link out....

Sport Bike Motorcycle Suspension Settings - Sportbike Review - Sport Rider

For street riding, esp if you are of regular build, you wouldn't have to play around with the suspension.

suspension setup is bloody hard. it just comes with experience and asking a million question to SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. i still dont know a lot about it but what i do now sort of makes sense. to all people with adjustable suspension the first thing you need to do is put a cable tie around your front fork and after riding it you can see how much travel the suspension is using. you cant have the best of both world with suspension. you can have a half decent bike that goes alright on most roads or a bike that would just eat up one track/road perfectly. trial and error will pretty much get you there.