Suspension Problem-Front or Rear?

[andyb]

Hi all,

It's not on an Sv but a ZX6R. It's always had hard suspension so I took the forks to a suspension specialist who increased the air gap and serviced them and told me they would be much better but may now show the shock up (he came highly recommended by a few people). Trouble is now I have the forks back on the ride is still quite bumpy, the bike just feels like it's jumping across the bumps.

Now...I think most of the bumpiness is coming from the front but how do I actually tell what bit needs sorting out (Front or Rear)? Is it just a case of seeing what moves most...bum or arms?? :)

[BanannaMan]

No offense but ....probably the best (easiest) thing to do would be to have someone with more bike experiance ride the bike.

But if that's not an option...

You could try adjusting the forks and see if that helps.
Sounds as if the frt. springs may be too tight. Turn the big /outside nuts counter clockwise 2 full turns and see what happens.
If it doesn't help ..put them back!
If it does .,..keep adjusting till it suits you.
Ideal is as tight as you can get the adjusters without getting the "pogo stick" effect on the bumps.

Push down on the pillon seat...Does the rear of the bike compress and rebound freely???
If it does...See what setting the back shock is on. Try 3 or 4 as a place to start.

Only adjust one end of the bike at a time so you'll know which end the problem is on.

[vardypeeps]

As above really.
You just need to play with the settings.
Does it have adjustable damping etc on the forks?

[yorkie_chris]

Yes they're fully adjustable on them there kwackers.

Wind some rebound off, see what happens, they might be pumping down.

Record the settings you're on now before beginning to mess around.

[trumpet]

Got my suspension on my triumph set up at KAIS atherton, set-up was perfect.

[Jamiebridges123]

If you attend a trackday (well you're on a ZX6 i take it!), for the sum of £20 or so you get your suspension set up all day long with adjustments made for you and then you can test them. The ZX6 is a harsh beast anyway so you won't get it magic carpet like.

[ThEGr33k]

Best thing to do imo with suspension is play with the settings and see what it does. If it feels better then find the point at which it feels best then move on to another setting.

[lukemillar]

Also, did you buy the bike new?

If not, check the settings you have on the bike against your owners manual. They maybe way off from stock, set by a previous owner. I'd start at what Kawasaki recommend for that model and go from there.

[sweepdoggydog]

One bit of advice I was given recently was, if you are unsure of what to do with the suspension to change it dramaticly. This way you will learn exactly what compression, damping, preload actually does. I.e. I doubt if you turn your damping setting by ¼ of a turn you will notice any difference unless you are riding the same bit of road/track over and over again, however if you completely wind it on or off you will soon work out the difference.

Hope this helps

[ThEGr33k]

One bit of advice I was given recently was, if you are unsure of what to do with the suspension to change it dramaticly. This way you will learn exactly what compression, damping, preload actually does. I.e. I doubt if you turn your damping setting by ¼ of a turn you will notice any difference unless you are riding the same bit of road/track over and over again, however if you completely wind it on or off you will soon work out the difference.

Hope this helps


That depends on how sensitive it is... At the moment I can tell the difference between 1/20th of a turn of compression or rebound! But it depends on the stacks used as to how much a turn changes things...

As a rule this will probably be right. :cool:

[Jamiebridges123]

I thought the idea was if you didn't have a clue, you left it alone and got someone who does to have a look for you.. :p

[yorkie_chris]

No, if you don't have a clue then learn.

[Luckypants]

so I took the forks to a suspension specialist who increased the air gap and serviced them and told me they would be much better but may now show the shock up (he came highly recommended by a few people).

Did this guy not set up the pre-load / damping for you? Did he ask what kind of riding you do? If you've paid someone for set up, sounds like they got it wrong and you need to go back to him.

[andyb]

Did this guy not set up the pre-load / damping for you? Did he ask what kind of riding you do? If you've paid someone for set up, sounds like they got it wrong and you need to go back to him.

Yeah he set it up for me, asked about my riding etc but the forks were off the bike so he could only set it up roughly. He said to give it a try but warned me that as the forks were sorted they would show the rear shock up.

I have the money for an aftermarket shock but I'm not 100R% convinced that it's not the forks giving me bumpiness and not the rear. Just wondered how to narrow it down 100% as I can feel the bike moving underneath me over potholes (only small ones) and bumps in the road but havign trouble workign out exactly where its comign from! I know I'm not making a huge amount of sense and the bike is obviously going to move but at times it can kick me out of the seat or move me into the tank rather quickly :)

[Jamiebridges123]

No, if you don't have a clue then learn.

At the very least take note of where you left it. :p :D

[johnnyrod]

Where are you living?

PS step 1 - set the preload. Don't adjust anything eslse until you have

[trumpet]

Where are you living?

PS step 1 - set the preload. Don't adjust anything eslse until you have

Blackburn

[ThEGr33k]

To be honest man, its very hard sometimes to tell which end of the bike is causing an issue. I was getting some bad bumpyness from the front, turned out it was the back needing a little more compression dampening.

Basically man the only way you can find the issue is by changing one setting (either front or back) taking it for a quick ride to see how it feels. If its going in the right direction you at least know which end of the bike is the problem!!!

There is only one way to learn how things feel and thats to ride it and change it. You can get it "professionally" set-up but to be honest different people like the bike set-up in different ways so that is unlikely to work perfectly! A great example is look at MotoGP, they can share set-ups but they rarely seem to use the same settings.

Keep us upto date on how things go as you play, oh and make sure you record what the settings are at the moment so you can go back to them later if you need to. :rabbit:

[Tim in Belgium]

If the forks were off the bike when set up I'd definitely check the preload (static and rider sag), have a search through threads on here or internet guides to see what you should be aiming to acheive. Or find out from a kwak forums the preferred amount.

[trumpet]

To be honest man, its very hard sometimes to tell which end of the bike is causing an issue. I was getting some bad bumpyness from the front, turned out it was the back needing a little more compression dampening.

Basically man the only way you can find the issue is by changing one setting (either front or back) taking it for a quick ride to see how it feels. If its going in the right direction you at least know which end of the bike is the problem!!!

There is only one way to learn how things feel and thats to ride it and change it. You can get it "professionally" set-up but to be honest different people like the bike set-up in different ways so that is unlikely to work perfectly! A great example is look at MotoGP, they can share set-ups but they rarely seem to use the same settings.

Keep us upto date on how things go as you play, oh and make sure you record what the settings are at the moment so you can go back to them later if you need to. :rabbit:
Got my triumph set -up professionally blocked and redrilled oilways in forks it was perfect felt like i could have chased rossi. I forgot to mention to them i did a lot of b-roads it made it interesting tyre life went from 5000 to 3500

[ThEGr33k]

If the forks were off the bike when set up I'd definitely check the preload (static and rider sag), have a search through threads on here or internet guides to see what you should be aiming to acheive. Or find out from a kwak forums the preferred amount.

Oh yea, of course!!! Sag is the first stop for any suspension tuning! ;)

Got my triumph set -up professionally blocked and redrilled oilways in forks it was perfect felt like i could have chased rossi. I forgot to mention to them i did a lot of b-roads it made it interesting tyre life went from 5000 to 3500

I wasn't saying it cant be right when they set it up. Just Im pretty sure they wont be perfect for everyone. I know that if someone wanted to set mine up now they'd have to use a Suspension Dyno as both front and back are no where near stock now. :(