Rear shocker ( again )

i know this has been covered so many times and ive looked through the old posts but. . .
can someone tell me what sort of handeling you get on a tighter suspension, i took a look today before the daily commute and it appears my shock is set to number 2 as apose the factory set 4 ( i think ) so if i cranked it up to 6 what should i expect??

thanx

Jon

a harder ride which i prefere.

Originally Posted by kwak zzr

a harder ride which i prefere.

does it make a difference to things like cornering and the like though?
i allready feel every bump in the road through the front. would it make it feel at least more stable??

[northwind]

It's not that simple though. Preload (which is all you've got) doesn't make the suspension harder as many think. It does make it feel harder, because the bike doesn't sink as far when you sit on it, but that's not the same thing. All you're doing with preload is adjusting the sag rates- how much the bike squats with your weight on, and with the bike's weight.

If you try and make the bike stiffer by turning this up, it can make it extremely unstable as it can't deal with bumps as well. But I'm not going to say how to set it up, because I'm no good at describing it- I can do it, passing well, but only using my collection of rules of thumb. There's loads of good links out there for setting up sag though. 21Quest has a good one, if you search for posts by him on sag you'll probably find some good stuff.

Surely if you have a rising spring rate adjusting the preload would make the suspension stiffer. Not sure if the SV has one?

If you have to stiffen the suspension to carry 2 people is this how its done?

All this coming from someone who doesnt even know what setting his bike is on!

[northwind]

Originally Posted by ivantate

Surely if you have a rising spring rate adjusting the preload would make the suspension stiffer. Not sure if the SV has one?

Yep, it would if we had one... Unfortunately not.

Preload won’t effect the overall stiffness of the spring/shock, the only thing that will do that is a new spring … by adding preload you are just increasing the point at which the shock will begin to move … it’ll feel stiffer, but that’s only coz it is unable to track smaller bumps properly

As northy said, set the sag for your weight (plenty of online guides out there) and let it be … if you run out of adjustment then you need a new shock/spring

The cheapest solution if you feel you want to ‘stiffen up’ is to buy a ZX10/636 shock (for a curvy) or a GSXR shock (for a pointy). These are still standard shocks, but fitted with higher rate springs than SVs and a direct fit ..

A facts and figures gude to stock shocks that will fit SVs

<Swiped>

YEAR MOTORCYCLE LENGTH SPRING
===== ========= ===== =====
00-03 GSXR750 325mm 400#

01-03 GSXR600 325.5mm 325#

01-02 GSXR1000 329.5mm 430#

03-04 SV650 330mm 430# <<<==== stock 2nd gen...05 should be the same

99-03 GSXR1300(Busa) 330mm 700#

04 GSXR750 332.5mm 408#

04 GSXR600 332.5mm 425#

03-04 GSXR1000 332.5mm 480#

99-02 SV650 337mm 510# <<<====stock 1st gen

04 ZX10R 338mm 540#

03-04 ZX6R(636) 340mm 540# *corrected by e lo...thanks!

96-99 GSXR750 345mm 375#

97-00 GSXR600 375mm 375#

05 GSX-R 1000 332.5mm 450# <<<===added by me...spring rate from racetech.com, length from ohlins.com

<end>

your a star mate, it just seems like it should be higher as its lower than factory set, but i weigh nine stone!!! so maybe notch two works for me as it doesnt move when i get on it, should i leave it?? maybe ill have to try ( slowly to see ) as its always been on that maybe its ok lol, ( CONFUSED .COM!!!! )

[northwind]

All I did with the stock one was muck about with it till it worked as well as it could... But it's dead easy to sabotage yourself that way, so careful! Wee bit of reading and then a bit of fannying about, worked for me.

Originally Posted by lylej

your a star mate, it just seems like it should be higher as its lower than factory set, but i weigh nine stone!!! so maybe notch two works for me as it doesnt move when i get on it, should i leave it?? maybe ill have to try ( slowly to see ) as its always been on that maybe its ok lol, ( CONFUSED .COM!!!! )

At 9 stone the stock shock spring weight should be ok for you, read the "Rear Preload" bit of this guide (its written really well!) and set the rear accordingly and you are good to go!

http://www.gostar-racing.com/informa...ion_set-up.htm