SV650.org - SV650 & Gladius 650 Forum - View Single Post - Setting up compression/rebound/preload etc?

Sid Squid · 19-02-12, 03:46 PM

By all means try the settings you've found, but bear in mind that your bike isn't new and that suspension units, (even the good stuff), will gradually deteriorate through their life, making the settings needed for a given amount of damping change, sometimes quite dramatically. Clearly this is less so for spring settings, but it's still completely impractical to make any sort of prescriptive recommendation as to where your shock should be set, other than a heavier rider will generally require a higher setting that will a lighter one.

There is no universally 'right', or even for that matter 'good' setting, the suspension is right when it's set to accommodate the way you ride, on the roads you ride, at the speeds you cover them.

I know this isn't an answer, (at least not a direct one anyway), to your question, but hopefully this will disabuse you of the notion that there is a prescription for correct suspension settings. As said above, by all means try the settings you've found, but bear in mind that they are almost certainly not the best your suspension can offer you, there is every possibility that trying them will expand your understanding of what does what, and allow you to reach a suitable setting based upon your experience of how changes to the suspension make a difference to how your bike works - experiment, it's the only way.

Very generally speaking the adjusters on a Japanese motorcycle are found thus:

Front
Hexagon at top of fork typically 17/19 ish mm = preload adjuster.
Top of fork, screw in centre of preload adjuster, typically a slot, sometimes a 5/6ish mm square = rebound damping adjuster.
Bottom of fork, screw, typically facing backwards under brake caliper = compression damping adjuster.

Rear
Big slotted ring around shock body, usually at the upper end = preload adjuster.
Screw at top of shock body, or on reservoir whether remote or not = compression damping adjuster.
Screw at bottom of shock body = rebound damping adjuster.

Damping adjusters; almost always clockwise, (inwards), for more, out for less.
Preload adjusters; viewed from top, clockwise, (downwards), for more.

19-02-12, 03:46 PM	#2
Sid Squid No, I don't lend tools. Mega Poster Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Skunk Works, Nth London Posts: 8,680	Re: Setting up compression/rebound/preload etc By all means try the settings you've found, but bear in mind that your bike isn't new and that suspension units, (even the good stuff), will gradually deteriorate through their life, making the settings needed for a given amount of damping change, sometimes quite dramatically. Clearly this is less so for spring settings, but it's still completely impractical to make any sort of prescriptive recommendation as to where your shock should be set, other than a heavier rider will generally require a higher setting that will a lighter one. There is no universally 'right', or even for that matter 'good' setting, the suspension is right when it's set to accommodate the way you ride, on the roads you ride, at the speeds you cover them. I know this isn't an answer, (at least not a direct one anyway), to your question, but hopefully this will disabuse you of the notion that there is a prescription for correct suspension settings. As said above, by all means try the settings you've found, but bear in mind that they are almost certainly not the best your suspension can offer you, there is every possibility that trying them will expand your understanding of what does what, and allow you to reach a suitable setting based upon your experience of how changes to the suspension make a difference to how your bike works - experiment, it's the only way. Very generally speaking the adjusters on a Japanese motorcycle are found thus: Front Hexagon at top of fork typically 17/19 ish mm = preload adjuster. Top of fork, screw in centre of preload adjuster, typically a slot, sometimes a 5/6ish mm square = rebound damping adjuster. Bottom of fork, screw, typically facing backwards under brake caliper = compression damping adjuster. Rear Big slotted ring around shock body, usually at the upper end = preload adjuster. Screw at top of shock body, or on reservoir whether remote or not = compression damping adjuster. Screw at bottom of shock body = rebound damping adjuster. Damping adjusters; almost always clockwise, (inwards), for more, out for less. Preload adjusters; viewed from top, clockwise, (downwards), for more. __________________ If an SV650 has a flat tyre in the forest and no-one is there to blow it up, how long will it be 'til someone posts that the reg/rec is duff and the world will end unless a CBR unit is fitted? A little bit of knowledge = a dangerous thing. "a deathless anthem of nuclear-strength romantic angst"