Suspension, tire pressures, what worked well for me

I read a million threads to sort out some good suspension and tire pressure options before track day with my "new" 01 SV. Here was the end result:

Two top point SV650 WERA racers I spoke with recommended against installing a GSXR front end and they recommended using emulators with a proper spring and oil weight for the rider. I bought a set of Thermosman modified forks with emulators and adjusters from a WERA racer. They had .90 springs which are good for my weight and had been configured with 30W oil in one fork and 20W oil in the other.


The WERA racers I spoke with were using Penske shocks and they did not recommend the Ohlin shock because it is more limited in its adjustability. One of the WERA racer sponsors said that if budgetary reasons mandatated an alternative, the Showa ZX6 shock would be an excellent upgrade from the OEM shock. I weant with a Showa shock from a 2006 ZX6. It even looks nice--not that any of us would buy something for that reason.

A friend helped me setup the suspension for proper sag, etc.

Tire pressure opinions are about as numerous as opinions on which oil is best. Because I was not running racing tires, I opted to begin with 29R 31F and monitor the tire pressures for the recommended 4-5# increase when the tires were warm immediately after coming off the track. After numerous tests of measuring pressure coming off the track, 30R 31F (cold tires) gave me the desired 4-5# pressure rise.

How did the first track day go? The track was Grattan, many turns, very technical and rough surfaces in parts--a place that will reveal suspension and tire weaknesses quickly. Everything worked beautifully.

Are there better setups? No doubt, but for $300.00 (148 GBP), this setup is a lot of "bang for the buck" or "bang for the pound"

[northwind]

Yep, the US guys will almost universally recommend Penske over Ohlins, it's just a better part. Penskes can be fiddly to set up, I'm told- certainly the triple is, it's got so much adjustability that it'd be beyond most people to get a good setup. But they're more durable (longer service cycles) and the default setup suits more riders than with the Ohlins.

Coincidentally, me and Scooby Drew are messing about with 636 shocks in, amazing as it may seem, a 636... Putting hte newer SHowa into his older 636. Very similiar in dimensions, spring rate etc, but without the drwaback of being, frankly, rubbish and misspecced. The old 636 shock is a reasonable choice for the SV, actually works better than it does in the kwak, but not great... I've never tried this new one in an SV but it should work very well.

(hmm, he's left it in my garage, maybe I'll sneak it into mine while he's not looking and try it out )

Originally Posted by northwind

Yep, the US guys will almost universally recommend Penske over Ohlins, it's just a better part.

Dude, you are 'living life on the edge' saying that aren't you?!?!?!

Pilot, I am not sure I like the idea of setting each fork at a different weight?? If you are after 1/2 way between the two, why not just mix the oils and set them the same?

[21QUEST]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Dude, you are 'living life on the edge' saying that aren't you?!?!?!

Pilot, I am not sure I like the idea of setting each fork at a different weight?? If you are after 1/2 way between the two, why not just mix the oils and set them the same?

Using different weight in each leg does matter as the suspension will work as a unit.

You can even use different rated springs in each leg to arrive at a rate that is not readily available off the shelf.


Ben

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

Dude, you are 'living life on the edge' saying that aren't you?!?!?!

No, living life on the edge would be "The only people I've ever seen recommend Ohlins are Ohlins dealers" But to be fair, the Ohlins parts are dead easy to work with, spares are more available, it's easier to find people who can work with them, resale value's better, and they're MUCH blingier, over here at least. Better isn't neccesarily best

I can not conceptualize the differant fork oil weight thing. But, there are many threads that indicate this is commonplace with top racers and that big suspension names like Traxxion apparently do so. Rebound damping on my forks seems to be very good with the mixed weight oils.

Originally Posted by pilot

I can not conceptualize the differant fork oil weight thing. But, there are many threads that indicate this is commonplace with top racers and that big suspension names like Traxxion apparently do so. Rebound damping on my forks seems to be very good with the mixed weight oils.

sounds like a bush-ism to me!

But do your have to clamp the lower legs together on right way up forks to do the different fork oil weight thing? If not wouldn's the bike behave strange? There would only be the wheel stud to keep things even. I'm guessing if there'd be one leg resisting a lot and the other little (thinking a bit dramatically here) the wheel stud would try to bend. A fork brace would keep things nice and even in this case.

I am sure you could ‘brace out’ the torsion effects, but that is extra weight and well – why?? When you can just mix it up and set both legs the same on the damping??!?! If you are forcing the unit to act as one, then surely there is no benefit of doing them different?

I’d like to see the clear rationale behind doing it as there must be one?!!?

Also do you really think ‘top racers’ would have anything so crude? … depends what you mean by ‘top racers’ I suppose …

Ben, this example is using the same springs in both legs ... just diff damping ...

Originally Posted by 21QUEST

Using different weight in each leg does matter as the suspension will work as a unit.

You can even use different rated springs in each leg to arrive at a rate that is not readily available off the shelf.

I have read of some forks which have all the damping, and possibly springs too, in one leg only! Saves weight, I'd guess.