suspension question - what and why

Both id guess ha ha.

I guess you are getting understeering atm Alpine?

Suspension. First thing is check sag. 35mm front and back is about right on the road for the SV. Suppose thats all you can do on the SV...

What tyre's you running? Check the pressure! Under pressure and it can go wide.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

Both id guess ha ha.

well considering they have completely different causes if he has both then he's got two problems...

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

well considering they have completely different causes if he has both then he's got two problems...

Aye... Or more

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

Both id guess ha ha.

I guess you are getting understeering atm Alpine?

Suspension. First thing is check sag. 35mm front and back is about right on the road for the SV. Suppose thats all you can do on the SV...

What tyre's you running? Check the pressure! Under pressure and it can go wide.

Since saturday the bike has been great - I think i may have had an issue with mis-aligned wheels. Specialy after I got hit by a car sort of side-ish on the other week. I check my tyre pressures often; they are spot on. I don't really like the BT021's fitted, i much prefered the MEZ6's I had before.

TLW - its understeer mid-corner...I expect im quite a part of it aswell.

Hmm, I cant really describe the ill-feeling i have with my handling, i just often have an odd feeling.

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

TLW - its understeer mid-corner...I expect im quite a part of it aswell.

tricky then, most problems will happen during the brake and turn in or when you accelerate out of the corner

if it's when you get on the throttle to come out of the corner then your shock isn't damping the compression enough to prevent the back squatting, increasing the wheelbase and causing it to run wide

if it's mid corner on a neutral throttle then it's unlikely to be a suspension problem, could well be an alignment thing, although that would surely manifest itself as understeer in one direction and oversteer in the other?

[punyXpress]

[quote=ThEGr33k;1853885]Get Penske two way adjuster... £600. Well worth it

On a bike worth not much more than a grand, like mine ??

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

Since saturday the bike has been great - I think i may have had an issue with mis-aligned wheels. Specialy after I got hit by a car sort of side-ish on the other week. I check my tyre pressures often; they are spot on. I don't really like the BT021's fitted, i much prefered the MEZ6's I had before.

TLW - its understeer mid-corner...I expect im quite a part of it aswell.

Hmm, I cant really describe the ill-feeling i have with my handling, i just often have an odd feeling.

Quite possably tires? They sound like they are more touring tire than sport. I recomend. PP2ct front PR2ct back. Great wear out of the back and great grip out of the front. Thats what ill be using next (currently PR2ct back PP front).

Other than that its hard to say whats wrong without more feed back. Med corner is usually due to grip id say... Maybe not enough sag?


http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/s...81&postcount=1 Thats all about suspension setup. Its universal.

A way to check bent frame/wheel alignment might be to steer left, right, left, right in a straight line (bit like F1 cars do to keep tyre's warm). If it steers both ways evenly with no bias then I think your safe. It does take some force to bend bikes.

Originally Posted by punyXpress

Get Penske two way adjuster... £600. Well worth it

On a bike worth not much more than a grand, like mine ??

Maybe. The great thing about penske is that they alter the damping, spring and mountings for you if you get another bike. So its not like you cant change bikes and use it. Though its worth asking about doing that.

Ohlins do a rear shock specifically for the SV with a remote reservour. It simply transformed the bike. I am so glad I did this mod, totally transformed the bike making it feel more plush, responsive and predictable. The front Matris cartridge emulator and spring mod also did it's part. I've ridden gixxers and blades and they're so flickable and light feeling but I'm totally hooked with my SV's character in how it does things which makes it more challenging and satisfying to ride well. That's me of course. The satisfaction that I did make a good bike better has something to do with it I guess.

Can someone explain to me what "planted" means? People always say "I put a new rear shock on and now the bike feels more planted". I don't get it? Fewer slides? Less wobbling? A lot of these problems are more to do with rider input than the suspension not being good enough yet there is a certain placebo effect that chucking 600-700 quid at your bike (GSXR front end, rear shock etc.) WILL make it better

Most people could benefit from setting their bikes up for their weight to ensure that the suspenders they have are working in the optimum zone before swapping out forks and shocks. You'll also learn a lot more that way.