Just been for a blast over to my favourite roundabout for a bit of knee down 'practice' & I just can't get along with this front end (well, i think it's the front) Tyre pressure are setup right for me at 15 stone Tyres are nearly new Front to rears are aligned correctly Tipping it into the roundabout, I can happily get it over to the edge of the rear tyre to the point i know the edge is coming of i go any further. But the front just isn't right, i can't get it to counter steer properly, it's fisgeting about rather than taking a line IYSWIM. I waited until there werent any cars & did it the other (wrong) way round & it's just the same that way too. I could get the BMW over & use one hand to do this & thats a much longer bigger bike. The front tyre isn't worn very over onto the shoulder of the tyres, leaving big chicken strips on the front. I have no idea on the suspension settings, but any clue as to what could cause it? I might take it to a place I know that sets up suspension, but was wondering what to do before i do? Cheers -- Nige, Land Rover 90 Yamaha R1 Range Rover Vogue
Not enough rear pre-load/ride height by the sound of it. Set the sag (or get swk to set it), fit a cable tie to one of the fork legs, stick all the other settings to standard, then go for a good long ride.
Funny, the arse end feels really high, but the pre-load adjuster is halfway round the big adjustable crown thing, I think i'll get someonme who knows
Perhaps the previous owner was a fat norverner. People generally seem to whack the damping up but completely ignore the sag, which is the most important base setting.
I'm gonna set it all to factory settings & take it to someone who knows i reckon. Problem for me is I'm not used to forks you see. Nige
It's dead easy to check if you've got a spare pair of hands attached to someone who knows how to use a tape measure.
Rear sag's pretty standard for all sports bikes - 30-35mm. That's the difference between no weight on the rear (i.e. lift the tail unit until the wheel's just off the ground), & you sat on the bike in normal position with your kit on. Measured vertically from the spindle to a fixed point on the tail unit. Ignore any front sag specs you find & just use a cable tie on the fork. You want about 10mm unused travel left to allow for that heavy braking over a pothole moment.
Yeah, I have ridden 'em before. I have all the basic settings here, i'll set the sag, return all to standard before i do & give it a quick heavy work out with the cable tie on. I have a feeling the settings are *miles* out, for instance the front preload is only showing one ring, but the back is lower than standard. If it doesn't work, i reckon some Ohlins road & track might make it a bit better..... -- Nige, Land Rover 90 Yamaha R1 Range Rover Vogue
When you say use a cable tie, what measurement? Never done one before.... Backs easy enough. -- Nige, Land Rover 90 Yamaha R1 Range Rover Vogue
Add those two together & you've got a very nose-up bike which increases the rake & trail, giving it a vague front end. Has it got a separate rear ride height adjuster? If not[1], don't be tempted to use the preload to adjust the height. If you get the sag right & the steering's too fast/slow, slide the forks up or down in the clamps to adjust it instead. [1] Buy a less pikey bike.
Top ot bottom of the tie, i presume bottom. With preload set at factory to start with? hhehe OK, i have just taken the settings off mine. Front should be factory Preload 6 rings showing, was 2 Rebound 5 clicks, was 10 Comp 5 clicks, was 10 Rear Preload Pos 4, was 6 Rebound 6 clicks, was 7 Comp 8 clicks, was 7 The front setting seem quite near the limits. All set to factory now, will do rear sag & tie a cable tie on the front -- Nige, Land Rover 90 Yamaha R1 Range Rover Vogue
At the risk of sounding thick, something isn't right there on the front forks. I have cable tie on the bike now, just sitting on it at factory settings move it down 30mm or so. If i go out & hammer the bike to move it further down the leg how do i know whats 10mm below that point? I am not sure exactly what i'm trying to do if you know what i mean? -- Nige, Land Rover 90 Yamaha R1 Range Rover Vogue
Ah right. No top of the tie, i.e. so the tie's width is included in the 10mm. Leave it on there permanently & check it now & again. Yep. I bet you'll need to soften it off a bit. So they'd whacked the preload right up & backed the damping off (assuming more clicks is softer on those)? That'd make it use very little of the suspension, but use it very quickly! Best guess, having rebound softer than standard & compression harder is about the opposite of what you'll want (assuming again that more clicks is softer). You need to have your full weight on the bike when doing the rear sag, in normal position, i.e. feet on the pegs. So if you haven't got a third bod to hold it upright while it's measured, park next to a wall & use a knee or elbow to keep it steady.
