Evo 1100 suspension settings?

[The Red Devil]

Hi Guys... after carefully running in my M1100 Evo... (930miles)and becoming addicted to the thrust at 6000revs,,, i turned my thoughts to suspension set up... apart from being a hard-ish ride... the handling is spot on... a little fork dive under braking presumably to load the front tyre nicely for the ABS to work properly...
has anyone changed the suspension from factory settings yet? having never had a bike with anything other than rear preload to compensate for passengers... i have no clue what effect the changes will make...anyone fiddled and found a nice compomise over the hard ride?

to be honest i don't really understand the differences the adjustments are supposed to make..and rider weight must have an effect...especially for a lanky giant at 15stone 7lbs

all advice except weight loss greatfully accepted!!!:eek::dizzy:

[Rally]

The bikes are normally set for 70kg riders, so a bit harder or softer depending on weight may help.

[buzzbomb]

My advise John is to get the suspension set professionally, I recently had my SF set up by an Ohlins specialist (Kais) and the diference to the handling is unbelievable, the best money that I've spent on the bike so far.
Since I had my bike set up another one of the UKMOC members has had all three of his bikes set up at Kais and finds the handling to be superior.

[neilo]

I had my EVO professionally set-up by KAIS (for £50), and they transformed it! It's the 3rd bike they've set-up for me, and I do think it's worth getting somebody who knows suspension to do the job properly.

[Rexr]

I had my EVO professionally set-up by KAIS (for £50), and they transformed it! It's the 3rd bike they've set-up for me, and I do think it's worth getting somebody who knows suspension to do the job properly.

I concur on this I had my present bike set up by a guy behind Glasgow Ducati he works for himself in his off season as he's a suspension guru for Scott Redding in Moto2 in season, guy's a genius.

[J.P]

Red Devil,
definitely worth getting a specialist to set you up because it's quick and easy and it doesn't really cost that much as the others have said.
But,
what I'd also suggest, is asking about different settings for different situations. for example when I had mine done at a trackday once, I asked about
What setting for a comfy ride home,
what setting for the addition of pillion,
what setting for rider and luggage,
that makes life so much easier and if it's written down you're always set up correctly. :)

[PDL]

+1 J.P.

Kais aren't going to do anything remarkable to your bike for £50 they will set the SAG for your weight and maybe then set up the rest of the suspension for your type of riding so for £50 I would suggest you do it yourself. You deffo need a softer rear for wet riding etc.

At a track day you get better value for your £50 as the likes of Colin @ 100% Suspension will work with you all day to dial in your settings, Kais is a ride in ride out. They don't really tailor the setting for you it's a one shot. Having said that it should feel better as they will have set the sag.

Remember once the sag is set the rest of the susp set up is very much personal preference and also depends on spring weight, oil weight and air gap. Ducati John told me when he was spannering in the BSB there were two Duc riders one had rock hard susp the other very soft and their lap times were a fraction of a second apart. Sag is the most important and sag alters if it's wet so you need to know that setting too.

Get a mate round with a tape measure, set the sag then have a play with the rest of the settings so you get what you want, spend all day or a whole weekend getting it right and you will have 4 maybe 5 settings you like which is what J.P. said. Then spend the £50 on fuel to try out the settings.

Susp is like a Sunday carvery, the Sag is the meat the rest (Comp, Pre load) is the veg. You walk up and always get the meat which is minimal choice (wet sag, dry sag) the rest the Veg is your choice BUT if you go to Kais you will only ever ride round on Beef and two potatoes. If you do it your self you will have Beef and Pork plus carrot, sprouts, spuds, peas, fudge cake, brandy and maybe a lapdance afterwards.

The choice is yours and so is the £50

Paul #196

[Mr Cake]

Here's how I'd do/have done it without spending a penny and its more fun: Pick a nice dry day and toddle off with a zip-tie around one of your fork legs and a flat-blade (stumpy if its in your pocket) screwdriver.

On a quiet stretch of road brake as hard as you think you're going to ever do on the public highway to a complete stop, do it several times because you'll probably brake a little harder each time as you get used to it. Check the position of the zip-tie; if its about an inch from the fork bottom then I'd be happy with the spring rate and preload for road use. If its close to the fork bottom then put a bit of preload on. If during that test you felt it dived too quickly then adjust the compression damping two clicks at a time until you're comfortable with the rate at which the forks use their travel. But sort the preload first and remember, the compression damping adjustment is at the wheel end of the fork leg for USD forks.

Right, for the rebound; brake as though you're approaching a corner relatively quickly, lock your arms and as you ease off the brakes you should arrive gently back to the bikes normal poise. If you got jolted back then put some more rebound damping on, again two clicks at a time until you're comfortable with the rate at which the forks return to their normal position. There are other ways of checking rebound damping such as if the bike understeers when you pick up the throttle in a corner, there isn't enough rebound damping on. But probably best kept for the circuit where its ok to explore those limits.

Rear suspension is more taboo. It only squats under acceleration because of the weight of the rider. Watch a bike on a dyno and the rear shock extends when on the throttle. Best thing you can do for the rear is get the static, and rider sag spot-on for your normal use as mentioned. You're not going to explore the limits of rear suspension on the open road: slides, full lean wheelies, etc... Just make sure you're comfortable. After all that's what its all about.

Job jobbed! Go and get a Bacon butty! :thumbsup:

Tip: Practice good braking. Crap braking techniques can manifest themselves as poor suspension setup. Don't frighten the bike by jumping on the stoppers, you'll upset the balance and poise of the bike and yourself. You don't sneak up on a dog you don't know, it'll have your arm off. Instead you talk to it as you approach slowly. Therefore it won't be startled.

Think squeeze on, ease off.

C

[steeevvvooo]

carvery, lapdance, brandy, sneaking up on dogs...

and we're STILL on topic! Amazing!! :thumbsup: