any of you chaps had a go at adjusting sag. I've checked mine, and have somewhere in the mid 40 mm's. For a road bike apparently it should be 30-35mm. My biking friend, suggested leaving well alone. But I think if you got a nice bike with trick suspension, why not play about with it.
The setting of correct sag is quite a sophisticated target to achieve. Loads of different elements need to be taken into account: 1. Weight of the bike; 2. Weight of the rider; 3. Spring rates; 4. Total suspension travel. 5. Static sag ; 6. Dynamic sag (with rider aboard); It's more complicated than just single measurement.
I've never bothered checking the sag on any of my bikes,i think most bikes are set for an "average " rider of about 12.5 stones (not me then!) I'm thinking about getting mine professionally set up for me as I've heard i will notice an improvement,I've also heard (not sure how true it is) that if you haven't set the sag correctly you are wasting your time adjusting any of the suspension settings,in the past I've always just left suspension at the factory settings as the bikes have always felt fine that way, but as my Speed triple has firm suspension i wouldn't mind it if i could soften it up just a little,there is a firm at knockhill racing circuit who charges about £90.so I'm like you whats the point in having the fancy suspension if you're going to leave it set for the "average " weight rider
Dougie, so far I've only changed the compression damping to comfort settings. I found the bike hard work on our less than smooth roads. But going to do my home work before having a go at the sag, can always put it back if it don't feel right.
When I first got my standard Speedy, it was really harsh to the point of being uncomfortable. After hours of fiddling with the settings front and rear and putting a few thousand miles on it to bed it in, it now feels comfortable and sure footed. However the settings are miles away from the recommended in the handbook. All except the rear preload have been backed off by at least 1.5 turns from standard comfort settings, with the front preload backed off by 5 turns to give the front the correct sag. There are a couple of good YouTube sites for information on setting up correctly. But best advice is small adjustments at a time.
I was going to order a couple of c spanners tonight to tackle set up now bike is run in, all on factory settings, But i`m no mr average.. portly is the term i like to use..... or some people call me fat bastard . 120kg, just came accross this company offering ohlins set up and they are only 30 mins away from me, all for £40, sound too good to be true http://www.twsuspensiontech.co.uk/how-to-find-us/ Mailed them, and going to give them a try. Too far for most of you boys, but i didnt fancy riding down to surry / sussex / wherever it is Ill reply with my findings
Just notice a warning in my owners manual. "The rear suspension unit spring pre-load s not rider adjustable. Any attempt to adjust the spring pre-load could result in dangerous riding conditions leading to loss of control and an accident" Well that puts the brakes on me messing with the pre-load
Like the sound of that, might take my 1250 Bandit there. I'd be interested in knowing how you get on.
I still don't understand why when you buy a new bike the shop doesn't set the bike up properly for you. I've had my last 2 bikes set up for my weight. A few minutes with someone with a bit of knowledge can make a big difference. It's worth getting it done.
