That’s great. Yes I’m aware that he has remote tuning. I have even thought of doing that, but I was just meaning it would be nice to have Dave himself work on my bike. My bike is pretty much dialled, and that’s mainly because of Dave’s suspension setup videos. Cheers, and enjoy the new setup.
Settings I had mine at after watching a load of Dave’s videos turned out to be not too different to where the suspention company that serviced my shock set it at, so you can get most of the way there on your own.
Hi Gitter, Looking at your original post, interesting to see that Dave Moss has set you up (both forks and shock) with the compression damping close to the road or comfort setting in the Owner’s Handbook, but the rebound damping close to the sport or track setting. Did he give any reasoning behind these settings?
2019 Speed Triple RS - Street use 150lbs no gear Tires: 34/36 psi Sag, Preload, Compression, Rebound settings Forks: 35mm, 6.5 turns out, 21 clicks out, 14 clicks out Shocks: 40mm, stock preload, 21 clicks out, 13 clicks out
From what was discussed, the compression is so far out just because of how the forks are valved / the amount of preload I have currently. As far as rebound, it is set so that when you bounce the forks, the forks travel down, up through the stroke and then come to rest without going into a second stroke. As far as the shock, again given how it was valved, not a lot of compression was needed, but rebound was set to properly damp the tail end and keep from bouncing me out of the seat on bumps. (granted there is a lot more than goes into it but in a rather simplistic way, that's why things are set where they are) If that didn't answer your question let me know and I'll try to explain the parts I missed.
Thanks Gitter, makes sense and ties in with the DM YouTube videos. I have sag and compression damping in the same place as you, but I’ll try a bit more rebound damping, as you have. Can always go back. My RS feels perfect on a good stretch of road, but unfortunately the road surface here in the U.K. is so bad now that most of the time the ride is choppy.
Some of the backroads here are pretty choppy as well, so I tried to find a happy medium between working well on the nice paved roads and not murdering my spine on the rougher stuff. It's still a work in progress but this is where I'm at currently. Rider weight also plays a factor, I'm around 205/210 lbs if that helps. What are your current sag numbers? Also how much travel are you using on the front fork?
Yeah, I'm a bit lighter than you too, which doesn't help! about 175lb in riding gear. I've backed off the preload a little both ends, so my sag numbers are more than yours, although there's bound to be some measurement error! I've got a zip-tie on one of the fork legs and I'm a good inch away from the bottom of the forks when braking hard enough to lift the rear wheel. It is disappointing having paid the premium for Ohlins. I loved it on the test ride and I still do most days, but if I'm on the wrong road and not in the mood, the choppy ride does start to irritate a bit. My last bike was a GSXR, with upgraded Ohlins TTX and fork internals and I was able to adjust it to a very comfortable setting for road riding.
How many mm sag front and rear do you have? Also do you have static sag in both the shock and forks? As far as front suspension travel you sound like you're in the correct ballpark. about 20 to 25mm from the bottom of the zip tie to the bottom of the fork tube is what you're looking for.
On all my bikes I have always set the sag so that when I'm on the bike with my typical gear it lands 1/4 to 1/3 total suspension travel. I'm curious if Dave Moss told you the same or something different by chance? So on the RS: Front total travel = 120mm (desired sag 30mm to 40mm) Rear total travel = 130mm (desired sag 32mm to 43mm) After the sag is set I ride it around and get the rebound comfortable, then I dial in compression last. On a race track this is easy because you can look at your tire wear to see if its correct, but on the street it's all about feel of stability and comfort.
General rule of thumb as far as I've always been taught is 30mm to 40mm of sag on the street, taking into account how much suspension travel you are using and the pace and locations at which you are riding.
I agree that the Ohlins setup from factory is way off - way too harsh and no confidence in the corners. The North Coast 500 was painful, needed physio to recover. I think most of the harshness is setting preload correctly, the damping adjusters offer a lot of control but they can’t fix the setup on their own. Fortunately with the Ohlins the components can be serviced and swapped out. Working with my suspension workshop we’ve swapped out the shock spring for a softer rate - as I’m lightweight at 70kg geared up the original spring was barely moving! Setting preload, compression and rebound damping it’s fairly compliant and I’m not thrown off mid corner on the bumps. Next we’re looking at fork springs. Contrary to my original thinking, we’re going for harder fork springs and less preload - even though my preload is 30mm there’s so much compression damping compensating the softer spring it’s reducing feel, and the softer rebound is making it a touch wallowy. Harder rebound is introducing harshness and lack of control. With a harder spring, less preload and less compression damping the front can track the bumps more accurately.
What’s disappointing? Öhlins has supplied a premium suspension on our bikes. No suspension from any manufacturer is going to have the correct spring rate for every rider weight straight off the show room floor. I’m approximately 200 lbs with riding gear and the spring rates are barely soft enough for my weight to setup correctly. It would be nice when purchasing new from a dealer to have the correct springs installed, but that’s not possible for what ever reason. If the ride is too harsh because you are not able to achieve proper sag settings, don’t blame Öhlins, go to a suspension tuning shop and get the correct springs installed for your weight. Problem solved.
I would assume that the reason dealerships don't do that is purely cost. I also second the suggestion of properly setting up your suspension. You can spend thousands on hard parts but if they aren't set up properly for your weight and riding skill level it's going to feel like garbage. That said, even after initial set up it's going to take some seat time and little adjustments to get it completely dialed in.
Very valid comments all round and I can’t disagree with any of them. I guess the reason I used the word “disappointing”, is that I bought a sports oriented ‘roadster’ from a British brand, to ride on British and European roads. At 5’11 and 175lb, I would say I’m a very average sized British bloke, so I would hope to fall within the range of the suspension adjustability. You are right, proper set up and maybe new spring rates and / or re-valve will make the quality components work perfectly.
Before changing out hard parts I would play with what is on there. Before you mentioned you had backed off your preload a little bit on both ends, which sounds like there is still some room left to play with. Also as far as sag numbers, being you're a lighter guy, you are going to need less preload to achieve the same sag numbers as some of us heavier people. As far as the stock for springs, if you can achieve your desired sag number (30mm to 40mm on the street) while still having static sag in the fork and about 25mm of fork travel left under simulated emergency braking (25mm between the bottom of the fork leg and the bottom of the zip tie on the fork tube) the springs should probably work. After that it would just be a matter of finding the correct compression and rebound damping that works for you. It should also be noted that the same needs to be done for the rear shock. If your front forks are dialed in perfectly but your rear shock is way out of adjustment it will actually throw off what you are seeing / feeling with the forks.
Also if you are going to be fiddling with compression and rebound on the front fork, this little guy is worth every penny. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U2X1SE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thanks for all your input Gitter. I’ll keep adjusting both ends when I get released from Easter family duties! I keep notes of everything I do, so worst case will be back to factory settings and then off to see James Holland, who’s workshop is nearby. He knows his onions!
Alright, I'm fiddeling like a maniac with my suspension trying to get my Speed S to feel like my older Speed 1050...(the ride is absolut shite). Slowly getting there but the Manual kinda states things very strangely. Not sure if its my English that's poor of if the petrol fumes has got to me. Have done a cut and paste below from the manual. I'm trying to set pre-load. The manual first states this... Then on the next page states this... One page states 7,5 from fully clockwise and another from fully countrerclockwise. So.....which one is it or am I reading this completely wrong?
