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From: marauder@fluke.UUCP (Bill Landsborough)
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: Re: Now that I have all those suspension knobs to turn...
Message-ID: <1439@vax2.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Oct-86 10:46:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: vax2.1439
Posted: Wed Oct  8 10:46:11 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Oct-86 02:24:29 EDT
References: <1975@ihlpa.UUCP>
Reply-To: marauder@vax2.UUCP (Bill Landsborough)
Distribution: net
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
Lines: 58

In article <1975@ihlpa.UUCP> dob@ihlpa.UUCP writes:
>Ok, so the net is sick and tired of my writing about my new 500 'ceptor, but 
>now that I have all those suspension knobs to turn (air pressure in forks and 
>shock, anti-dive on front fork, damping rate in shock) what do I do with 'em.  
>			Daniel M. O'Brien (ihnp4!ihlpa!dob)


First what you have to do is determine what style of riding you do in
order to set up a motorcycle.  There are lots of different preferences
but typically as I know it and prefer, if you are a fast aggressive
rider who does the canyon roads very fast you want the suspension set
up generally stiffer and with stronger dampening.  Not so stiff that
when you hit bumps the front end jars your teeth out but stiff enough
that you don't wallow thru the turns or bottom out your suspension.  

If you are a rider who prefers comfort rather than suspension
performance you might want a softer ride with gentle dampening.

When I was plagued by a high speed wobble in hard turns (100+) I
started attacking my suspension systematically and went out into the
country and found a series of turns which I could use as a test.  I
took an air pump and a gauge and worked with my suspension and tire
pressure for quite some time.  I got it the best that I could but it
still wobbled somewhat.  It turned out that the cause was my worn out
rear tire!

As your tire wears out from level riding it gets "square" on the
bottom.  Kinda like this:
						|     |
						|     |
						\     /
					      ----- 
                               *
As you are going through the turn the pressure from the ground is
offset from center line; ie. where the * is, so it makes the
wheel/bike pivot off of this point and wobble.  If you have a wobble
and it has been getting worse, take a look at your rear tire.

(How did I get off on this tangent???)

Anyway, when you are setting up your suspension, do things
systematically.  Write down every adjustment where it is now and make
subtle adjustments one or two clicks or psi at a time and write them
down.  Nothing is more frustrating than to totally lose control and
have to hire someone to fix what you have ruined.  If you write it
down, you can always go back to what it is now.

Subtleness is the key.  On my Kawasaki KX500 dirt bike I was "pushing"
the front end in a turn and crashing as a result.  After several
adjustments (and crashes) I solved the problem by removing only 10 mm
of fork oil from each leg!  It made a world of difference.

			Bill Landsborough
----

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not 
arrogant or rude... Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things."   1 Corinthians 13:4-7