I AM NEW!!! Suspension Setup FE450 (09)

scisneros · Jun 8, 2009

Hi there you all friends in Husaber.org:

I donÃ‚Â´t know whoÃ‚Â´s idea is this website but I love it. IÃ‚Â´ve been reading de page since January (date which I bouth my new Husa FE450 2009). I am from Ecuador-SouthAmerica by the way. This is the first time I post a comment or ask for help. So I Hope you can help me.

Ok the thing is that I came from a Yamaha WR450F 2007. Great bike! but not as great as my new Husa.

The problems I have come from the suspension area so I will try to describe the best I can (consider that english is not my native speaking language).

Detalis about me and my riding:
I weight 75kg (without gear). I am around 6 feet tall. I ride intermediate to advance level, I consider myself an aggresive rider and I prefer trails and all the difficult stuff that offroad offers. Ocassionally I go to some rallyÃ‚Â´s and rarely motocross or harescramble tracks.

Ok my problems with the suspension are basically to know how to setup the sag, the preload of both forks and shock as whell as the rebound, low speed and compression cliks. Also what about the height of the fork (those lines at the top) upside the clamps.

The problems I feel are:
1.- Turning. ItÃ‚Â´s not turning very good, it feels there isnÃ‚Â´t enough weight in the front tire in order to catch the proper line I wish to catch.
2.- In high speeds, handlebar feels nervous. It headshackes a lot.
3.- The most important thing, and the one I feel all the time. When I hit a medium or big rock going fast (around 60 mphor higher) the bike tends to fall quickly to either side and I have to work a lot to balance it again. It is like anything I hit tends to unbalance the bike inmediately and I almost fall everytime this happens.

Ok. I know have all the settings recommended by the manual for Sport (the stiffer settings). The manual gives you 3 settings (soft, standard and sport). In the Sport setting you get to change the preload as whell as the fork and shock clicks.

Thanks for all the recommendations and be sure I will try them all until I get the bike in perfect shape.

Greetings.

Sebastian

kfx440 · Jun 9, 2009

hi, i personally am used to suzuki RM & RMZ's so the husa was great for me cos' they both have a steep rake which makes them very quick turning & light on the front end compared to kawasaki or yamaha but a few things i might suggest you try are michelin S12xc front & rear and try setting your suspension up by the manual for "sport" rather than standard & don't assume they are set correct from the factory cos' my left fork was set different to the right fork so like the manual say's back the adjustments right of then count the clicks to the desired setup.
Your problem number 3 is called "deflection" which i suffered from until i setup the bike in sport mode & put S12xc's F&R you could also order the next heavier spring for your rear shock from your dealer but i would try these settings first as it's cheaper.
Hope this helps.

NKW570 · Jun 9, 2009

Hi Sebastian and welcome.
Congrats on your new 450!
There is loads of good info in the suspension section to look through and some clever guys who know suspension.
So this is only my opinion from riding my 570 which should be much the same as 450.
Firstly the springs should be dead right for your weight, so work from there.
IMO the new bergs like softer sags, go for 40 static and 115 to 120 or even more on riders sag and try.But first reset all your clickers back to standard or even one or two clicks softer and see the difference when you ride.
Reduce your rear preload to say 7mm and see what sag you get. These bikes like to be lower in the back, higher in the front to handle well. Being high in the rear will contribute to headshake as well.
When you have adjusted the above, go ride some trail and play with clikers, when yopu deflect off rocks, do the same section again, adjusting rebound then comp, you will be amazed the difference from one or two clicks either way on reb.
If you are hitting rocks at high speed, i would consider a damper once you are set up to help, i have a scotts turned down low but still works for high speed hits.
Try and get rid of headshake before you fit damper though.
I know what you mean about the nervous twitch and the bike falling quickly side to side but its the nature of this new concept berg. Its what makes the berg highly flickable through woods and able to change direction very quickly at speed, something we dont expect from a bige bore 4 st. There is a learning curve to this bike but rome wasnt built in a day, look at David Knight on BMW, i do wish he had chosen Husaberg lol.
If you are aggressive , good rider, you may want to purchase a map switch and put it on advanced/highest mapping as it may work more to your liking.
I know the advanced mapping on my 570 makes it behave much better and more capable.

Good luck,
Nick

scisneros · Jun 9, 2009

Dear Nick.
THanks for your comments. I am a little bit confused about a couple of things.
1.- Shock spring. People at WP suspension told me to get a stiffer spring (80-250 instead of 72-250). Do you thing I should do this?
2.- They also told me to set the fork preload to zero (turned completely to the left) in order to gain weight in the front to improve the turning. What do you thing about this?
3.- Another thing. People at Factory Connection told me that overall suspension is to stiff from factory (do you agree?) and they sent me some settings for me which I will share now:
Forks: 20 comp, 18 rebound
Shock: 20 comp LS, 2.3 turns HS Comp, 16 rebound
Sag: 105 mm

Tell me your feelings please.

Greetings.

Sebastian

scisneros · Jun 9, 2009

Dear KFX440:
I donÃ‚Â´t think the tires have much to do with it.
I am using the sport settings (I checked myself) and I am encountering the problems I posted.
Thanks anyway.
SebastiÃƒÂ¡n

scisneros · Jun 9, 2009

Nick:
I forgot to tell you that actually I did put the map switch and I am riding in advanced mode and it feels great.
Thanks again.
Sebastian

NKW570 · Jun 9, 2009

scisneros said:
Dear Nick.
THanks for your comments. I am a little bit confused about a couple of things.
1.- Shock spring. People at WP suspension told me to get a stiffer spring (80-250 instead of 72-250). Do you thing I should do this?
2.- They also told me to set the fork preload to zero (turned completely to the left) in order to gain weight in the front to improve the turning. What do you thing about this?
3.- Another thing. People at Factory Connection told me that overall suspension is to stiff from factory (do you agree?) and they sent me some settings for me which I will share now:
Forks: 20 comp, 18 rebound
Shock: 20 comp LS, 2.3 turns HS Comp, 16 rebound
Sag: 105 mm

Tell me your feelings please.

Seb,
1. WP are wrong IMO. Stick with the 72-250 and reduce the preload a couple of turns and see what sags you get, static 38-42 is fine and riders whatever it is 115 to 120 or more. These bergs like lighter springs not heavier. There is a top US rider on the fe450 at the moment with a 72-250 spring and he weighs 90kg! I have 80-250 with minimum preload on mine but i weigh 200lbs without gear.
2. Yes i would agree, go to zero preload and it should turn quicker for you but i also prefer the forks close to flush in the clamps , for me, it handles better.
3. Yes, i agree the forks are too hard in stroke, i had mine revalved in the end.
I found the rear ok though. I would try the opposite on the shock and go 16 comp, 20 rebound, 1.5 HS.
Find a rough bit of trail with whoops and just keep doing it over and over altering the rebound till it feels good then back off your compression front & rear till you are bottoming softly, then go back in two clicks.

Cheers,
Nick

DaleEO · Jun 9, 2009

IMHO there is no substitute for having your suspension set up properly.

If you are interested in getting it set up properly, pm me with your details and I will put you in contact with Clean Racing. My 09 is extremely stable and still goes where I want it to.

Have a look at my ride report, DaleEO's 2009 570 http://www.husaberg.org/index.php?name= ... pic&t=9662 for how I have my suspension set up.

Tip-it-in · Jun 9, 2009

Hey Sebastian how you are my friend????

I work in Equador some years in past, Unilever site in Quito? I am chemical engineer, special interest in high-pressure edible oil deodorization systems & Geka fired boilers. Quito have one (make "Eldarado" brand cooking oil no?)

Anyway welcome & hello, nice to be new friend, how Quito today? I stay in hotel & meet nice lady who I give my t-shirt to (long long story)!!!!! he he

Thank you

Anton

kfx440 · Jun 10, 2009

scisneros said:
Dear KFX440:
I donÃ‚Â´t think the tires have much to do with it.
I am using the sport settings (I checked myself) and I am encountering the problems I posted.
Thanks anyway.
SebastiÃƒÂ¡n

I was running the new bridgestone 204rear & 203front and suffered serious deflection so i spoke to a suspension guru & to my surprise he suggested the new michelin S12xc's as the new xc compound was designed with tyre deflection in mind. I myself was unsure this would make a difference but i thought it's a cheap fix so i'll give it a go & it handles sweet now and a friend of mine was with me on his FE450 he was amazed aswell that tyres could make so much difference. But hey if you really want your bike to handle sweet sell it and buy a RMZ450

By the way i'm using sport settings with the standard springs & i'm only 68kilo's with my gear?
And i agree with DaleEO get it set up by a pro!

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I AM NEW!!! Suspension Setup FE450 (09)

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