Suspension tweaking advice please

shooter114 · Mar 18, 2013

Hi all, preparing my bike for a big ride this weekend and want to try iron out some of the niggles with the suspension/handling.

The issues are as follows :

Front end gets pushed through corners and washes out- from what I've read this is a tyre related issue, not enough grip up front and too much drive from the rear. What tyre size combo would you recommend , thinking of going a set of pirelli xc mid soft/mid hard/mx extra ADR, opinions ? At I have a michelin ac10 90/90 upfront (new) and mitas stone king 120/90 at the rear (bit squared and worn)

Front end likes to climb out of ruts on hill climbs and likes to wander/gets nervous when it opens up, fire trails etc
Forks are 3mm above triple clamps and torqued to spec. Bought the bike second hand so all I know is that it has rsv gold valves in front forks and the suspension from when I bought it worked a treat ... Then my friend decided itd be fun to play with my rebound , guessing it was just Jealousy

... and I might have also put on about 5-10kg round the waste.

After looking a the owners manual to reset the rebound it says to turn clockwise till the stop .. But mine on the left fork , as sitting on the bike, only stops when you turn it anti clockwise and the right clockwise ?! Was going to reset all settings to standard to hopefully get some congruency overall.

The rear spring is yellow, do they change colours for different weights? , I'm approx 6'1" and 90kg ?! Without gear.

And riding is mainly enduro tight trail, hill climbs, fire trails in muddy to hard pack conditions. Main area of concern is the front end sticking on hill climbs and berms.

Thanks in advance for any advice/input , going to get tyres tomorrow or the day after.

shooter114 · Mar 18, 2013

Oh yeah n bike is an 09 fe450

cambo · Mar 18, 2013

If it has stock springs it is under sprung for your weight Front springs for your weight most likely will be 4.8 fork and 78 shock check with your local suspension tuner. Your question regarding spring color for different weight riders answer is no color does not matter it will have a number on it like 72-250, 72 is the spring rate 250 is the length. If your bike has over 40hrs send the suspension out for a revalve oil change and correct springs. Best money spent is on suspension the bike will be safer and more fun to ride

Rensho · Mar 18, 2013

Stock springs is likely a .44 front and 72-250 rear as stated. Do you know for sure the suspension bits are stock? At your weight, depending on bike use, I mostly agree with the suggestion of rates. If you're using the bike for MX, you're likely in the .46-.48 and a 78-82 rear. If for riding trails, you're in the .44-46 front and a 76-80 rear.

If your bike is pushing, try taking out front compression. This allows the front come down further than currently in the corners and keep a line.

If your adjusters aren't moving as you expect, there is something wrong. All suspension settings are based from a 'closed' position. So turn clickers 'in', clockwise looking directly at the adjuster, then back out the # of clicks you're trying to set.

Have you first set your rear sag? Do this first.
I hear the PDS suspensions like a 110-115mm rider sag(fully dressed to ride, sitting on bike, slightly in attack position). Free sag should be in the 35mm range.

Wolfy · Mar 18, 2013

What are you riding?

Proper sag is cucial; set the sag first then tweak.

Front end wash out? What type of terrain? The Pirrelli is great in desert stuff. Air down to about 11-12 psi and this helps. Go to the bottom of your forks and pop the rubber plug out; add 2 clicks inward (clockwise) on your rebound. If your front end begins to oversteer, then let one click outward (counterclockwise).

Get rid of the six days, and get the Pirrelli.

Good luck.

tofto · Mar 18, 2013

My best advice is to get ahold of Dale Covington he goes by Dale EO on here and is a big supporter of this site. He has a banner add running at the top of these pages Dale EO suspension. He did wonders for my suspension.

nick790 · Mar 18, 2013

I'm a similar weight and hight.
I went with a 80 rear spring, felt the 78 was to light.
The front recommendations above I would say is about right.
The forks are way under damped in the high speed rebound for me. And I beffed up the midvalve and re set the float aswell.

Everyone's different though.

robatk · Mar 19, 2013

I know nothing about suspension so will leave that to the others. But as for tyres, I have found the best combo for similar conditions as you mention is Perelli Scorpion Mid Soft on the front, and a Michelin S12 XC on the rear.
They don't last as well as some of the others but they do seem to be the best I've found for varying conditions. 2nd choice would be Scorpion MX Extra front and rear, they seem to wear better.

There is alot of debate and opinion about tyres, this is just mine and I'm no expert.

shooter114 · Mar 19, 2013

Yeah full suspension tune and service is definitely on the cards. Funds permitting . Couldn't see any stamping o the spring to give me any idea of what it is?!

This weekend riding is hill climbs snotty tight muddy bumpy trails , some flat open sections, some loose gravel/wet rock sections.

Hopefully will get to have a go at setting the sag on the rear shock tomorrow after I get tyres, it hasn't bottomed out on any jumps , they were small though , 20ft tabletop , as I didn't want to hit anything to big before It got set up.

On rhs fork whilst sitting on bike clickers stop eventually either way , Lhs only stops on winding out. Any idea to why ? - if I can't fix this before the weekend, do the clickers have a set range eg 50 from in to out clicks. So I could calculate a rough idea of what it's at . Ie say total clicks in to out is 50, instead of 17clicks out go 33 clicks in from out ?

Ya had the scorpion mid soft on the front when I bought it , every tyre since then has been sub par- so reverting to pirelli scorpion again, heard good things about the mx extra mid soft to hard compound, are these DOT? And berg specifies 90/90 front and 140/80 rear for eu and aus spec bikes - what size rear do you recommend for reducing the push in corners or keep berg specs and fix suspension first ?!

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Suspension tweaking advice please

shooter114

shooter114

cambo

Rensho

Wolfy

tofto

nick790

robatk

shooter114

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