My '02 954 had fork/spring work done by Kyle Racing (re-valving, per previous owner); rear shock is Ohlins.
Since buying it a month or so ago, I have ridden it a couple hundred miles and would like to soften the suspension a bit starting with the front, and am planning to adjust it to factory recommended settings per instructions in Owner's Manual to start with.
Are there any specific dos and donts in doing so, especially given the re-valving ? Riding is conservative street and open road. No current plans on track riding.
First get someone to help you set sag. The front should be about 36-38 mm and the rear 26-28 mm for street riding. You'll need a few buddies to help you set sag. To do it, you raise the front off the ground so the forks are fully extended and take that measurement. Then, while someone supports the bike, you sit on it with all your gear, feet on pegs, and have someone take that measurement. Subtracting the two gives you the sag, which should be in the range I've stated above. For the forks, I'd try putting the compression and rebound at about the middle of the adjustment and go from there.
Same for the shock, if it's a triple adjustable, I wouldn't bother messing with the hi speed compression. I've had mine set up by suspension guys and they've never bothered with it, just low speed compression and rebound.
It's great that you got the bike with the DK forks and Ohlins shock, it makes a huge difference! Do you know what weight springs were put in, and if they are the correct ones for your weight?
I think it was just re-valving and polishing to reduce stiction. I am checking with previous owner who is about the same weight as me.
Having not ridden a high performance bike (stock or modified) previously, I am taking those upgrades for granted but will take your word for it!
Bike appears to ride a bit "harsh", from a suspension perspective, and I am hoping to reduce that by making these adjustments. I plan to make note of where they are set at before changing them.
On a somewhat related note: Previous owner suggested slightly under inflating tires (Michellin Pilot Powers with probably a couple thousand miles left on the front and a thousand or so on rear). They are current at 32 front, 36 rear.
For what purpose?
Softer tyres would make the suspension a little less harsh at the expense of some more wear. Stock pressures are 36 front and rear. If you go too soft you'll start experiencing bouncing.
My manuals are US ones though.
I just checked the 1000RR owners manual and that lists the 42psi rear. I wonder which one takes precedence then as they can't both be correct.
Very strange indeed
I'd be surprised if Dan didn't put new springs in the forks as well, since the stock springs are a .75 progressive, not good for anyone over 140 pounds. If you've got a .95 non-progressive spring in there, you're good if you weigh somewhere around 170-190.
On the street, when I'm riding twisties, I run 33 front, 35 rear. Highway 34 front 36 rear.
Previous owner does believe springs and valves were done, so you are right. He says there was a great improvement after the work by DK. We are in both in that approximate weight range, so might leave fork spring pre-load alone for now and work on compression and rebound damping (no stands at this time).
Haven't been able to get to any of that yet, other than gathering this info and hoping to get a couple more rides in after those adjustments and before winter sets in.
The previous owner obviously had the bike set-up for aggresive riding, so if your wanting to get into serious sport riding you may want to keep it the way it is, because suspension set-up is commonly misunderstood for beginers. But if that's not your forte and you want a little more comfort than it may be worth it for you too trade the set-up that's on there now plus cash for some stock ones. You could probably post that stuff up in the classifides section on this site and I'm sure someone would be interested. I know I would be.
I don't have any immediate plans for serious sports riding but do want to get the best set up with existing gear/mods for handling and comfort, in that order. What you suggest is an option though, but I'll pass for now.
Previous owner suggested suspension tuning DVD by Max McAllister of Traxxion Dynamics.
I was able to get a couple good, and relatively more aggressive, rides in since I last posted and am getting increasingly comfortable with how the bike handles with current suspension setup.
With winter almost upon us out here, I will likely defer any suspension tweaking until next riding season and try to snag a couple stands in the meantime.
Hope to get a few more rides in over the next couple weeks and will report on whether increasing tire pressures up to Honda recommended specs results in any noticeable difference.
Bumped tire pressure up to 36 psi front, 42 psi rear and had a good ride on roads I normally drive the bike on. No significant difference in ride comfort or handling but did appear to
- "bounce" less on rough roadways (thanks, bladeracer)
- less firm/positive contact with the road; gusty side winds on open road made the bike feel less "planted" (had to be sure as I haven't ridden the bike under those conditions before)
Leaving tires at those numbers for now.
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