Motorcycle Suspension Setup

I bought myself a Yamaha YZF R1 bike which was supposed to a top handling bike. It was not. The bike was reluctant to turn. I took the bike to a club racer mate of mine and he had a test ride and then suggested that I increase the rebound (????) I turned the rebound (???) screw and it seemed to improve the bike handling. I turned it a bit more and it went back worse. I felt that since I had already fiddled with one of the settings, I might as well try other suspension settings. I tried suspension setting from motorcycle newspapers, sports bike magazine, top racing websites and forums and they were all crap. In fact two sources never recommended the same setting for my bike and no one adequately explained how they got those settings. I felt I had to find my own suspension settings for my bike. In order to do so, I had to understand how it worked and this blog will attempt to explain how I set up my bike and how you can too.

Lets start at the very beginning. It is going to be very difficult to set your bike up in one day unless you wish to spend a lot of time in the saddle. Therefore I have split up this blog into different days to make it easier to read and carry out.

DAY 1 -
What is "suspension" all about
Setting your bike up
Where did I start

DAY 2 -
Set up your bike to your weight (Preload)
Rear Preload
Front Preload

DAY 3 -
Front Damping
Front Compression
Front Rebound
NOTES
No advanced damping control
Keep a record
Counting Clicks
Set Up
Altering Bike Geometry

DAY 4 -
Rear Damping
Suspension Balance
Rear Compression
Rear Rebound

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

Sean Onipede - Click here for Motorcycle Suspension Setup Forum