| Author | Message | ||
     Mr_gto |
does anyone know if there is a good suspension tuner for buells in the south east area? i live outside of knoxville. i want to start doing alot of track days. my bike is pretty much stock. i have tweaked the suspension but i have very limited experience with suspension. any help would be welcome | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I am afraid I don't know of any one in your area. However I might suggest that you visit the track at which you are planning on doing your track days, and see if there is a suspension specialist that attends those track days. All other things being equal, it is always nice to have your suspension tuner at the track to help you understand what yours suspension is doing, adjust it on the spot, and interpret the results. | ||
| Bhmax |
Haven't personally dealt with either, but there's CTR Suspension in Knoxville and Traxxion Dynamics in Atlanta. I'm over towards Maryville. I've been on 116 that you mention in your profile. Challenging road! Up for a ride anytime, and should be doing a track day at Talladega with a few friends in September. | ||
| Surveyor |
It's worth your while learning to set up your suspension yourself and there's plenty of help on the web. Set your sag to suit your preference stick some zip ties on the fork legs use the factory settings as a starting point and adjust your compression damping and and rebound damping to dial out dive and patter.....really it's not complicated and unless the 'tuner' is at the track with you It's got to better for you to do it. Be careful about changing ride height though as the results can be a little unpredictable. Make small changes one at a time and ride the bike for a full session before making further adjustment. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I just ordered the Pro Series Suspension for my bike. Does it get set up the same to start out? | ||
| Mr_gto |
Bhmax, yeah man 116 is the ticket! you just have to ride it on the weekend. during the week there are coal trucks running hard up through there! give me a shout sometime and my wife and i will meet up with you! we kind of like nashville cheap and close. i just got all my leathers so im kind of on a budget. my mouth is watering at barber though! | ||
| Mr_gto |
surveyor, i dont mind learning to tune my own suspension, i would like to learn real world terminology that i could apply to tuning. i hear the lingo that is used in racing, but its hard for me to apply that to my riding. i need some days of thunder teaching if you know what im talking about. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Tim, Here is a link to a good series in Sport Rider that discusses the entire matter of suspension. Very good place to start. http://www.sportrider.com/tech/suspension/ Here is another very good discussion of the matter: http://www.gostar-racing.com/information/motorcycl e_suspension_set-up.htm Suspension is one of the greatest mysteries in motorcycling if you ask me. But every real improvement in suspension, and motorcycle handling technique are richly rewarded, and hard won. | ||
| Mr_gto |
thanks jon, i have printed off both of those articles and read them several times. i just need some more practice at tweaking my suspension at the track to fully understand the concept. I think its pretty easy to figure out a street setup, but to get the full advantage on the track it just take laps. | ||
| Surveyor |
Guys, there really is no mystery. The links that G_Jon gave are excellent and there are plenty more available. Firstly make sure you have a system Start by setting sag - you'll need a helper (maybe two)- again there's plenty of guidance on the web.- this involves lots of measuring and lifting the bike. Sag is a question of preference to some extent, some riders want the bike set up like a plank and others like it soft and loose, the track and weather conditions will also dictate this but its no big deal to soften things up a bit if the weather is wet. Record your settings either OFFI or IFFO (Out From Full In or In From Full Out) e.g. 'front compression damping 1.25 turns OFFI' its easier to do 'em all OFFI or IFFO but it's not always possible. You can also get a chart on this site which will suggest initial settings related to weight and riding, I'm sure someone will post the link for you, I'm afraid I don't recall it. Use a chart to record your settings including tyre pressure which is often forgotten! After each session record how the bike performed and make appropriate adjustment eg. if you're experiencing chatter or patter under braking try a little more rebound damping, or if your zip ties are being pushed down the fork leg more than say 75% of the total travel try more compression damping. Once you've made an adjustment don't expect instant transformation, you have to ride the bike for a while to assess whether the adjustment has worked - most racers are a pain in the ass on this score, you make the adjustment based on their reported problem and one lap later their back howling 'it's worse' when they havent even warmed up themselves or the tyres - (sorry I'm ranting, but racers are a pain in the ass) There are other considerations such as fork oil weight, spring ratings etc etc but I would suggest starting with the basic setting up of the suspension using the readily available adjustment before you start fitting cartridge emulators and playing about with ride height! I guarantee you this is the most productive and rewarding exercise you can carry out on your bike (apart from riding it of course) I hope I don't come across as some kind of fanatic, and I am certainly no expert, but it really is worth the effort - in no time you'll be talking about making allowance for stiction and considering bias settings for clockwise tracks!! Good luck | ||
| Mr_gto |
thanks ill be trying all this out soon at the track! | ||
| Rsh |
If you would like to try a no brainer starting point for suspension setup you can try the Shawn Higbee recommended smooth track settings that were published in Fuel magazine. At least it will give you a baseline thats in the ballpark. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SMOOTH RACETRACK USE RIDER WEIGHT 150-170 preload front 6.5 compression 0.75 rebound 1 1/8 preload rear 4 compression 0.25 rebound 7/8 RIDER WEIGHT 190-210 preload front 5.5 compression 0.5 rebound 1.0 preload rear 6 compression 1/8 rebound 0.75 Compression and Rebound settings are turns out from max. Preload front are number of lines showing. Preload rear is ramp position. | ||
| Diablobrian |
let's see, did you mean these Higbee recommended "aggressive" settings?  | ||
| Rsh |
No, Higbee also also did specific race track settings as I had posted. They were published in Fuell magazine. | ||
| Mr_gto |
was there any settings for someone above 220lbs? | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Tim - There is a recent thread about heavier riders and suspension. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/295807.html?1185475679 Bottom line: While setting the suspension settings properly will help heavier riders, heavier springs and revalved shock absorbers are a very good idea, especially if you plan on going to the track, because you are at the very limits of the capabilities of the stock set up. If you think about it, the rider is a very much larger element of the total "mission weight" of a motorcycle, than an automobile. For example: My 2004 Buell XB12SR weighs about 450 lb wet, I weigh about 240 lb. in Gear, or 35% of the total "mission weight" of 690 lb. At the opposite end of the scale, a 120 lb rider would represent about 20% of the total mission weight. This represents a range that is too large to be correctly provided for by one set of springs. For comparision purposes, I figure that I represent about 6% of the mission weight of my Jeep Grand Cherokee, which may explain why I have kept the stock suspension. (Message edited by gentleman_jon on August 03, 2007) | ||
| Rocksham |
Please remember when listing settings, list the model you are talking about. For a 2006 Ss the chart above in no where close. Check your owners manual first. I thank God that the Ss chart has a 290 to GVWR setting  | ||
| Rsh |
Here is the link to the suspension article in Fuell magazine that Shawn Higbee wrote, it is on the Buell website. http://a1264.g.akamai.net/7/1264/1354/003be92f635b d6/www.buell.com/en_us/buell_way/buelltech/pdf_050 6_2005.pdf |
