Posts
2419
Joined
8/5/2015
Location
PL
I'm sure you guys have far more experience in setting up the suspension on your bikes than I do, I hope you'll share some, as I'm completely clueless.
How much and which direction do you go on clickers between perfectly smoothened out track, and the same track after a few hours, with big acceleration and braking bumps? Also, how far do you go on the clickers from hardpack to loamy sand conditions?
Thank you in advance for the input
How much and which direction do you go on clickers between perfectly smoothened out track, and the same track after a few hours, with big acceleration and braking bumps? Also, how far do you go on the clickers from hardpack to loamy sand conditions?
Thank you in advance for the input
Sand loamy tracks you run slower comp rebound as the bumps are slower frequency
Rough tracks faster softer as the bumps are faster.
Lots to it, many variables. Gearing changes., geo changes. Takes lots of time to learn the nuances.
I love sitting on the gate waiting, watching the current race and studying their setups.
Try riding in ear plugs and see how much harder on the throttle you are..
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Trouble with suspension is that you never really know how good it 'could' be and sometimes end up chasing your tail.
For chop the shock shaft has to move fast to keep the wheel hooked up,on sand i like more resistance in oil flow to get on top and double up.
My favorite type of shock was one the bleeds oil both directions thru the rebound screw at the bottom of the shock. I could dial in compression damping with it for sand.
The screws on the shock resivor just restrict oil flow that the shaft displaces as it enters the shock. You can build a lot of heat there and cause shock fade by trying to stop bottoming with that adjustment. I always left it wide open till sand which wasn't often.
The best thing to do is find a section of track with good choppy acceleration bumps that you can run thru over and over.
Stick a screwdriver in the ground and make yourself feel the changes .
I never go one or 2 clicks,i go 5 or such and then back halfway. I want to feel a change then analyze if it was right or not.
The most dangerous clicker is the fork rebound. If you get to screwing with it and slow down the rebound a headshake can get you thrown in the meat wagon.
Something i found on the 08 4 50 honda I raced was a single stage compression shim stack on the shock piston. Honda said no way but it was what it was. Made it ride like a brick. I run a 3 stage stack that we perfected years ago.
I ride manly sandy terrain around where (south jersey) I live and can make improvements over time for this terrain. The problem is half the races in my series are rocky/clay type terrain in PA 3-4 hours away. I normally make what changes I think should work and go with it but I have ridden a lot of 2hr hare scrambles on a pretty bad setups
Pit Row
I rarely go beyond the few tracks within a couple of hours of my home so it's been easy to make the slight mods for each and remember the settings from track to track.
With changing track conditions during the day some slight adjustments can be made if the changes are dramatic however for me the fewer the better, I have better luck making better line choices in the afternoon.
I don't like to F around with my settings once the bike is dialed, it seems like I am always chasing them if I over think it.
I'm also a 57year old guy and comfort is king, on the saddle more than on the pegs....living in the past like a mother fer.
Look at how far off a lot of these Pros seem to be....sometimes the bike can only accomplish so much, then you just gotta ride it.
When you think about it a turn is a jump going in a differant direction, to me if it turns and jumps fast, you should be close everywhere else. The rougher it is soften the clickers a little over what you started with.
The 2 that matter are shock rebound and fork compression.
I usually ran my fork rebound full open,I'd go in till it got headshake once then come back full open. I knew it was best between but always liked it open.
Shock rebound is where most mess up confusing slow rebound as fast because it kicks up from packing.
It will track 3 bumps,pack the spring down till it has so much pressure the 4th bump kicks the bike up,the suspension extends and repeats.
My husky had a Sachs shock. If you screwed the rebound in to slow it stiffened the compression to the point you couldn't mash the seat down. Very handy for sand or long whoops tracks to be able to dial in some resistance at the sacrifice of rebound.
Seen guys screw the compression in on forks trying to stop bottoming,bad idea. Use springs to hold you up not oil.
I always ran very stiff fork springs ,like the 08 honda i had .50 .52 and .54. Used the .54 most of the time because the mud is my thing and the stiff spring gave me the option of lowering the forks in the clamps for mud then raising the rest of the time.
A stiff fork spring gave confidence when charging thru ruff and drop the front in a hole,kept it from snatching the bars out my hands.
I used a over stiff spring out back,my sag was not the normal 25/100 split. I would shoot for seven eights free sag then maybe 3 inches of race sag. In mm it may be 20/75. ,with the stiff fork it was still trimmed out and the faster you went the faster you could go.
But I don't mess with my suspension a lot, once I get my base setting I ride with it, if it does something goofy I will change my line or slow down.
Even F1 racing deals with the same give and take. I remember an interview saying how one team would run a ton of down force so they could go balls out in a turn, but in a straight they would get over taken
Usually I'm + - 2-3 clicks stiffer in the mornings when the track is smooth. In my notes I write down if the settings I record or smooth or rough track.
The crazy thing is that when I went to ride Washougal is was at such different settings than So Cal, like 6-8 clicks.
I think too many people equate "fast" rebound settings as a significant downward force of energy. Even the fastest rebound settings are quite controlled and simple don't have enough energy to force the bike to kick-out.
You can for sure tell the difference if you cared to. Hit the same section of track with different settings and you'll notice it and start to see how it impacts your riding/speed/fatigue level.
Starting a log with setup that works is a great idea, especially since we have all kinds of tracks where I live, from deep sand to concrete-like slippery as ice stuff.
Thanks again!
Post a reply to: Clickers for different tracks and conditions