va_rider
Wizard
Looking at the weather, it should be a lovely weekend pretty much all over the place. Odds are, many folks will want to get out and ride this weekend.
For this reason, I'm assigning Homework to each and every member of this fine forum. Homework must be completed before riding this weekend, so grab a beer and head out to the garage.
This week's homework assignment is: Setting your Sag.
Setting your suspension's sag is a necessary part of getting the most out of your bike, whether you're on stock suspension, or on upgraded suspension.
The process is rather easy, but can require 2 people to do properly.
A member on another forum came up with a suspension "worksheet" for you to record all of your measurements, and this sheet can be downloaded and printed from my Google Docs here: Google Docs
The process is rather straight forward.
Step 1: Measure your current setup.
Step 2: Measure with you sitting on the bike (this is why you need a second person)
For the front, you can do it by yourself if you wrap a zip-tie around the fork tube, and with the bike unweighted, push the zip tie down to the top of the dust seal.. then measure from the dust seal to where the zip tie moves to when you sit on the bike.
Step 3: Adjust.
You're trying to get the amount of movement to line up with the specified numbers on the chart. In adjusting sag, all you're adjusting is the spring preload. Compression damping and rebound damping are adjusted by feel after you've set the preload.
Step 4: Measure again
Step 5: Adjust again.
Repeat as needed, until you get the movement within specifications.
***If you cannot get your sag within specifications, you need new springs.***
Since I recently reworked my suspension with stiffer springs, and AK-20's I'll be doing this on Thursday. Also my favorite riding buddy got my hand-me-down cartridges with Axxion valving installed so we'll be setting the sag on his 03 FZ as well... So.. I'm not just assigning this for everyone else... I'll be doing it as well.
For this reason, I'm assigning Homework to each and every member of this fine forum. Homework must be completed before riding this weekend, so grab a beer and head out to the garage.
This week's homework assignment is: Setting your Sag.
Setting your suspension's sag is a necessary part of getting the most out of your bike, whether you're on stock suspension, or on upgraded suspension.
The process is rather easy, but can require 2 people to do properly.
A member on another forum came up with a suspension "worksheet" for you to record all of your measurements, and this sheet can be downloaded and printed from my Google Docs here: Google Docs
The process is rather straight forward.
Step 1: Measure your current setup.
Front:- Measure from the top of the dust seals on the forks to the triple tree with no weight on the bike.
Rear: - Measure the rear from the ground to a spot on the bike. (This spot must stay the same for all measurements, so take a piece of tape, stick it to the tail and mark it with a Sharpie)
Step 2: Measure with you sitting on the bike (this is why you need a second person)
- Measure the movement from the unweighted bike, and compare to measurement with you on the bike
- Same for the rear
For the front, you can do it by yourself if you wrap a zip-tie around the fork tube, and with the bike unweighted, push the zip tie down to the top of the dust seal.. then measure from the dust seal to where the zip tie moves to when you sit on the bike.
Step 3: Adjust.
You're trying to get the amount of movement to line up with the specified numbers on the chart. In adjusting sag, all you're adjusting is the spring preload. Compression damping and rebound damping are adjusted by feel after you've set the preload.
Step 4: Measure again
Step 5: Adjust again.
Repeat as needed, until you get the movement within specifications.
***If you cannot get your sag within specifications, you need new springs.***
Since I recently reworked my suspension with stiffer springs, and AK-20's I'll be doing this on Thursday. Also my favorite riding buddy got my hand-me-down cartridges with Axxion valving installed so we'll be setting the sag on his 03 FZ as well... So.. I'm not just assigning this for everyone else... I'll be doing it as well.
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