What setting for stock shock?

[trotsky]

Am wondering what seting I should have my shocl set at? I am ~185lbs and ride mostly in the twisties... my bike didn't come with one of those little handbooks so I have no idea how to adjust my shock.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[txbanditrydr]

Both of my Bandits have the rear shock preset to position 4.....  dampener set to 2.   This is what the factory setting is.  Best thing to do is make minor adjustments and ride them to see how they feel to you.

Shock adjustment is accomplished with the use of a spanner wrench (supplied in the tool kit)  - it will hook to the adjustment ring but you will need some sort of cheater bar to move it (likely).  The rebound dampener is on the bottom of the shock and it rotates easily with out tools - be sure it "clicks" into one of the four positions.

[txbanditrydr]

Excellent information here............

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TxB6Rydr
Location: East Texas
Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 10:29 am    
Post subject: Rebound Damper??  

So I was sittin' around waiting on the last drop of oil to drain and remembered the PreLoad Adjustment thread and Riding 2 Up thread. Got out the Haynes manual and started poking around - now I see the need for a cheater bar on the preload. So - I read further and see another knob that can be twisted and changed - the cool thing is it moved without any tools. So, what is this rebound dampener adjustment about - what conditions require position 4 vs. position 1?? I changed it up and bounced on the bike a few times - there is a difference but how do I use that to my advantage?
_________________
'01 Bandit 600 S
'92 Astro - "Ol' Blue" (228,000 miles and counting)

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 10:28 pm

It controls how fast the shock returns (rebounds) after it has been compressed.

Adjust it to where it works best for you and your style of riding.
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Paul

B12Teuton
Location: Hotlanta, GA, USA
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 10:05 am

What Paul said.

Basically it works in harmony with the spring setting. If your preload is soft (if you don't weigh much or just want a comfortable ride) you won't need much rebound dampening. Setting 1 or 2 will be fine.

If you ride aggressive and want a tighter feel, you'll run more spring preload. Assuming you weigh the same (no passenger) you need to be able to control the new stiffness so it doesn't act like a pogo-stick. If you are in a turn, for example, and hit a dip in the road, the shock compresses. If you do not have enough rebound dampening dialed in, it will rebound too fast which will unsettle the bike and, in extreme cases, can unweight the rear tire enough to loose traction causing a highside get-off  

Select setting 3 or 4.

Conversely, if you have too much rebound dampening and not enough spring preload, the suspension will "pack down". That is, over a series of bumps in the road the suspension will compress. Each time the suspension looses a little ground because it is not able to extend back to it's starting position before the next bump in the road. This will cause the ass end to ride low and mess with your steering geometry and the balance of the bike.

Balance is the key word here.
_________________
Manny
"Bikeless in Atlanta"  

 
TxB6Rydr
Location: East Texas
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 11:07 am

Thanks....... just the information i needed.
_________________
'01 Bandit 600 S
'92 Astro - "Ol' Blue" (228,000 miles and counting)

 
PitterB4
Location: Oxford, PA, USA
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 11:14 am

Jeesh, Manny. That was like a doctoral thesis. Nicely done. I was wonding the same thing about the B12 shock I'm putting on the B4 (which is ever-nearer to installation).
_________________
Rob
'93 Bandit 400
A red-stater in a blue state

 
Red01
Location: WA, USA
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 12:13 pm

Same rules, Rob... Manny has just given you the first day's class in Suspension 101. :msm:
_________________
Paul

 
B12Teuton
Location: Hotlanta, GA, USA
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 3:39 pm

The same stuff applies to the front end and gives some insight to the frustration some people have with the B12 front end. The preload is adjustable, but dampening is not. The fork is acually well balanced... but not for the average B12 with rider. The spring rate is too soft, so you have to cranck down the spring to get more action. You can not compensate the dampening when you do this, so the front end is all out of sorts and not balanced. A set of stiff and more progressively wound springs solves the preload shortcomings and some thicker fork oil will slow the action down to where it should be.

Then you can get into WHICH spring rate is right for you and what oil weight will work best with it. Also they can be revalved to change the dampening action without (or with) a change in oil weight.

Depending on how much you ride, you should change fork oil every few years.
_________________
Manny
"Bikeless in Atlanta"

[trotsky]

thanks for the info. Will have a bash at it tomorrow to see what kind of damage I can do.

cheers