Suspension tuning

How can we bounce in the air while riding on a bike in the highest possible speed yet land calmly and in control?

Aside from the harmony of motorcycle parts, one important thing that contributes harmony is suspension tuning.

In tuning the suspension, one has to bear in mind that the secret is simply to ‘spring’ both ends of the bike so that your weight is carried evenly even if it is bumpy.
How do we do this? Let’s get into details for an easy grasp…

1. Select a rear spring. Be sure that it will bottom out the hardest bump in your ordinary course. Soften then tighten. Examine the sag. Is it already in the general range of 35mm to 20mm with no compression damping?

2. Select front fork springs. After setting the rear spring, select the front fork springs that will allow the front and the rear end to have an even and equal travel even while bouncing on the footpegs with no compression damping.

Other things to consider:

1. Use adequate rear rebound to avoid wallowing in high speed sweepers.
2. Use adequate front rebound to keep the front end from topping out and drifting wide while in full throttle exiting low speed corners.
3. Use the right spring when you are in a non-braking mode riding. However, do not use the rigid front spring, if it is stronger than the necessary rear spring. You can use compression damping only if it is necessary in trimming.
4. Use proper rebound damping in controlling the bike’s spring.
5. In cases of hard braking, increase your oil level to make it a solid brake. If you are using the latest forks, 5mm change is good enough.

In a nutshell, always use the softest rear spring to work within the ‘sagging’ limit. To achieve this, the secret is using perfectly matched springs.