Any recommendations on where I could go to get my Africa Twin's suspension professionally setup for dirt riding? I'm not looking to upgrade anything, I just want to pay someone to set the stock suspension up for me.
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Suspension Setup
- Thread starter snow chainz
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Oh and, I’m in Austin.
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It is easy to do yourself. Having one other person makes it a bit easier.
You need a tape measure or yard stick and a few zip ties help as well.
First, find out how much travel your forks and rear shock have. This should be listed in the specs for the bike.
The first thing you will do is set the static sag. The goal here is that when you sit on the bike, wearing your gear and with the bike loaded as you intend to ride it, the front/rear suspension should be compressed to the 1/3 travel distance mark. For example, if you have 9" of travel on the forks, when you are sitting on the bike, the suspension should be compressed 3" from it's unloaded position (wheel off the ground). This is where your zip tie comes in handy.
If you have a center stand, get the bike up on it and get the front off the ground. Put a zip tie around one fork right where the slider goes into the dust cover. Measure the straight line distance along the fork from a fixed point low on the fork up to the bottom of the zip tie to get your start length. GENTLY get the bike off the stand and sit on it. You want it up right, feet on the pegs, just like if you were riding. This is where your second person comes in, holding the bike. Then GENTLY get off the bike and remeasure the distance to the bottom of the zip tie from the same reference point low on the fork. If you have 9" of total travel, the difference between the first length and the second length should be 3" if your spring preload is set correctly. Adjust until it is 3" (or 1/3 of what ever the spec is your your bike). Don't forget to remove the zip tie when you are done.
Some bikes have no easy way to adjust preload on the spring. What this does is change the compression on the fork spring, meaning it will then take more or less force to compress it further. Adding preload will cause the bike to sit higher in the stroke. Taking out preload lets it sit lower. MOST bikes are set soft, so odds are you will need to add preload to get the bike back up where it should be. In stock trim, the suspension in my example might sit at 4", so you'd add preload until you have it sitting at 3". Cheap bikes have preload spacers inside the forks. The only way to adjust them is to use different length spacers (KLRs are like this). Basically, you put in longer spacers and use trial and error to get them to the right length. If you buy new springs from someone like RaceTech, you can put in your bike model, weight, etc,... and they calculate what spring you need and what length of spacer you need. Nicer bikes have a preload adjuster on the top of the fork caps. Some use a BIG flat blade screwdriver, some a hex head for a wrench, and the best ones have little knobs that click as you turn them so you can count clicks and keep track of your changes. Generally, turning clockwise adds preload, counter-clockwise removes preload.
Setting the sag on the rear is a similar process. Get the rear wheel off the ground. Measure the distance from a fixed point on the rear of the bike down to a point on the swing arm. Make sure you are measuring in a line along the center line of the shock. Sit on the bike, feet up, and have your friend measure again. The difference in lengths should be 1/3 your allowed travel per the specs.
Adjusting preload on the rear usually involves turning a big nut that is threaded on the body of the shock. Some have special spanner wrenches that catch notches in the outside of the nut. If you are careful, you can also use a flat blade screw driver, place it in the notch, and gently tap to turn the ring. The ring changes the compression of the spring. It is usually a righty tighty situation, but look at the threads to see which way it needs to spin to compress or relax the spring. Nicer bikes have a remote preload knob, often mounted on the right side of the bike below the seat area. Turning this changes the preload. Right = more, left = less. Really nice bikes, have buttons on the handle bars that adjust the suspension for you! Adjust and measure until you have the bike sitting at 1/3 travel length.
Setting sag is pretty straight forward. Depending on the bike and how you can make the adjustments, it may take you 15-20 minutes the first time you do it. If you have to mess with different length spacers, that takes more time because you have to take it apart, put it together, remeasure, take it apart, put it together... Not hard, just tedious.
The next stop is to adjust your damping settings. Not all bikes are adjustable. Some are adjustable in a basic sense. Others are highly adjustable! Basically, you are changing how easily the oil in the fork flows from one area to another as the fork moves back and forth. The same is true for the rear shock. Constricting the oil flow (adding damping) makes the bike feel harsher. Increasing the ability of the oil to flow makes the bike feel softer. To harsh and the tire can start skipping across the pavement in turns and bouncing on bumps. Too soft and you feel like the bike is flopping around like an old Caddy with blown suspension.
If your bike has adjustable damping, it will usually be a knob/screw on the fork caps. Check your manual. They typically have anywhere from 25-35 "clicks" from all the way out to all the way in. Clockwise adds damping, counter clockwise removes it. I would turn them all the way left until they cannot turn any more. Then count clicks to the right until you can't turn any more. WRITE that number down. Let's say you counted 30 clicks. I would then back off to 20 clicks. The idea is that you are starting at 2/3 of the available damping.
The rear shock will usually have either a knob near where the shaft comes out of the shock body or a slotted knob on the side of the shock for a flat blade screw driver. Same thing. Turn all the way left, then all the way right and count the clicks. Set it at the 2/3 point in the total number of clicks.
Some bikes have separate adjusters for compression damping and rebound damping. The first controls how fast the fork/shock can compress and the second controls how fast it extends after a load is removed. It is the same thing. There will be another knob that clicks when you turn it. Count the clicks from full left to full right and set at the 2/3 mark.
Now you go for a ride. How the bike should feel is VERY subjective. So there is no particular compression/rebound setting that is a MUST. The 2/3 mark is just a starting point. If the bike feels bouncy and soft, stop and add two clicks. Keep riding. Adjust as you feel it needs it to get a smooth ride that absorbs most bumps, isn't too harsh, and doesn't leave you going up and down like a pogo stick. Don't make BIG adjustments, just two clicks can make a significant difference in how the bike feels. Once you find a setting that feels right, turn the adjusters full right and count the clicks as you go. WRITE those numbers down and put them somewhere so you can find them easily, like on your phone. You might have one setting for when you ride without luggage, another with luggage, and yet another with luggage and a passenger. If you get it right each time and note the click positions for each case, then you can quickly adjust the suspension to match each case. If you don't have an external preload for the forks and a remote preload for the rear, that can be more of a pain. In which case, you might set it for the middle of the range, like just you with luggage. If you have a remote adjuster, just count full turns from the good position to max preload and note the number of turns.
My 1200 GS has adjustments front and rear. If I ride solo, I have one setting. If I load up all my hard cases, I add preload and a few clicks on the compression on the rear (the front is usually fine). If I carry one of my kids, I usually have to max out the rear preload and add another couple of clicks. The point is that there is no ONE setting that will work for every situation. Paying a shop will get you a decent setup for one situation, but you will still need to play around with the compression/rebound settings to get them right according to your subjective feeling of "right". Granted, a LOT of people are out there riding on bikes with suspension that is not even remotely setup correctly, and they probably don't even realize it. It is not until it is set up right that you really notice the difference. It is a BIG difference too.
Experiment with it. Learn how the adjustments work. See how it feels with different settings. You will be glad you did.
You need a tape measure or yard stick and a few zip ties help as well.
First, find out how much travel your forks and rear shock have. This should be listed in the specs for the bike.
The first thing you will do is set the static sag. The goal here is that when you sit on the bike, wearing your gear and with the bike loaded as you intend to ride it, the front/rear suspension should be compressed to the 1/3 travel distance mark. For example, if you have 9" of travel on the forks, when you are sitting on the bike, the suspension should be compressed 3" from it's unloaded position (wheel off the ground). This is where your zip tie comes in handy.
If you have a center stand, get the bike up on it and get the front off the ground. Put a zip tie around one fork right where the slider goes into the dust cover. Measure the straight line distance along the fork from a fixed point low on the fork up to the bottom of the zip tie to get your start length. GENTLY get the bike off the stand and sit on it. You want it up right, feet on the pegs, just like if you were riding. This is where your second person comes in, holding the bike. Then GENTLY get off the bike and remeasure the distance to the bottom of the zip tie from the same reference point low on the fork. If you have 9" of total travel, the difference between the first length and the second length should be 3" if your spring preload is set correctly. Adjust until it is 3" (or 1/3 of what ever the spec is your your bike). Don't forget to remove the zip tie when you are done.
Some bikes have no easy way to adjust preload on the spring. What this does is change the compression on the fork spring, meaning it will then take more or less force to compress it further. Adding preload will cause the bike to sit higher in the stroke. Taking out preload lets it sit lower. MOST bikes are set soft, so odds are you will need to add preload to get the bike back up where it should be. In stock trim, the suspension in my example might sit at 4", so you'd add preload until you have it sitting at 3". Cheap bikes have preload spacers inside the forks. The only way to adjust them is to use different length spacers (KLRs are like this). Basically, you put in longer spacers and use trial and error to get them to the right length. If you buy new springs from someone like RaceTech, you can put in your bike model, weight, etc,... and they calculate what spring you need and what length of spacer you need. Nicer bikes have a preload adjuster on the top of the fork caps. Some use a BIG flat blade screwdriver, some a hex head for a wrench, and the best ones have little knobs that click as you turn them so you can count clicks and keep track of your changes. Generally, turning clockwise adds preload, counter-clockwise removes preload.
Setting the sag on the rear is a similar process. Get the rear wheel off the ground. Measure the distance from a fixed point on the rear of the bike down to a point on the swing arm. Make sure you are measuring in a line along the center line of the shock. Sit on the bike, feet up, and have your friend measure again. The difference in lengths should be 1/3 your allowed travel per the specs.
Adjusting preload on the rear usually involves turning a big nut that is threaded on the body of the shock. Some have special spanner wrenches that catch notches in the outside of the nut. If you are careful, you can also use a flat blade screw driver, place it in the notch, and gently tap to turn the ring. The ring changes the compression of the spring. It is usually a righty tighty situation, but look at the threads to see which way it needs to spin to compress or relax the spring. Nicer bikes have a remote preload knob, often mounted on the right side of the bike below the seat area. Turning this changes the preload. Right = more, left = less. Really nice bikes, have buttons on the handle bars that adjust the suspension for you! Adjust and measure until you have the bike sitting at 1/3 travel length.
Setting sag is pretty straight forward. Depending on the bike and how you can make the adjustments, it may take you 15-20 minutes the first time you do it. If you have to mess with different length spacers, that takes more time because you have to take it apart, put it together, remeasure, take it apart, put it together... Not hard, just tedious.
The next stop is to adjust your damping settings. Not all bikes are adjustable. Some are adjustable in a basic sense. Others are highly adjustable! Basically, you are changing how easily the oil in the fork flows from one area to another as the fork moves back and forth. The same is true for the rear shock. Constricting the oil flow (adding damping) makes the bike feel harsher. Increasing the ability of the oil to flow makes the bike feel softer. To harsh and the tire can start skipping across the pavement in turns and bouncing on bumps. Too soft and you feel like the bike is flopping around like an old Caddy with blown suspension.
If your bike has adjustable damping, it will usually be a knob/screw on the fork caps. Check your manual. They typically have anywhere from 25-35 "clicks" from all the way out to all the way in. Clockwise adds damping, counter clockwise removes it. I would turn them all the way left until they cannot turn any more. Then count clicks to the right until you can't turn any more. WRITE that number down. Let's say you counted 30 clicks. I would then back off to 20 clicks. The idea is that you are starting at 2/3 of the available damping.
The rear shock will usually have either a knob near where the shaft comes out of the shock body or a slotted knob on the side of the shock for a flat blade screw driver. Same thing. Turn all the way left, then all the way right and count the clicks. Set it at the 2/3 point in the total number of clicks.
Some bikes have separate adjusters for compression damping and rebound damping. The first controls how fast the fork/shock can compress and the second controls how fast it extends after a load is removed. It is the same thing. There will be another knob that clicks when you turn it. Count the clicks from full left to full right and set at the 2/3 mark.
Now you go for a ride. How the bike should feel is VERY subjective. So there is no particular compression/rebound setting that is a MUST. The 2/3 mark is just a starting point. If the bike feels bouncy and soft, stop and add two clicks. Keep riding. Adjust as you feel it needs it to get a smooth ride that absorbs most bumps, isn't too harsh, and doesn't leave you going up and down like a pogo stick. Don't make BIG adjustments, just two clicks can make a significant difference in how the bike feels. Once you find a setting that feels right, turn the adjusters full right and count the clicks as you go. WRITE those numbers down and put them somewhere so you can find them easily, like on your phone. You might have one setting for when you ride without luggage, another with luggage, and yet another with luggage and a passenger. If you get it right each time and note the click positions for each case, then you can quickly adjust the suspension to match each case. If you don't have an external preload for the forks and a remote preload for the rear, that can be more of a pain. In which case, you might set it for the middle of the range, like just you with luggage. If you have a remote adjuster, just count full turns from the good position to max preload and note the number of turns.
My 1200 GS has adjustments front and rear. If I ride solo, I have one setting. If I load up all my hard cases, I add preload and a few clicks on the compression on the rear (the front is usually fine). If I carry one of my kids, I usually have to max out the rear preload and add another couple of clicks. The point is that there is no ONE setting that will work for every situation. Paying a shop will get you a decent setup for one situation, but you will still need to play around with the compression/rebound settings to get them right according to your subjective feeling of "right". Granted, a LOT of people are out there riding on bikes with suspension that is not even remotely setup correctly, and they probably don't even realize it. It is not until it is set up right that you really notice the difference. It is a BIG difference too.
Experiment with it. Learn how the adjustments work. See how it feels with different settings. You will be glad you did.
Very excellent info-instruction! Also, have you read your owners manual for susp adjustment?
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Roger with On Road Off Road is in Austin. He does baseline setups at the track for $40. I'm guessing it would be similar if you went to his shop.
email is info@ororcycle.com
email is info@ororcycle.com
If you weigh 170 the twin suspension is ready for you to dial in. If you weigh 200 or north, it would be a waste of time adjusting the oem suspension. I weigh 200, put new springs in front and rear. I did not need to revalve. Cost about $300 total, but I did the work. Not a difficult process.
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