This is the second of two posts... This is an article from 1995 covering damping adjustments. There's a small section in there on the CBR600 F2

CBR600F2 - Mag Article from 1995 - 13 extensive tests of exhaust systems

If someone could please download this and host it somewhere it would be appreciated. My ISP is in New Zealand so please don't expect it to be too fast from the UK/US

Superbike (March 1995) - Patchy Damping (3.8Mb)

Cheers
WBM

 

Honda CBR600F-P
The 1993CBR600 is one of the best bikes on the
market. It gets excellent reviews and it's the
most popular 600 around. It was Britain's topseller
in 1993.

The forks are adjustable for spring preload
and rebound damping, while the shock is
adjustable for spring preload and rebound and
compression damping.

The main problem with the bike is that the
shock's spring rate is too hard. The suspension-to-
wheel travel was 3.1:1 on the earlier model
and changed to 2.5:1 for the F-M and F-P,yet the
spring remained the same. Ideally, the standard
750 lb spring should be changed for a softer
600 lb or 640 lb unit. To compensate, riders will
soften the compression damping to try and
make the bike softer but, unfortunately, the
effect will be minimal.

The hard spring will also cause problems,
especially in the wet when the back tyre will
lose drive and grip because spring doesn't
compress and holds the back of the bike up.
The other part-solution is to unwind the
preload, which will only lower the rear of the
bike, making the front lighter and uneasy. The
CBR'sforks are good for mass-produced units,
but can be refined with beneficial results.

The main problem with the bike is that the
shock's spring rate is too hard. The suspensionto-
wheel travel was 3.1:1 on the earlier model
and changed to 2.5:1for the F-Mand F-P,yet the
spring remained the same. Ideally, the standard
7501bspring should be changed for a softer
600lb or 6401bunit. To compensate, riders will
soften the compression damping to try and
make the bike softer but, unfortunately, the
effect will be minimal.

The hard spring will also cause problems,
especially in the wet when the back tyre will
lose drive and grip because spring doesn't
compress and holds the back of the bike up.
The other part-solution is to unwind the
preload, which will only lower the rear of the
Honda CBR600F-P

The 1993CBR600is one of the best bikes on the
market. It gets excellent reviews and it's the
most popular 600 around. It was Britain's topseller
in 1993.

Theforks are adjustable for spring preload
and rebound damping, while the shock is
adjustable for spring preload and rebound and
compression damping.

Ideal settings on standard suspension:
Front: Preload:20-30mm static sag.
Rebound: Four to six clicks back from maximum.
Rear: Preload: 5mm static sag.
Compression: 1 turn back from max.
Rebound: 1 turn back from max.