is it easy to mess it up .. and from the looks of it that average flat head screwdriver can be used to adjust it correct??

i just dont wanna break or mess up anything.

 

For average street riding you probably cant mess it up too bad. At the track, surely you will notice. Set static sag first, then move on to compresion and rebound. Yes, a screw driver will work fine.

 

I don't know of you want to be messing about with compression/rebound if you don't know much about it. Not just for track/street differences, but what about an emergency situation when it bottoms out and you can't steer?

In the same token, it could make your morning commute much smoother if you don't like the factory settings.

 

???
thanks for ummm nothing

 

No prob.

 

Here is an awesome link, this really helped me alot. ( http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0006_susp/ ). Read the different sections on the left hand side, I found section 2 to be the most helpful in understanding how to set it all up and what symptoms to look for. You only need 3 things to ajdust it all, a 14mm wrench, a flathead screwdriver (or a dime) and the shock wrench that comes in your bikes toolbag. You probably already know what preload, dampening and rebound are, but the following is just in case you don't know (or anyone else who reads this) where they are on your bike:

Shock:
The remote reservoir (the clamped on metal cylinder on the left hand side that's attached to the top of the shock with the hose) the flathead slot on it is for dampening. On the right hand side there is another flathead slot near the bottom of the shock, that's your rebound adjuster. If you find that you cannot turn the rebound or dapening adjusters in either direction, look closely at the threads and see if there is any grains of sand stuck in them (it happened on my bike and it was a bitch to clean them out). The big collar with the square holes under the spring is your preload adjuster. I think factory is set at 4?

Forks:
On top of each fork is your preload and dampening adjustments. The flathead slot is for dampening and the 14mm wrench is for adjusting the preload, the round thing with the two flat sides that your dampening adjuster is on top of. There are 3 grooves on the sides of the preload adjusters you can use as a guide and I think factory is set at the middle line. At the bottom of each fork is another flathead slot, the rebound adjuster. Make sure that each adjustment you make to either fork, you do the other one exactly the same or else your front end can get in a high speed wobble from being unbalanced.

I found adjusting the shock first is easiest. I have my preload set on number 3 and I'm almost 6'1", but I'm skinny and light, so set yours for your height and weight. From there I set the dampening to the point where I get as much road feedback as possible without being stiff and harsh. I have the rebound setup to come back to the static height quickly, but still let the shock absorb the bumps without floating to much. Setting up the forks is a little tougher to dial in, you want to get the preload set so the bike isn't heavy going into the corner, but not so light that the front end doesn't grip comming out of the corner and feeling like it's going to wash out on you. To much weight on the front can also make your rear tire feel like it's going to brake loose. Make sure your tires are in good condition, when you get new tires is the best time to setup your suspension. Also, with the flathead adjusters, do not over tighten or over loosen them, you can damage your shosk/forks if you do. Make small adjustments at a time, 1/4 turn at the most, then fine tune from there. The whole point of tuning is to balance your bike between front and rear. The 2 best things I have ever put on my bike has been a fork brace from Superbrace and preload adjusting *****. The front end came alive with the brace and adjusting the preload can be done while riding. Eventually I'm going to put on a steering dampener too, just haven't decided which one to go with yet. I hope this helps, but once you get it, tuning is a breeze.