so at 250 I probably need to get a new setup

 

i dought they set it up for a 140lb rider for a us spec sportbike.....maybe if they only sold like 1,000 bikes then they wouldnt bother but i'm sure they sell around 5k+ bikes easy per year.

 

I switched from Diablo corsas to a Dunlop 208's and the 208s have a much smoother ride but the corsa's stick like glue. Loved them but they were a bumpy ride

 

Set your static sag first - that will improve the front/rear weight distribution. Check out the Race Tech site on how to do this.

Seems like folk over 160lb will find the front fork springs too soft to get the right sag and go for a heavier spring.

As for damping settings, from memory the Sport Rider site publishes recommended settings for a range of bikes.

This is a start. Then you either do your homework and learn how to tweak the settings or you find a good mech or suspension specialist to adjust them for you.

Lastly, damping oil wears out and the front and rear should be serviced every 10,000 miles if you ride hard. (The shock is rebuildable by a specialist).

 

Trouble is Dunlop made a number of 208 models, and even those varied from market to market .... so it's hard to compare.

 

Definitely start with the suspension.

I'm about your size and ride like you do. The guy who owned the bike before me was about 270lbs. So I put it back to the factory settings. Then I found the Sport Rider suggested settings (two sets of settings from two different articles). Better than stock, but not quite there. So I played a little more and got it just right.

Sure, new Dunlop 208s were nice, and Qualifiers were great, too; but getting the suspension set up had the best impact.

 

I know I am way off course from everyone else.. But, have you checked your steering head bearings? I have read several articles where the bearing set up on these bikes have had problems and need to be swapped. I believe it's a swap from a ball bearing to a roller bearing or vise versa. Not that I have first hand experience with this situation but it's worth checking out.
My 954 has 12,xxx miles and feels great in almost every condition. I've not yet found a wobble on this bike (knock on wood) and no, I don't 'pussyfoot' my bike.

 

The bike itself handles very well. Good enough for supersport racers to say it's good. It's your riding style and the bike's current setup. If it makes you feel better, the first 4 days I had the bike, I felt the exact same tendencies. However, I scoot my *** off the seat a couple extra inches, adjusted tire pressure, and now it has 0 issues. You will never out ride this bike if you have it set up correctly and use the right technique. That's a good thing!

 

The standard 954 has progressive rate springs at the front that start fairly soft but ironically bottom out readily under hard braking/cornering. Going to a harder linear spring is what many riders seem to do once they start pushing it.

Also bear in mind that you might have ten clicks of damping adjustment marked on a bike but some of these have no effect; standard sport bikes are said in the article below to have a very limited range of adjustment (ie. to be idiot proof!).

14 Suspension Myth-Busting Facts Everyone Should Know (BIKE Magazine October 2003 - Pg. 59-66)
http://www.canyonchasers.net/reference/

 

Definitely get the suspension set up. After I got my bike dyno tuned on Saturday, I ran into Opie Caylor who was there working on stuff at the shop. He set my suspension up for me and it made a HUGE difference in how the bike handles.

All I need to do now is add a Pitbull Steering damper and ditch my Z6 rubber in favor of some M3's and I should be good to go.