Hello, reviving this slightly old thread. I am totally new to bikes and reading through threads to learn how to tune my suspension.

I have an '01 F4i. Previous owner had made some adjustments, but weighed 20 lbs less than me (140 vs my 160) and I've decided to go back to stock and start from there. The bike has been lowered 1" front and back, the front by adjusting the fork attachment point, and the rear by changing the bent linkage out that the shock is attached to. Apologies for not knowing the correct terminology at all.

I am fine with keeping the 1" lower setup, as it gives me better footing when I stop and I feel very comfortable with that. However, I want to figure out how to setup the sag, rebound, and compression, front and rear, and I've learned a lot. At this point, I have an idea of how to do it and what to use as my guidance, and am sure it'll only get better as I learn to ride and understand the bike's feedback.

But basically, the quoted comment really makes me scratch my head. The engineers that designed these bikes are quite intelligent and know what they are doing. I have a hard time understanding the idea that they'd somehow design the front end for a 120 lbs rider and rear for a 180 lbs rider. Can someone explain how I am supposed to believe that inconsistency in a professional bike design?

 

The only thing I can think of is that on some sport bikes they build more sag into the front to keep the tire on the road under hard acceleration.

Here is a link to some suspension settings supposedly for a 145 lb rider from the comments http://www.sportrider.com/suspension...ngs/honda.html, there are some for the 01 and 06 both w/ the front lowered a bit. I'm not sure why they are so different though unless there were suspension changes between the 01 and 06? There are also guides to help set up your bike for your weight on that site under the "How To" section.

 

Easy. The front is setup for comfort and the rear is setup for dual purpose use, which would be one or two riders on the bike.

 

Ok, so lets go with that theory. If I am not as concerned about comfort, and will ride by myself a great great majority of the time, esp right now since I'm a beginner, what is the advised approach? Going to 0.95 kg/mm springs for the front, with revalving as well of course, and leaving the rear stock, so the bike is more balanced for my 160-165lbs weight? Probably ~170-175lbs with gear. As the original poster, I nearly maxed out my stock preload and have about 45 mm of sag. The rear, I have about 28 mm of sag right now. So I'll probably soften that a bit if I can.

Finally, my main paranoia in all this is to find the setup that will maintain best grip in turns. I'll be doing mostly street driving so we all know the roads can be pretty crappy and unpredictable. That is why I am quite intent on understanding suspension setups, so that I can make sure my tires maintain optimal grip when hitting bumps in turns. If stiffer springs with more appropriate valving, combined with a proper sag front and rear (30-35 in rear, 35-40 in front for the street seems to be a commonly accepted range guide), is the best way to get maximal grip on unpredictable and bumpy street corners, then that's what I'll do eventually. For now, though, I am stuck with stock.

So, right now, I've managed to bring sag to about 45 mm front, 28 mm rear. Rebound on front is a 1/2 out from full Hard, and that results in a smooth, just-under-1-second return to height after pressing down on the bike, without any overshooting. The front and rear seem well matched this way. The rear is setup more or less stock, with the preload at 2 from the previous owner, so I might go to 1 for the softest setting to get another couple of mm of sag to get into the 30-35 mm range is my hope.

 

Check out this article Suspension Setup Guide - Sport Rider Magazine, specifically page 2 about preload, then page 3 under "preload and geometry". Basically it says not to mess w/ front end preload unless the suspension is bottoming or topping out up front. Get everything else set up to your liking following the guide, then ride and dial it in, and then mess w/ the front end preload and geometry is pretty much what that article says.

 

I just had my suspension set-up by a local shop (2005 F4i 5300 miles). I weigh 175 without gear and the front sag was about 55mm at the factory settings. We could only get the sag down to 46mm and that was with setting the front preload to max. The rear was pretty spot-on from the factory. Problem is that the turn-in seems to have slowed down - I'm guessing the front end was raised from the diminished sag.

In checking the SportRider recommendations for an 06 F4i they suggested raising the fork tube 6mm over the clip ons and using 3 lines showing on the preload tubes. I am assuming but raising the fork tubes/lowering the front end the turn-in is quickened. Has anyone else tried this?

 

My front forks are much higher above the triple clamps from what your suggesting AND I raised the rear with a few shims on the shock. I like really quick steering.

 

Can you put up a picture? I am not sure where to measure the fork tube above the clip ons

 

^ Use your factory Honda service manual. Its in there.

 

You measure from the clip on to the top of the fork.....