Would I need to adjust my suspension from the factory settings to ride with a passenger on my 2005 F4i? She's around 5'2" 125 pounds and I'm around 5'11 195.

 

since you with your own weight have maxed the bike out. i would set it all the way on pre load on both front and back just for your weight. leave the damp/comp at stock or maybe 1/8 turn to the right on both and tell her to hop on and hold on, but I would not ride very fast on bumpy roads, well i wouldn't very ride fast at all with someone on the back anyway. hope this helps.

 

Just to ride with YOUR OWN WEIGHT you would have needed to adjust the settings from the "factory" settings.

For anyone who rides with the same passenger all the time, just take some extra time during your suspension setup and get the static sag settings with the passenger aboard. Write them down so you can dial them in whenever the passenger is aboard.

 

how about for 150 lbs? What setting should I put it? I bought my bike from a 195-210 lbs. guy.

Thanks..

 

the bike come set up for a rider around 150lb's so set it at stock for everyday riding, on the back roads set it about one more notch for preload and try that, as far at the comp/rebound leave at stock.

 

Read and learn:

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/suspension/

It's not as simple as just asking someone what settings they use.

Not to mention the fact that the age of the oil in your forks are going to make a difference. Have they ever been changed?

 

You know I read those suspension guides and I cant understand a single thing. Preload, rebound, damping it all pisses me off because I can't figure it out. Do they make one of those "for dummies" books on motorcycle suspension? I think I need one of those so I can set mine up correctly. Does anyone know what it would cost for a bike to get resprung or whatever for a 200lb guy? I'm thinking of getting mine done over the winter.

Mike

 

Preload = The force the spring is exerting against the perches with the suspension at rest.
Compression Damping = The damping force when you first hit a bump and the wheel is forced upward.
Rebound Damping = The damping force when the springs push the wheels back down after you passed over the bump.
High Speed Damping = when the wheel moves (up and down) fast (sharp bump when going fast)
Low Speed Damping = when the wheel moves (up and down) slowly (cresting or bottoming hills)

When you play with your suspension do it in small increments and only change one thing at a time. It is best to keep a log book, so when something dosent feel right, you can see what it was you changed. This also works well for trackdays because you recorded the settings you used for that track and can go back to them when you return.

Somewhere I had a suspension troubleshooting chart.

 

if you are 200lb's but you don't ride too hard, you will probably be ok just to screw down your preload all the way on front and back. as far as not understanding all the jargen, you really get out of it what you put into it, meaning study everything you can about it and it will make more sense.but really if you are going to ride one of the fastest motorcycles on the planet you really own it to youself to know how you bike operates. knowing and understanding has it's benfits, first of all your bike will be set up probably better than most of your friends and be a more safer bike.once you read all the info it will start to make sense, but believe me there is a lot to it past just basic understanding which I have. what really helped me was taking a shock apart a really trying to make sense of what it does.I don't think there is really anything better for me than just pulling something apart and looking. But that's just me. hope this helps.

 

what about making it softer? I think the bike is a bit stiff for city driving and hard braking, I'd like a bit easier, especially when it comes to fast bumps etc... How do the compression and rebound interact? Like if I make the compression softer, and leave the rebound alone, is it going to be wacky?

How does front to rear ratios, usually we had the rear compression stiffer for drag, and the front soft for easier turn in? But we never adjusted rebound/compression seperately on my civic, always in tandem, so I'm a bit lost when adjusting seperately.