How To - Setup Motorcycle Suspension Fork Preload Adjustment / Sag

[@bobgc1954]

Thank´s for your video and explaining the how to and the reasoning for the adjustments. I have seen other KZbin vids on the subject - but none have been as ( for me ) clear and understandable. Also making the chart downloadable is really "going the extra mile" Off to part 2 Really appreciated.

[@LambChopRides]

+bob cbr glad it helped Bob 👍

[@KB-ki7um]

THE VERY BEST EXPLANATION OF SAG SETTINGS SO FAR!! Thank you for breaking down the static sag and rider sag and their implications for spring size!

[@LambChopRides]

No problem KB 👍

[@twooccystraps6458]

If you put a cable tie around your fork leg you can do all 3 measurements in a minute

[@denyB18]

Thank you very much my friend. This is very useful. I'm having big problems with my CBR900 1996 in high speed corners so I will check settings. Cheers and greetings from Croatia.

[@helljumper5586]

Great videos!! Just a tip. I didn't have an unwilling helper so i put a cable tie around the stanchion and when I hopped on it slid up and when I hopped off it held it's place so that I can get the measurement :)

[@Knightlore10]

helljumper5586 sounds like a good tip without an unwilling helper but would the cable tie not slide down under your weight rather than slide up? Assuming you have USD forks like in the video

[@Benpasnin123]

@@Knightlore10 he must have conventional forks, thats the only way i the cable tie can slide up

[@DarR1299]

EXCELLENT VIDEO. Suspension record is a great tool but a small tip is that the recommendations do not really apply for long suspension travel such as a Multistrada where SAG can be in the 45mm range. Also to be noted is that the fork bottom is above the casing and sometimes as much as 15mm which should be taken into consideration.

[@fahrvergnuegen]

Nice vid but please clarify the following. The original static sag was 22mm, so the bike compressed the forks by 22mm just with its own weight. After you added 4 turns of preload the static sag went from 22 to 19mm, meaning the bike didn't compress as much under it's own weight so there is less sag than desired. This would mean you need a SOFTER spring to get the sag back to 25-30mm, not like you said that the spring is too soft. It is actually too firm. Do I make sense? I want to setup my suspension this week and want to make sure it's right. :)

[@robertomalatesta6604]

I know many a bike might have been passing under the bridge... anyway, the guy is correct, if you add preload, rhe spring pushes harder on top, lengthening the fork. Counter-intuitive? Yes. But there you are (or was).

[@gilgameshismist]

THANK YOU! So easy when it's explained, but so hard to find someone to explain it. So thank you for explaining it. :)

[@LambChopRides]

Thanks Gilga glad it helped you :)

[@tubergenmotorsports4193]

Awesome! Thank you for the cool "sheet" and for posting! Just bought a 03 gxsr 1000 I would like this beast to be as safe as possible on the street.

[@banarne71]

Thanks for sharing. Thanks to your video I am now tuning my front forks. THe right legs preload was fully out but my left leg wasn´t, I had to turn the preload many turns before it was fully out. The chart is helping and now it´s time to get some lunch and then keep testing. I love the Freudian slip with the static shag... :)

[@LambChopRides]

Thanks Jon, what bike it is? Some newer bikes have rebound in one fork leg and compression in the other so just check that wasn't what you were adjusting :) let me know how she feels now

[@jonathanmellish4439]

Hi. Just searching through suspension set up videos and noticed yours and have watched it through twice. The chart and figures are very useful. My front forks on an 05 speed triple are wrecking my arms so i am trying to set it up as per your video. I have put a zip tie around the fork tubes to make measurement easier. My figures will be different to yours. I know i should be able to work it out from your figures but what is the percentage of sag against the remaining travel thats left. Mine looks too greater a percentage so i may need to increase the preload. Thanks.

[@sebaalge6674]

Hey, a little bit late at the party, but this video is still super relevant! Trying to set up my sag, but there is no change between static sag and rider sag, the fork literaly dosen't move when i sit on the bike, i'm light, just about 60kgs (132lbs) but this is making setting sag a nightmare, because if i set the correct rider sag, is too much static sag, if setting the static sag, is not enough rider sag! is driving me crazy! something wrong with my forks? oil maybe?

[@Dan_Moto]

seba alge likely progressive springs, just set it to the static and you’ll be fine on the street, but for track try rider.

[@richardmiddleton7770]

Are you sitting in your riding position with full gear on? Did you give the forks a quick bounce before measuring? I'd say rider on sag is more important because when does the bike ever go for a ride by itself?!

[@sebaalge6674]

@@richardmiddleton7770 thanks for the suggest, turned out my forks where sticking, changed the oil, previous owner never did it in 50'000 km, now it all makes sense again!

[@davidalonzi2918]

You may need softer springs to allow them to move and work when you’re riding as you are a lighter rider

[@garyhigginson8410]

Hi mate I'm looking at fitting these 2016 sp forks to my 05 blade, need to bore out bottom Yoke 1mm to fit, I've noticed you don't have the electric compression setup for obvious reasons, what top caps do you need or is it a full cartridge kit for the ohlins cheers 👍

[@sunshineonlybiker8223]

Very useful, thanks for taking the time to explain, AND for the spreadsheet. Happy riding.

[@kierondesmond7791]

There's loads of suspension info on KZbin. Dave Moss comes to mind.

[@Echelonperformance]

okay quick recap subtract static sag from the unload sag, take that number and subtract rider sag. if you measurements are out of the range do you revert back to clicks or should you do half turns until your in range?and when ur in range are you looking for max range or minimum range, sorry for tons of questions had my bike almost a year and haven't had sag set but have been learning how to tweak the suspension.

[@jamesbrown8308]

I appreciate the time you`ve taken to show others inc me.......Always nice to see humour incorporated ! :)

[@LambChopRides]

Cheers James :)

[@johnwalker-uu6et]

Hi chops just some advice please, i am new to all this suspension set up and just coming to terms with what every think means, people talk about putting cable tie around fork leg to measure travel on road/track or to check its not bottoming out? sorry for stupid question but how do you know if its bottoming out?? or what your fork max travel is so you know how far away from bottoming you are?? cheers john.

[@LambChopRides]

+john walker Hi John, its quite easy put the tie around the fork stanchion when the fork travels it will push the tie down the stanchion as you brake. If its bottoming out the tie will be right at the bottom of the stanchion normally 5mm from end is all the travel you get. If your tie ends up down there then increase your pre-load slightly. If that doesnt stop it you may need uprated spings in the forks. But normally you don't need that unless your larger than the average bear :)

[@mavrik11964]

I always use mm measurements. So many different ways that people go about setting sag. Others recommend winding out the rebound adjusters :-)

[@TheWhisky81]

Sorry chops I forgot to mention my bike is a 2000 model zx9r so the forks are old style right way up, so if I put tie at bottom by dust seal and it bottoms out the tie will end up at lower triple clamp or 5mm before?? cheers john

[@David_HX]

X-cellent Video and explanation but when I try to download the Excel spreadsheet I get the chart with the blank spots but there are no formulas to make the spreadsheet figure the numbers I need to target - Is there any way I can get the actual spreadsheet with the formulas intact so I can just plug in my measurements and get the result to know if I need to increase/decrease Preload ( front and rear )

[@deadboy519]

I just caught "AFRICA" in the background.. great song!

[@LambChopRides]

Do love my 80's classics :)

[@thedriverofallthings]

I cant wait till I have sum time of I will use this video to setup my bikes thanks chops

[@LambChopRides]

Yeah should help out 2Wheels, use the downloaded spreadsheet too! :)

[@MattJones675GR9]

Thank you Mr Chops. Since I fitted the R forks and shock I need to sort them out

[@barcusful]

Cheers for that info. My divvy 900s (1998) has soft front end and now I'll try and wind up the preload evenly and see what the difference is... is that correct? Just need it a bit stiffer... where do you download the spreadsheet from? Great idea and very handy... fabulous fireblade by the way.

[@LambChopRides]

Yes try and wind it up, doing the three measurements will get you perfect. Spreadsheet is in the video description there is a direct link to it :)

[@banarne71]

Ok. Now finished with the forks. What do you think of this set up? Static sag: 29 Rider sag: 36,6 Must do the shock as well...

[@LambChopRides]

Yes seems good! How much did you have to adjusted it?

[@banarne71]

Lamb Chop Rides It's a Honda cb1000r. Perhaps a test ride tomorrow.

[@jaysav9401]

Awesome video, I have a question tho. When I added 7 turns to the preload my measurements were all 6mm different from my first measurements at 0 but my static sag and rider sag came out to be the same. It makes sense since you're just finding the difference of the 2 measurements but is that normal?

[@onlyonermf]

Great vid thanks, really useful and the spreadsheet is awesome. 😄

[@blkgixxerslvr]

Thank you for your vids! I've had 7 bikes and never set the suspension cause I usually sold them after two or three years. I finally have the bike I always wanted and won't be selling it. So I want to setup my suspension to me, finally! Quick question, using a jack on the exhaust doesn't cause any damage to the exhaust or manifold?

[@tajidballamadara2061]

+blkgixxerslvr lol I was thinking that this has to be really bad for the manifold and could collapse the midpipe..

[@joshdenham8404]

Seems with the bike on a stand, it really isnt putting much weight on the pipe because it has a pivot point. I probably wouldn't use it as a jacking point either though. ...

[@Frit0Pie]

Helpful video and awesome bike!

[@LambChopRides]

Thanks Frit

[@kmg8302]

Thanks much for the video. One question. You said rider sag should be 35-48 mm and static sag 27-30 mm for front fork. Where thses numbers (target ranges) came from? Thanks in advance for your answering. Cheers

[@BarnettSpeedSuzukiThou]

Too much inmho static no more than 25 and rider around 35 I would sggest

[@ChristianDannevaernFridh]

ToTo and Michael Sembello in the workshop!! 😃👍

[@ninjastylecmd]

it`s ok to set rider sag for track at 30mm front/rear? realy tnx and nice viodeo and *.xls

[@clarkjason2003]

Great video on static Shag (*lol*); Thanks for the video and the spreadsheet.

[@LambChopRides]

Lol yep, prefer moving shags but can't have it all :)

[@justinstrausberg]

So is that a 1000RR engine? Cause your using the swing arm an they bolt onto the engine right? What did it take to put the forks on that 98-99 blade? Just wondering cause I have the same model.

[@TinCanSailor]

Great stuff sir. Thanks for the spreadsheet!

[@Yab0yd0m]

Thumb's up for Toto - Africa in the background hahaha , my bike doesn't have preload adjuster as it's an old bike 88 cbr nc23 how would i set up the forks without rebuilding them with stiffer springs?

[@LambChopRides]

HAHA thanks I think... :-) Tricky one Dominic, I think you will have to buy new springs or you can stiffen things up with thicker or more fork oil. I would speak to a professional suspension guy for yours sorry buddy.

[@Yab0yd0m]

Thanks for replying , yeah i figured i'll be doing a strip down on the bike next winter so a suspension refresh will be on the cards! Either way the video's helpfull if i ever upgrade to a bike with USD forks and preload adjusters!

[@MrJeffreycauchi]

Did you jack the bike from the exhaust???? 😳

[@weathdone]

awesome vid thanx!!! just one thing i dont think u should jack bike up by the exhaust but thats my opinion!! again great vid and thanx for taking time to do it!!!

[@fornicateu2]

Its the best place to do it unless you want to remove the exhaust and then you're removing weight from the bike which defeats the object of setting up the suspension for the total weight of bike & rider.

[@deadboy519]

Will adjusting the bike for a specific rider help lower it (enabling the rider to touch the ground more comfortably) or is it better to add or change lowering links?

[@LambChopRides]

No not really Waffle unless the suspension is very hard.. You would be better off getting lower links and dropping the forks through the yokes a bit. But adjusting the height will effect handling but if you adjust the same amount front and back should be to bad..

[@LambChopRides]

Sorry should read shouldn't be to bad

[@deadboy519]

Lamb Chop Rides Thank you very much. I think we'll go that route. To confirm, If I lower the bike from the rear I just want to make sure I drop the forks the same amount, correct?

[@LambChopRides]

Yes that's it, if you drop the front more than the rear will sharpen the steering also

[@deadboy519]

Lamb Chop Rides Thank you. I really appreciate it. Sorry for all the questions.. I'm just more interested in learning and doing it myself versus paying someone else to do it for me and learning nothing.

[@mike216ism]

I've got a 2005 gsxr 1000. I have a lot of sag. I've slowly increased the spring preload adjustment. There's also the rebound and compression dampening adjustments on the forks. Is increasingly the spring preload the correct adjustment to stop so much sag? I've also been increasing the rebound and compression dampening slowly to stop so much travel? Thanks for your help

[@fornicateu2]

Rebound and comp aren't reducing 'travel', you need adjust preload so that the forks aren't bottoming out when riding on our shit roads, then to smooth out the ride you adjust the other two by similar increments to each other so that the wheel follows the undulations in the road so that basically you end up with a smooth ride for the road conditions. I use two stretches of my favourite roads to set my rebound and comp, both are quite bumpy especially at speed, I'll ride back and forth on these stretches getting off and adjusting as I go, if the bars are juddering on bumpy stretches I'll take out rebound, if the bike is bouncing on the bumps take out comp till the bike glides across those surfaces. You're aiming for a firm smooth ride under all conditions, you neither want the bike bottoming out or topping out and as you get faster with a good sussy setup you'll also feel safer, if you set it up too firm its tiring and like being kicked in the backside on every bump or hollow but you always need to begin with getting the sag set up right and only preload will do that. You also need to do this quite often especially as you get faster and when you're running out of preload adjustment its time for new springs and fresh fork oil.

[@jvsyoutube3298]

Very good information, thanks!

[@FREE_PUREBLOOD333]

Nice video..love that bike!!

[@Saady2s]

Whats does bottom adjustment do on the front forks? Compression or rebound? How to adjust that?

[@5871310]

Do you have the sheet available still? Your link is dead. Looked neat :)

[@LambChopRides]

Yes should have will sort the link

[@novatomex]

Hi, the link is still down :-(

[@MKK1386]

Link is still down..

[@SalemCBR1]

Very cool man thank you.

[@darkninja67]

are those Galfer rotors? nice looking CBR1000RR

[@Moxyator]

Very helpful. Thanks

[@stattman1977]

can't download the spreadsheet, says unavailable!?

[@rmonified]

My name is LampChamp and they often call me Lamb Chop

[@GSRTurbooo]

Great video nice one!

[@LambChopRides]

Thanks matey :)

[@justaguy4real]

1:00 being on stands is same as being on wheels right?

[@fornicateu2]

Yes

[@EddieSpaghettiYouTube]

File missing for download...

[@tolgasaygun7333]

Amazing bike... Love it

[@barcusful]

Thanks again.

[@robpower3356]

Tunes 👌🔥❤

[@philbarrett3739]

Why use metric but not use millimetres? So inaccurate using half centimetres for this purpose.

[@HarmlessP0TAT0]

boys boys boyss ;)

[@bahamasboy5580]

nice bike man good info

[@sebpearce]

Thanks bud

[@LambChopRides]

Thanks Seb

[@cartaun5276]

Dude, that fireblade is so hot that I can not focus in what you saying.

[@FingersRides]

Look at you!

[@shaun9107]

thats a nice bike

[@seroberts1]

Chart link no workie :(:( Goes to drop box, drop box file name please.

[@markuscarter7136]

please repost the spreadsheet. it's been moved. Thx

[@LambChopRides]

+Markus Carter yeah sorry my Dropbox is full.. will repost when I can

[@malexder0082]

"I'm no expert." Not exactly what I wanted to hear at the start. I'd rather watch vids from real experts.

[@gdfggggg]

He’s being modest

[@stevenmullen8402]

use a zip tie

[@vegassasin]

Jack on the exhaust system 😬😬

[@dardobartoli]

As soon as I saw that, all credibility goes out the window and it's time to move on!

[@yodo6414]

Static sag is pointless

[@TheNoobComment]

talks so much...

[@Yoter1234]

Great video. Thanks