Suspension Setting on the Honda CB1000R Neo Sports Cafe

[@JVonk]

For some stupid reason I was always a bit 'afraid' the change the suspension settings, but after seeing this video with the outstanding explanation I gave it a try. And I wish I had done it much earlier as it made a much bigger change than I had expected. So thanks very much for the video, really appreciated!

[@SpectrumGeeks]

No worries, I a glad it helped. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@duirun6212]

You’re a legend for making this video. I’ve been far too worried to adjust mine. Had it from new a year ago, find the suspension quite bouncy and soft but was afraid to change anything in case it was worse. The chart and video are awesome thank you!

[@SpectrumGeeks]

My pleasure, glad it helped. Its amazing the difference it makes.

[@pauljohnston3919]

Well! I am 15 stone and I followed your video to the letter and for me personally the setting are fantastic. The front end is 100 percent better. The bike felt planted giving far better feedback than I have ever felt before. The rear was also greatly improved but I don't think you can ever get it perfect without changing it for an olins. I consider myself an average rider and these bikes will always be able to outside our capabilities. Great video Sir.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Glad it helped!

[@MariusMutin]

Thank you for the video, table settings and clear explanations. Gonna change my suspsention settings for the Nurburgring (too soft it is right now for the track)

[@SpectrumGeeks]

All the best, certainly improved the stock suspension feel for me.

[@rana_the_man]

First of all, thank you very much for the video. it encouraged me to adjust the suspension at all. I had the bike for a year before i even dared to adjust something on the suspension. At first i adjusted it exactly according to the chart for 95 kg. After a few weeks, however, I noticed that I no longer hit the ideal line on my familiar routes. the motorcycle had become totally sluggish. Then i tried something out and found the ideal setting for me. The big problem was the preload. Now I have the rear preload on position 10 and the front preload 5 turns out from full soft. it drives much more agile now... as if i had a completely different motorcycle. much better then the stock-settings and way better then the settings from the chart. I set the remaining settings such as tension and compression according to the table for 80kg. I can only recommend everyone to adjust the settings carefully according to their own feelings. the chart might help for some people. in my case (95kg) it made it worse.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Thanks for sharing your experience, and 100% agree personal tweaking is required, but the chart is a good starting point to get things dialled in from.

[@rick6738]

What a great video mate, just test ride a cb 1000 rr last week and found the rear way too soft. Everyone said it's not adjustable but after watching your video i now know it can be adjusted. Thanks for filming. Going to drive it again upcoming weekend and maybe i will buy it

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Glad the video hopefully helps. Its a great bike, and the suspension adjustment makes a remarkable difference.

[@davehudson2064]

I have had the 21 black edition for 6 months and found the standard settings a little soft. I’m approx 73 kilo with gear on. I adjusted for 75 kilo on the chart and certainly improved. Very cold and damp when tested so will wait for better weather in the uk for a better test. Certainly not as bouncy and front forks don’t dive as much when breaking hard. Will try out higher speed cornering when the roads aren’t as slippy but does seems better. Ps I’m used to harder settings on the Daytona 675 so may be a little too much for some riders. Great video by the way!

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. Glad you found the video helpful, be interested what you think when its dryer. I am deffo happier with the adjusted setup vs stock.

[@rana_the_man]

Great video. Thanks for the detailed explanation. Just today I adjusted my rear spring and just came across this video. Sitting position has improved a lot. So far I have not dared to take further settings. Have you changed anything in your settings lately after more testing? my weight could be similar to yours. I'll try your settings on my bike in the next few days. Thanks and lovely greatings.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Since riding I just made some minor adjustments to soften a slight turn on the front, but aside from that its practically as shown in the video. Ride safe.

[@markomilic8964]

Quite good video. I like the honesty from a prespective of two year old rider. I agree with what Terry Cox says, however, your video's still realy helpful for me as I am planing to buy one.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Its a really great bike, you will love it.

[@fullsizegrom]

Awesome! This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Glad I could help!

[@bazazback]

Hi Paul, Very good indeed, I watched your video on how to do this before I got my bike and forgot to do it and now I’ve watched your video again I’m definitely going to have a go at setting mine up. Luckily enough I’m the same weight as you so same settings Can I ask did it change the ride height at all as I’m not able to flat foot my CB1000R and if stiffening the rear suspension will probably make the ride height worse for me ? Again thanks for the video you made it look easy 👍

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Thanks for watching, not sure if this is a question for me or someone else called Paul, but I will add my response just incase. This adjustment does not adjust the ride height, but it does alter the sag when sat on the bike a little as the spring is more taught. Its deffo worth doing, and worst case if you are not happy you can just change it back.

[@normandbeaulieu5125]

Tanks for the information and great video can't wait to make a test drive here in Quebec Canada!!

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Enjoy and ride safe

[@threeamigos842]

What do you think of the bike in general.. are you happy with it . I've just bought one a cb 1000 r plus . Also have 7 other bikes

[@SpectrumGeeks]

I think its a great bike, no regrets. I think it looks great, rides very well and is pretty versatile. Hope you enjoy it.

[@midlife-crysis]

Thanks for the link in the description

[@SpectrumGeeks]

No problem

[@SudeepC1973]

Thankyou very much for the chart!

[@SpectrumGeeks]

You’re welcome 😊

[@smith8124]

2023 CB1000R Black - Honda built a great bike with some great kit, but it’s like the shock was the last thing on the build list and they had already run over budget when they selected it. It is wildly under valved and doesn’t have compression damping. It’s absolute trash. The Showa BPF’s can be made to work well, but the shock is hopeless. Throw an Ohlins on and don’t look back. If you’ve got the money after the shock, put the Ohlins fork cartridge kit in.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Cheers for the extra recommendations.

[@SFV4]

How much better does the bike feels now compared to the factory settings? Or would it be worth upgrading to Öhlins stuff? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Feels much more confidence inspiring. I don't consider myself to be a good enough rider to warrant changing out the suspension, and the settings change has made it so much better in my opinion.

[@SFV4]

@@SpectrumGeeks Thanks a lot. I don’t trust myself enough and am planning to have my local Honda workshop do the setting in a few weeks.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

@@SFV4 Good choice if you don't feel confident.

[@terenceokeeffesmotorcyclestuff]

Rather than rely on someone else's table, which could be based on their own preferences, set the damping on the front and the rear to the two extremes and go out for a couple of rides. Each ride, one fully damped, one minimally damped will give you a feel for what the extremes of damping are. That will give you a very quick indication of the damping capabilities of the suspension and you will form an opinion on where you want to be in that range. Some riders may prefer a softer ride, some firmer, there is no one setting that the bike should be set at, it is personal preference. But you are on track in that generally more weight on a bike needs more suspension control, hence the increased damping. Preload is a totally separate story. Check out my admittedly too long vid here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqmZdquPptGmb6c

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Thanks for sharing Terry. As mentioned at the end of the video, the settings are not perfect for me, but its a good starting point for me to fine tune from. Thanks for sharing your video also.

[@terenceokeeffesmotorcyclestuff]

@@SpectrumGeeks Hats of to you for addressing it and making the changes. You paid good money for adjustable suspension and it would be a shame not to use it and get the benefit.

[@thyfallenbeats]

I'm 100kg and have adjusted to the settings based on the table. Very jumpy when cornering, bike feels twitchy as I could not maintain a stable throttle due to the "jumps" on the straightaways. Any suggestions what I should do?

[@SpectrumGeeks]

I am not an expert, but I found the bike to be too jumpy when the suspension needed stiffening. So I suggest you tweak it further and do some test rides to dial it in for your weight and riding style.

[@Universe123]

Öhlins for cb1000r ....search information on inet .....

[@timothystone7962]

Hi the link to the settings for setting up isn’t working for me, any chance you could redo the link or post a clear picture yourself? I’ve had a cb1kr nsc for a few months and total newb myself with these things. So was hoping to use the chart from your video as a starting point myself.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Hi Timothy, I added a link to the Spectrum Geeks community section also, try this link - yt3.ggpht.com/G3SCjQaOUGbSGYZzXhrfYpIVNlCg1I03SsLgjBNjQTPF7vGeOnqI1p8RZxcDScUuZMEvipc-Q_Gh9g=s1600-nd-v1

[@matthewscharf6025]

Is that the same spanner wrench used for tightening the chain ? Thanks in advance.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Yes, I believe this is also used for chain tightening, but thats not something I have had to do so far, but its the tool that comes in the little tool roll with the bike.

[@matthewscharf6025]

Perfect, thank you for the quick reply

[@Shire-Khofte]

Thank's Bro for very good video 🙏🙏

[@SpectrumGeeks]

No problem 👍

[@duaner9392]

Did you scratch up your rear shock adjustment ring?

[@SpectrumGeeks]

Nope, still looks new like before.

[@smudgybrown67]

Sweet, thank you, Dude 😊

[@SpectrumGeeks]

No problem!

[@smudgybrown67]

Did the end result really improve your ride quality?

[@SpectrumGeeks]

@@smudgybrown67 It did for me, found it much more confidence inspiring, I always felt the back end was squeamish before. I have just come back from 12 hour trip on the bike and its much better dialled in. If you want further improvement you need to change the components.

[@smudgybrown67]

​@SpectrumGeeks That's good to know, thank you. Hope you enjoyed the 12 hour ride. I got my A licence back in December 2022 and have been riding an SV650 since January 2023. The thrill has sort of gone with it and am picking up a 21 CB1000R this Saturday. The garage selling it have said they haven't got the manpower to set the suspension up for me and then stated I should take to a ShowA outlet to get it done properly. Though with your cool video, I believe I can set it up myself, once again, thank you for that.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

@@smudgybrown67 Pleasure and enjoy, its a great bike.

[@tonijuve1]

Hello! Great video! May I please have the chart? Link not working.

[@SpectrumGeeks]

I have posted it in the community tab, but also try this link. Thanks yt3.ggpht.com/G3SCjQaOUGbSGYZzXhrfYpIVNlCg1I03SsLgjBNjQTPF7vGeOnqI1p8RZxcDScUuZMEvipc-Q_Gh9g=s1600-nd-v1

[@MrCameronpalmer]

Its ok found you link :)

[@SpectrumGeeks]

👍

[@nicknicky4991]

Don't mess with settings ,leave em stock I find it a good ride and I'm 14 stone

[@SpectrumGeeks]

I find the bike much improved since adjusting the settings.