02 zzrbikes: adjusting suspension

[grandkodiak]

Ive never done so before but I'd like to fuddle with it. I don't know the previous owner nor the current settings as it came from a dealership. I'm 6'2 and weight in at 220 without clothing or motorcycle gear so I'm probably heavier then what the dealership adjusted the suspension to after its last owner (if they even bothered?) but im not too familiar with how to do it, nor where to start and feel for.

i mountiain bike so i am familiar with travel and preload to a degree, but all that means to me is how mushy or how firm (how far the handbars dip) when recovering from a jump or root/rocks.

im sure its far more important on a motorcycle for control and feel, but i dont have any other experience on a motorcycle to compare it except for my BMW R850R which I owned to long ago to have a by feel comparisson to this zzrbikes.

right now it seems ok, alittle firm on bumps but not unconfortable... very smooth otherwise on the highway but it feels lose around corners in the rear sometimes, just not stable track its going to hold feeling the beemer had. the roads are horrible in NJ, expecially in my area but its rather unerving (more so then i remember on the bmw) on corners... just raises the hairs on my arms. might just be age catching upto me, but i was wondering if it could just be a suspension adjustment issue. ive read alot online from people that just swear by proper suspension setup causing night/day changes in overall feel.

[Danno]

I run #3 damping on the rear with #3 spring preload unladen and around #4.5 preload with full luggage. 4 lines showing and 1.5 turns out on the front for preload and rebound damping. If you want to adjust the way you're SUPPOSED to (accd. to DWC) you'll need to measure the static sag, which is the amount the suspension compresses from being fully extended (on the C-stand) to the weight of the bike and no rider on the wheels. I'm 6'3" 215 lbs naked and the above settings work for most riding. You might want to dial up the rear a bit for more serious corner carving, but it'll jar your fillings out going down the road.

[grandkodiak]

thanks! thats exactly what i was looking for. i found a few great general info sights that said all that but i wanted something specific for this bike, i live alone, doing all the measurement crap and tryin to convert it over to clicks and number dials etc... ack, headspin momment. :)

[Danno]

Ya gotta kinda go by how it feels to you. The ZZR12 suspension isn't real sophisticated, so overthinking it will just give you a headache.If you don't have an '04 or '05, you dont even have the adjustable rebound damping on the fork. I pretty much leave mine alone except for dialing up the rear preload to compensate for a bigger load.

[smilinjack]

You may find setting rear rebound to 3 helpful. Factory setting is 2 but can be a little bouncy. I run quite a bit of preload, normally around 3.5, although I'm only 170 lbs or so. Had it jacked up 30mm which improved the steering but caused the shock to scrape the linkage. You can get a similar effect by lowering the fork yokes(triple trees) but will only go about 5mm max unless you have Genmars or similar. The fork tubes hit the handlebar assembly at the top.

[Danno]

I guess I should have included that I have the for tubes slid up 1/2" in the trees.

[Mellowyellow]

best suggestion for the front is put heavier weight in with more oil then suggested to get you a better air spring when bottoming out.

FYI preload should be set sag