suspension setup help

Set the sag, put the clickers in the middle position, take it from there.
The setting for the clickers depends a lot on the oil, viscosity, and amount. I run my front just about full out (soft) on compression, and just a hair more out than in the middle (cant recall the precise setting) for the rebound. I tighten up the compression when riding tracks with soft sand.

For the rear shock set the rebound to full hard (turn it all they way in then 1-2 clicks out), set the compression in the middle, adjust from there.

Highfive wrote:

Louisbiker wrote:

HF, all good. I've set both ends to your recommended settings... haven't ridden it yet.

I've got the rear preload to 3.5" of sag with rider weight however the front is only 1.9"

Is it possible to set the front preload?
Is 1.9" OK?
I wouldn't think the front springs would be too strong for me at 207lbs.

Louis, I wouldn't worry to much about front-end preload.....at least not now.  The front suspension feels pretty slow & stiff when its new.  Takes a good while in rough stuff to loosen it up (break-in).  If you've got some railroad tracks nearby and can safely ride them, go ride down them about 4 of 5 miles.  That's a great way to break-in a suspension fast.  You do need to disassemble the rear linkage & make sure all the bearings are well greased.  They can come pretty dry from the factory (mine wasn't....but others say theirs has been dry).  Check the swingarm bearings too....at some point.  Then don't overtighten the bolts on the linkage upon reassembly.  The factory usually has these two tight (IMO).  All this really helps the Rear suspension to work better.

Another important procedure is to make sure the Front suspension is not bound up.  The following procedure can REALLY help a lot of front ends work better (on every bike...any make, model, or type).  Start at the bottom and begin loosening everything all the way to the top.....i.e. axel nut, axel pinch clamps on  bottom of forks, fork brace/fender mount (if applicable), then finally the lower triple clamp bolts.  Leave the very top triple clamp tight.  Next, hold the bike vertical and pump the suspension up & down several times WITHOUT squeezing the front brake.  This allows the forks to align themselves freely (un-bind).  Now, put it up on a stand (if you have one) to take all the weight off the suspension (and not leaning to one side on the kickstand).  

You're going to work your way down from the top one step at a time.  First, re-tighten the lower triple clamp.  Remove bike from stand & pump the forks again (up & down).  Raise bike on stand (to neutral position again) and re-tighten the next thing down on the tree.....often this is the fender mount &/or fork brace.  Remove bike from stand....pump forks up & down....return to stand.  Move down & tighten the Axle.  Remove from stand, pump forks up & down, return to stand.  Finally, re-tighten the axle pinch bolts on bottom of fork (if applicable).

Then, put bike down and check to see how the forks feel.  Sometimes you won't notice a difference.  Sometimes you'll notice a big difference.  This might seem like a cumbersome process, but it can payback big dividends.  Too often, people get frustrated with their suspension adjustments (or lack of ability to adjust it) when they are actually wasting time because everything is overpowered by a suspension that is "caught in a bind".  This can happen on both front & rear suspensions.  Just use some common sense and you'll be amazed with the results you can get.

After my suspension is well broke in and dialed in....I like to make one final check.  With the bike standing up, I'll press down firmly on the tank area at a point about midway between the pegs and the bars.....simulating where the center of my weight is likely to be during a normal riding position.  Realizing that about 70% of my weight is on the pegs (thru my legs) and 30% is on the bars (thru my arms when riding in standing position, which I do alot in the woods).....that point is usually about halfway between my gas cap and the seat.  Hopefully, you get the idea.  Now, while pushing down firmly.....I like to see a "Balanced" suspension.....meaning both the Front & Rear suspension go up & down together simultaneously.  Doesn't always happen, but that's my ideal goal.  For certain, I'd rather have a little bias toward the Rear versus the Front.....meaning I don't want to see the Front End diving before the Rear.  If that happens, you're going to have some serious handling issues while riding.  Anyway, my final "tweaking" helps get this balanced to an even up & down....front to back.....so everything works together in concert.
You MUST have a well broke-in suspension before attempting to dial in this last step.

Hope this helps you sort it out.  Right or wrong, its how I've learned to do it thru many years.....and its served me well.

HF  

Hi There,
Not sure if you're still on this forum?
I've just picked up a WR250X and will be converting to 250R soon.
Read your suspension set up which is very helpful.
One thing, my rear shock rebound damping adjusted has 70 clicks from Min to Max.  That seems excessive, is it?
Thanks

Yes it does.

Breaking in my new 2020 WRR on dirt roads for a few hours today and I noticed something about the rear shock. I wanted to check in before I start changing suspension settings. I'm 6' and 180 lbs. with gear. Newbie DS rider. 90% dirt roads, very basic trails while the bike is broken in.

Setting: Riding up a moderately steep dirt road around 25mph. Lots of little whoops across the road 2-3 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart.

What happens: When I rode over the little whoops, I felt a lot of chatter in the rear and the rear wheel came up off the ground probably just an inch or so. I could clearly hear the engine revs increase as I rode over them. This happened on many sets of these types of little whoops throughout the day.

I'm trying to figure out what shock settings needs to be adjusted to sort this out.

Before I noticed the rear wheel chatter, I was riding down another dirt road and rode over a giant pothole that was almost a foot deep and two feet long. I thought I was going to fly over the bars but the front end soaked it up fine, my first "oh sh$t!" moment didn't unsettle the bike at all. Forks may need some fine tuning but I'd like to focus on the shock for now because that wheel hop was terrible.

I think I want to soften the Rebound damping, and I'm getting confused about terminology and how different people explain solutions.
Any changes to Compression damping?

I will dive into the suspension thread, just wanted a place to start from to solve this issue. I guess I should go back to the same road and try different settings as well, but in general, which setting needs to be changed?

I'll check sag tomorrow. Will the sag increase during the break-in period?

Thanks in advance.

Screw the rebound adjuster all the way in on the rear shock, and then a click out.
This dampens the rebound as much as it can, so it doesnt "push out" so fast.

The valving of the rear shock is a bit from optimal, as you can dampen the rebound as much a really needed in the perfect world, so it will always kick a bit unless you get the shock revalved.

Thanks, I'm three clicks out now, which helped, will try one click. Gotta work on the front end this weekend as well, mushy.

VermontDualSport wrote:

Breaking in my new 2020 WRR on dirt roads for a few hours today and I noticed something about the rear shock. I wanted to check in before I start changing suspension settings. I'm 6' and 180 lbs. with gear. Newbie DS rider. 90% dirt roads, very basic trails while the bike is broken in.

Setting: Riding up a moderately steep dirt road around 25mph. Lots of little whoops across the road 2-3 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart.

What happens: When I rode over the little whoops, I felt a lot of chatter in the rear and the rear wheel came up off the ground probably just an inch or so. I could clearly hear the engine revs increase as I rode over them. This happened on many sets of these types of little whoops throughout the day.

I'm trying to figure out what shock settings needs to be adjusted to sort this out.

Before I noticed the rear wheel chatter, I was riding down another dirt road and rode over a giant pothole that was almost a foot deep and two feet long. I thought I was going to fly over the bars but the front end soaked it up fine, my first "oh sh$t!" moment didn't unsettle the bike at all. Forks may need some fine tuning but I'd like to focus on the shock for now because that wheel hop was terrible.

I think I want to soften the Rebound damping, and I'm getting confused about terminology and how different people explain solutions.
Any changes to Compression damping?

I will dive into the suspension thread, just wanted a place to start from to solve this issue. I guess I should go back to the same road and try different settings as well, but in general, which setting needs to be changed?

I'll check sag tomorrow. Will the sag increase during the break-in period?

Thanks in advance.

eveybody has ther own special setup, I like soft suspension until it bottoms then I bump it up a little , I run 100mm of sag, I like to run my rear low, I like soft tires for dirt 12 front 15 rear if no rim locks then fill them to 20 for street use,

Took the plunge and sorted out the rear and the front end today. Couple of tries and it rides like a different bike now. Front end doesn't push through turns, feels firmer and stays planted, can carry more speed through turns. Rear wheel hops much less over road whoops. I'd call it 90% good and I'll leave it there for now while I move on to gearing and a Power Commander to deal with the jerky throttle response down low.

To test the setup, I tried a few Class 4 roads for the first time ever, that was the most fun I've had in a long time, huge grin on my face. Thanks everyone for the help, this site is a fantastic resource.