Okay let me start by saying my last bike was a Yamaha warrior. Perhaps the extra weight makes for a smooth ride. When I first got my s3 I rode it for a few weeks without adjusting anything. I thought it was quite harsh to ride, it would feel like I was on a wooden road at times. Finally I checked the setup and all the damping was set to hard. I changed it to the standard setting. It feels better and I get a lot better response from the suspension. However it is still fairly harsh. On a seemingly smooth road I feel the bike bumping around under me. Is this typical for the s3 (maybe all sportbikes)? The feeling is not that bad, but my main concern is that something is wrong with the bike, especially as it is bouncing around in a corner.
Rough Ride
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Joined
·
429 Posts
I transitioned to sport bikes after 80,000 miles on cruisers. One of the things that took me a long time to realize after that transition, is that A cruisers suspension is set up for one mode, while a sport bike has to be a balance of at least two. On a cruiser you are always more or less upright, so the suspension can be set up for upright travel down a highway. Easy. On a sport bike the effective weight on your suspension can easily double between running straight down the road vs corner carving. If bike plus rider weighs 600 pounds, you can either idealize your suspension to carry 300 front and 300 rear, or for aggressive cornering and accelleration situations you can set it for 600 pounds front and 600 pounds rear. (Hard braking, hard cornering, wheelies) No one setting is going to feel perfect at both 300 and 600 pounds on a given suspension link. So you can basically soften everything up to feel good running down the highway bumping over occasional expansion joints, but then you must expect the bike to move more than you will wanted to in the corners. Alternately you can harden everything up such that when you are in an extreme situation the bike remains totally planted and under perfect control, but the commuting bumps are going to punch you straight in the taint. Everything else is a sacrifice of one extreme to make the other extreme more comfortable.
Really expensive suspension has separate adjustment for low and high speed suspension response, and therefore basically low and high pressure situations. Very few motorcycles come stock with that suspension. Ours is one that has "fully adjustable suspension" for one situation at a time. This is why suspension professionals get paid good money to help us set up the best compromise!
Really expensive suspension has separate adjustment for low and high speed suspension response, and therefore basically low and high pressure situations. Very few motorcycles come stock with that suspension. Ours is one that has "fully adjustable suspension" for one situation at a time. This is why suspension professionals get paid good money to help us set up the best compromise!
Hi Fakie.......... you didn't mention anything about your weight, riding style or the types of roads you're riding on. Check out some basic suspension set up, starting with setting your suspension sag.
You have to set your bike up with the correct sag (adjusting the pre-load and making sure the spring rates are correct for your weight), then check that the rebound and compression damping were set at the recommended factory settings. This gives you a starting point, a reference so you can then start making finer adjustments to suit your roads and riding style. This is where things can get complicated and a little deeper research is going to be needed.
I'm 200lb and I still found that my compression damping was still too harsh for everyday road riding. I was feeling every last bump and ripple in the road to the point that the bike was feeling very unsettled and wouldn't hold a line through turns. I backed off the compression damping a 1/8 turn and presto! Everything clicked into place. The suspension had some compliance and now tracks like it's on rails. I'm sure I could do a little more tweaking but that one small adjustment made a world of difference for me. If you're going to 'fiddle' then get a good book about suspension or do some reading on this and other forums. Only make small adjustments and only do one thing at a time - go and ride the bike on the same stretch of road and critically analyze what difference your adjustment made. It certainly helps to keep notes about what you adjusted and what difference it made to the way the bike feels and handles. Just go easy until you know what your adjustments have done to the handling of the bike.
You have to set your bike up with the correct sag (adjusting the pre-load and making sure the spring rates are correct for your weight), then check that the rebound and compression damping were set at the recommended factory settings. This gives you a starting point, a reference so you can then start making finer adjustments to suit your roads and riding style. This is where things can get complicated and a little deeper research is going to be needed.
I'm 200lb and I still found that my compression damping was still too harsh for everyday road riding. I was feeling every last bump and ripple in the road to the point that the bike was feeling very unsettled and wouldn't hold a line through turns. I backed off the compression damping a 1/8 turn and presto! Everything clicked into place. The suspension had some compliance and now tracks like it's on rails. I'm sure I could do a little more tweaking but that one small adjustment made a world of difference for me. If you're going to 'fiddle' then get a good book about suspension or do some reading on this and other forums. Only make small adjustments and only do one thing at a time - go and ride the bike on the same stretch of road and critically analyze what difference your adjustment made. It certainly helps to keep notes about what you adjusted and what difference it made to the way the bike feels and handles. Just go easy until you know what your adjustments have done to the handling of the bike.
Well I've just collected my 4th S3 (last one was a 2012) after a brief affair with a Street Triple and a Tiger 800 and man it's bumpy. I'm 187 pounds and I tried the soft settings, I. E. 2.5 turns for soft and still very bumpy. Following the advice above re compression I wound that out just half a turn and wow. Sorted! Thanks guys.
Joined
·
180 Posts
lighter rear spring, heavier front spring
Joined
·
180 Posts
a dangerous man only armed with knowledge
thank you kind sir:in love: now I'm a ninja suspension warrior, just need my *uking forks and shocks back from RaceTech.:crying:
Joined
·
1 Posts
I've got a 1050se 2010 plate.
It was the worst suspended standard bike I have had the misfortune to ride. Very hard, wooden feeling, no finesse.
I took it for a suspension set up locally, not much better.
Ended up a MCT suspension, complete rebuild, to my weight and riding style. well worth the effort, I couldn't have kept it otherwise, it really was THAT bad.
£600 odd quid though!!!
It was the worst suspended standard bike I have had the misfortune to ride. Very hard, wooden feeling, no finesse.
I took it for a suspension set up locally, not much better.
Ended up a MCT suspension, complete rebuild, to my weight and riding style. well worth the effort, I couldn't have kept it otherwise, it really was THAT bad.
£600 odd quid though!!!
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Join the discussion
