Help setting sag

rudolfs001

rudolfs001

Booty Hunter
(sorry if this is in the wrong sub forum)

I recently got my suspension refreshed and the techs changed up all my settings.

Is anyone (preferably East Bay) available sometime to help me set my sag? I don't have anywhere to suspend the bike, though I can use jack stands to hold it up by the frame sliders if there are no other options

I'm free pretty much all day every day.

Thanks!
 
Aware

Aware

Well-known member
Needs 2 people. Rider and a friend with tape measure. Maybe a second friend to hold the bike upright while you peel your feet from the floor.

Oh. And cable ties.
 
rudolfs001

rudolfs001

Booty Hunter
I have a rear and front stand.

The last time I set the sag, we suspended the bike from the ceiling to get the measurement to see the length of the suspension without any weight.

Either way, anyone in the east bay free to come help me out?
 
russ69

russ69

Backside Slider
rudolfs001 said:
...The last time I set the sag, we suspended the bike from the ceiling to get the measurement to see the length of the suspension without any weight...
Click to expand...

That is not how the sag concept works. It's the difference between the bike weight and the bike and rider weight not unladen suspension weight (measured as length of suspension travel).
 
EastBayDave

EastBayDave

- Kawasaki Fanatic -
2 people in a pinch works fine. Tape measure, stand up (unload bike), sit down, & measure both. I start at 1" unloaded & fine tune from there. Works; sometimes people overthink things.....

More if your a porker/less if your a featherweight...:teeth
 
clutchslip

clutchslip

Not as fast as I look.
russ69 said:
That is not how the sag concept works. It's the difference between the bike weight and the bike and rider weight not unladen suspension weight (measured as length of suspension travel).
Click to expand...
If you don't know the available travel, how do you know the bike sag numbers are correct? You don't. Either you need full travel numbers from the manufacturer, which are sometimes inaccurate, or you need to lift the bike to get those numbers. After you set the bike unladen weight to the correct sag, THEN the measurements are relative and you never have to measure the bike, again. (Unless there are mechanical changes.)

I can post how to set sag by yourself, but you need to be able to lift the front and rear off the ground (no, not at the same time).
 
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rick

rick

Well-known member
You don't need a stand to to measure they fully extended length - just tilt the bike onto one wheel and the kickstand. While the other wheel is suspended in the air take your measurement
 
easter bunny

easter bunny

Amateur Hour
rick said:
You don't need a stand to to measure they fully extended length - just tilt the bike onto one wheel and the kickstand. While the other wheel is suspended in the air take your measurement
Click to expand...

Just saying - if the OP is trying to do this solo, then tilting the bike on the kickstand and measuring the extended lengths is going to be difficult.

OP - it's more difficult, but if you crank the spring preload all the way up you can get close enough to full extension. Lift the forks or tail to see if you should maybe add a little. Then measure. You can set the front sag using zip ties on the fork legs. Rear is a little trickier but you can get it close by using a stick with a mark on it and setting it on the swingarm while reaching backwards.
 
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Honey Badger

Honey Badger

...iz a girl
Or just ride to a suspension shop like Catalyst and pay the money to have it done right the first time rather than mucking around with it...but I'm lazy and find suspension far too complicated to want to deal with learning the intricacies myself at this point - slowly learning it, but I'm not studying it....
 
stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
russ69 said:
That is not how the sag concept works. It's the difference between the bike weight and the bike and rider weight not unladen suspension weight (measured as length of suspension travel).
Click to expand...

not really.

Total Sag = Free Sag + Rider Sag.

the number u are commenting about is Rider Sag. most recommendations for sag are given in Total Sag, not Rider Sag. 30-35mm front / 25-30mm rear is the common recommendation and its good enough in most situations for sportbikes.

like clutchslip already said, its better to measure the extended length because of other inaccuracies. and u arent getting Total Sag without that measurement.
 
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russ69

russ69

Backside Slider
clutchslip said:
If you don't know the available travel, how do you know the bike sag numbers are correct? You don't...
Click to expand...
stangmx13 said:
not really...Total Sag = Free Sag + Rider Sag...
Click to expand...

I really don't feel like going through the whole "how to tune suspension thing". First SAG is just BS. It's a starting point for the real adjustments if you are of average weight (Japanese test rider). Then when you are on the track you'll still have to play with all those things until you get it right, solving issues such as side wall tire compliance (chatter) and that kind of stuff. The static measurement has limited use. I'll do a couple of laps at first knowing I'll need to start working the issues as soon as I pull in. So reference SAG is just a start. It's a way to get to a common starting point for the average guy. It tells you nothing about how the suspension will perform under load conditions. /END RANT

P.S. If it's a factory bike, just twist everything back to the standard settings and start testing.
 
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easter bunny

easter bunny

Amateur Hour
russ69 said:
The static measurement has limited use.
Click to expand...
Limited but useful. It's meant to set the suspension in the middle of it's total travel so there is equal room to both compress and extend.

russ69 said:
It tells you nothing about how the suspension will perform under load conditions.
Click to expand...
Agreed. That's down to spring rates and compression and rebound settings. Static sag is static.
 
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