150lbs..you need to eat a few cheeseburgers..loL! jk.. i think the stock factory settings are setup for a 180lb rider.. or maybe 160.. cant remember, its in the manual. your pretty close tho in weight. may not need much adjusting at all. maybe a few clicks to soften the suspension if anything.

 

I'm screwed at 280lbs hehe. At some point I would like to re-spring both ends plus re-valve the front. Sounds like a winter project to me.

 

2010 z1000. Stock suspension I'm 6' 290 .I ask some guys about setting the suspension on the bike was told it's probably close for my weight. I duno. Comparing my 06 gsxr 1k to my z I think the z handles better IMO.

 

There's no single setup for any person. I'm 270lbs and my preload is basically wound all the way in on the rear and about halfway in the front.

I've got 30mm sag front and 40 on the rear with comp/rebound to suit.

If I had the money to throw at it I'd replace the shock and spring as the rebound adjustment has minimal effect at higher preload settings.

Forks are fine.

 

lets talk

hi i am 5,6in 15st
all normal setting find them ok and i run diablo tyres with normal pressures

 

2012z1000-You can thank the USAF for keeping me slim. With regular PT(physical training) testing I've got to keep myself in shape. Running, cycling and occasional gym visits help.

BennyV-You are totally correct in that there is no single setup. I simply wanted to get an idea out there as a running tally on who has their suspension where. This way, for ex, I could set mine up in a similar fashion if you and I weighed the same. It would make for a decent starting point, IMO.

 

i hear ya.. i work with a young kid who is in the military and is very similiar in size to you.. he may be 140lbs even loL! at least youll have one of the fastest Z's because of your size alone..loL!

 

I've had my 2010 for a month and binned the rear shock already, I've had a Maxton made to suit my weight. The same as this:

I'll get the forks done once my wallet's recovered.

 

DougUK- NICE!! How do you like it?

 

I've not been out on it since fitting. It's been a month of constant rain, so I fitted all the parts in my sig during the last two weeks. I had to remove the tank and airbox so I just fitted the lot in one hit. I've just got the front sprocket to change and I'm done, I got a spare nut and washer just in case.

 

My suspension has been adjusted for my weight. Before that, everything was stock. Since the adjustment, the Z feels much more snug when going through the curves and overall less mushy.

Not only that, but when we did the Tech Tip for Suspension, we used my bike :

TopEnd.tv - Setting Suspension

 

I've been thinking about adjusting mine...I'm 65" and 180lbs, I think I need to stiffen things up a little.

Sent from my DROIDX using Motorcycle.com Free App

 

MisterX--Great video. My only question is how did they determine the "optimal" sag given the weight of rider? Is there a chart somewhere stating this?

 

I weigh 195, so I also need to stiffen mine.

 

I have a 2010 with stock suspension. I have it set as follows (and I am 5'9" 175lbs.):

Front preload - 10 turns out from full stiff
Front rebound - 2 turns out from full stiff
Front compression - 1.75 turns out from full stiff
Rear preload - 25mm of thread showing above collar
Rear rebound - 1.75 turns out from full stiff

These were recommended settings from Sport Rider Magazine. I have found that they actually work really well for me - it is a bit stiff if you like a plush ride, but I prefer fast riding, which requires a stiffer set up. I was actually thinking to myself on the way home last night, how well the suspension works...they recently repaved a road I ride down, and they did a HORRIBLE job, as it is more like a washboard than a road. Surprises me how the bike hits bumps and BAM - it settles immediately.

Here is a link to the Sport Rider Suspension Set up Guide. Section 6 will give you the numbers for suggested settings for nearly ANY bike...

Sport Bike Suspension Tuning Guide - Sport Rider Magazine

 

ive been debating about doing mine as well, however when it comes to that stuff i have no clue what to do. i feel as if the stock setting is great but im sure if i did a tad adjustment it would prob be better.
im 5.7 and weigh 170.

 

Ok, so I grabbed the recommended measurements posted above and went out to the garage and got to work. Turns out the factory settings are very close to those recommended, and they are for a 150lb rider.

I weigh 180 but not sure which direction to go, and on which measurements. I would think a little MORE preload would be correct, but what about rebound and compression damping?

What tool allows you to adjust the lock rings on the main rear spring? The user manual actually says to let the dealership adjust that!! WTF. I'd like to stiffen mine up a bit, I think it's too soft for my weight.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but honestly, you're not experienced enough or knowledgeable enough to toy with your suspension settings. There can be drastic effects if you get it wrong. It can make the bike dangerous.

My suggestion would be to take it somewhere to get it set up for you.

However, yes, you will need slightly more preload on the shock, but the forks should be pretty close. You'll need slightly more rebound on the rear also. That said, you're better off having too little rebound than too much. Too much will compact the suspension over consecutive bumps and potentially leave you with no suspension travel.

The tool you need for the lock rings is a C-Spanner and you'll need to remove the shock from the bike to do it.

The ONLY way to set up your suspension is to do the measurements and go from there. I strongly suggest you get some help with this.

 

Thanks. It looks like you just loosen the lock ring with the C-Spanner and adjust the main nut to get the right sag, then tighten the lock ring back up.

With that said, I just enlisted my wife's help and measured my rear sag at 46mm--recommended is 25-30mm for the rear I believe. So as suspected the rear is way too soft for my weight.

PS, this TopendTV thing shows them adjusting the rear sag on a Z1000...
http://topend.tv/techtips.php?id=8

 

Yeah, you'll need to wind in the rear preload a fair bit. 25-30mm is a bit low. That's more track sag figures. Aim at around 35mm rider sag with 5-10mm static sag and you should be in the ballpark. Just don't go overkill on the rebound. You want about a 1 second stroke with no bouncing at the top.

Also note, it's pretty difficult to do the preload adjustment on the Gen3's without removing the shock from the bike (Which is pretty easy with a car jack).

 

I see in the shop manual how you remove the rear shock, the only hangup seems to be having the jack attachments that will support the bike...have you done it before w/out the specific attachment called out in the shop manual?

 

So far, all I've managed to do is set sag. Here's what I've come up with.

5'9", 150lbs

Front:
Started at 120mm, fully extended
Once on the bike(with rear stand), and bouncing up and down a few times I managed to get a reading of 87mm. After adjustment, the reading was 93mm. To achieve this, I ended up 10 turns out from the FULLY LOOSENED position. For reference the original position was roughly 4.5-5 turns from the FULLY LOOSENED position.

Rear:
Started with an initial reading of 610mm fully extended. Once sitting on bike(again with rear stand) and bouncing on it a few times I got a reading of 580mm. After adjustment, the reading was 590mm.

More to come later on.....

 

Paco, that sounds too stiff. Watch the video linked above in this thread.

 

Fuzzy-I'm a little "fuzzy" on your thoughts. The front and rear sag have been set between the 30-35mm and 20-25mm respectively. I think I'm spot on, no?

I watched that video twice. What is completely omitted from the video is the riders height and more importantly the weight. That being said given my measurements(and I may be totally incorrect with my math) I should have a front sag of ~32mm and a rear sag of ~21mm.

 

My apologies, i misread your front setting the first time. Your back setting of 20mm seems pretty stiff though! I'm no suspension expert, just going off what I've read.

Also, I went back and looked at my shop manual and it does in fact say that you need to remove the rear shock to adjust it on the 2010+ models.
:screwy:

On another, but related note, the manual says this about the rebound damping adjustment: "To adjust the rebound damping force, turn the rebound damping adjuster until you feel a click"

Well, I tried to turn it clockwise (Hard direction) until I heard a click (manual says the seated position is turned fully clockwise and has a picture) but I never did and started to booger up the adjustment screw so I quit. :dontknow:

 

I'm 220 and I had to have stiffer springs put in the front and rear. I have a suspension shop 30 mins away from me that does it all for me so I can't say how many clicks. He basically tuned it for my weight.

for the people that are around my weight and heavier who still have stock springs, doesnt the suspension feel too soft???? My rear was crazy soft stock from the dealer.

 

Okay, cause you had me scratching my head there for a minute, LOL. After my brief ride(before any adjustments) it did feel to me that the rear suspension was a bit mushy. I'll make the further adjustments on the damping and see how it goes.

DaBeagle

 

I've done it a couple of times just levering the right side against the sidestand and cabling the front brake closed. It's a bit dodgy, but it works.

 

Suspension set up.

According to the manual, the Z comes set up for a 150 pound rider. That being said, I think the factory set up is too harsh. I'm about 200 pounds and I think the factory sag was just where I like it: about 34% of full scale travel. If you are 150 pounds, set the sag for your weight first, then mess with the damping. So far I have softened the front compression and rebound damping and the rear damping about a click or so and the bike is feeling well planted and just a bit on the "plush" side, which is where I like it. I could imagine that with a 150 lb rider the suspension feels really hard.

 

I ended backing off the preload 2mm in the front, so 8 turns from full LOOSE. Also on the front, I backed off on both comp and rebound 180degrees.
On the rear, I backed off the preload a full turn. Lastly, 180 degrees on the damping.

I'm thinking it's still too harsh for me. Although a bit plush...if I ride for two days straight I end up with my back hurting me. I swear it's my kidneys.

I plan on taking measurements again to double check the sag. As for the compression and rebound adjustments....I'll post up on my findings as to what I end up with.