[c0_re]

OK First off I wanted to thank ZX-2R, 1Adam12 and Edawg636 for helping and giving me some great tips with for first oil change on this bike, Great replies guys many many thanks!

OK the reason I'm asking all these questions is cause I don't have a manual for my bike(03 636) (bought the bike with 900 Miles on it) nor do I have any friends\family that ride or no jack about MC's. So I apologize ahead of time for asking questions I should already know the answer too. None of my previous bikes had anything but rear preload\spring adjustment.

As we all know the 03 has some rock hard suspension, right now mine is set to about the middle of the range and the back end still seems to leave the road a little too easily taking bumpy corners, I did about 3 foot slide the other day and almost filled my shorts after I got back control.


So yea here it comes how do I adjust the compression and rebound damping on this bike and what should I adjust it too? Before I picked the bike up I asked the mechanic to soft up the rear and front all the way, but when I picket up the bike he said he just went in the middle so I didn't bottom it out. I'm just assuming he wasn't aware of the issues with he 03 636 being WAY over damped and was just trying to keep me safe or something alone those lines. Thanks allot everyone and I promise once I get this thing figure out I'll quit asking newbie questions. THANKS!

 

[01zx7r]

I can't help too much on the suspension but here it goes.. Turn the screw counter clockwise it will get softer, turn it clockwise, it will get harder. As for the manual, go to your local Kawi dealer, they can order you one for ~$13. I was in the same boat when I got my bike..

 

[spdrkt ZX7R]

Sportrider recomends these settings for your bike. You might also want to check our their suspension tuning guide. Its pretty good. It will explain the basics of suspension setup, but I have found that the easiest way to learn is to do it yourself. Exact setup depends on your wieght (in full gear), the type of riding you do, how aggressive you ride, ect...

I would suggest that you go by Sportriders settings (baseline) for a short while, and as soon as you get accustomed to them go to a road that you ride often, and adjust everything to full soft. Be careful when your suspension is set like this. The tires will not grip well and your suspension will have very little rebound and dampening so mistakes in your riding will be very noticable. Just do this to get an idea of what full soft suspension feels like. After you see what this is like adjust your suspension halfway between full soft and your baseline and ride the road again. This will give you an idea what the difference is when your suspension comes closer to being correctly tuned. I take tools to adjust my suspension all the time when I ride, and I would reccomended that you keep a small notebook to record all that happens i.e. settings, what each change did to feel ect... It's just a matter of tweaking and adjusting until you get a setting that feels comfortable and offers good performance characteristics.

Keep in mind I am not an expert on suspension tuning, but I have read plenty of articles on the subject. I'm just an above average amateur wrench that strives to know every aspect of my bike.

 

[1Adam12]

Sportrider recomends these settings for your bike. You might also want to check our their suspension tuning guide. Its pretty good. It will explain the basics of suspension setup, but I have found that the easiest way to learn is to do it yourself. Exact setup depends on your wieght (in full gear), the type of riding you do, how aggressive you ride, ect...

I would suggest that you go by Sportriders settings (baseline) for a short while, and as soon as you get accustomed to them go to a road that you ride often, and adjust everything to full soft. Be careful when your suspension is set like this. The tires will not grip well and your suspension will have very little rebound and dampening so mistakes in your riding will be very noticable. Just do this to get an idea of what full soft suspension feels like. After you see what this is like adjust your suspension halfway between full soft and your baseline and ride the road again. This will give you an idea what the difference is when your suspension comes closer to being correctly tuned. I take tools to adjust my suspension all the time when I ride, and I would reccomended that you keep a small notebook to record all that happens i.e. settings, what each change did to feel ect... It's just a matter of tweaking and adjusting until you get a setting that feels comfortable and offers good performance characteristics.

Keep in mind I am not an expert on suspension tuning, but I have read plenty of articles on the subject. I'm just an above average amateur wrench that strives to know every aspect of my bike.

Get a log book for your bike...It can be just your typical spiral notebook you use in school and write things down as you do them. I would keep a maintenance section with miles and things done and write down reminders.

Since you are working on your suspension and already know that your current settings are too stiff(too much damping) Record your current settings and notate how it felt to you. I would use the above suggestion to work on your suspension and get a feel for it.

If you have an extra $50.00 I would highly recommend getting this video or DVD from Traxxion.
Suspension for Mortals!

http://www.traxxion.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=SUS4V

 

[c0_re]

OK excellent advise everyone, those links to sportrider site will help a ton.

What I'd really like to know is where is the reb\comp damping settings on the front and back of the bike are actually located at.

 

[Edawg636]

I agree with the others that you should get a manual. It tells you how many clicks to adjust depending on what you are doing plus has all the pictures of what adjust the rebounding, spring preload and such. I got a manual on cd off of Ebay for less than $5. Its in Acrobat and I can print out what I want and throw it away if it gets dirty. Suspension adjustments are not something to monkey with if you're not sure what to do. Good luck.

 

[ZX10 Guy]

If you're not sure/confident in what you're doing, see if your local dealer will help you set your suspension for you. The first thing before you mess with all the rebound/compression settings is to set the preload on your suspension. This is accomplished by measuring how much sag you put on the bike from when the bike is standing by itself without any load on it. To do a preload adjustment WILL require at least two other people to do it. You sit on your bike, the one person holds the front of the bike steady so it doesn't tip one way or the other. And the last person does the measurements. Doing this customizes the bike to your body weight.

 

[ZX6RRNewbie]

Hi c0_re!!

Here is an article I found for a 2003 ZX-6R; I hope this helps!!!!

 

[c0_re]

WOW this is kick arse, thanks alot, even though for road use I know the 03 is just to hard I don't mind a little stiffness, atleast thats what the gf says. anyways thanks alot everyone again.