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Heres a little information I found about suspensions. It might help to better understand what your bike is saying to you without saying it.

Suspension Setup Tips

TROUBLE SHOOTING

Various tracks or trail systems may require slightly different settings. Changes made in settings

should be done 1-2 clicks (LS Comp. / Rebound) or 1/4 - 1/2 turn at a time (HS Comp.).

COMPRESSION:

Compression damping controls how soft / hard the fork or shock is when compressed. Some

machines have only a Low Speed Compression adjuster on the shock. The Low Speed

Compression damping is adjusted by clicks. Other shocks today also have a High Speed

Compression adjuster in which the damping is adjusted by turns. Low Speed&High Speed

Compression are terms that relate to how fast the fork or shock is being compressed. High Shaft

Speed creates more damping and is not necessarily relative to motorcycle speed. High Shaft

Speeds can be created at low motorcycle speed. Examples of High Shaft Speed obstacles:

square edged bumps, slap down landings, lipped out jump faces, logs. Examples of Low Shaft

Speed obstacles: rolling bumps / whoops, steep jump faces.

REBOUND

Rebound damping controls how quickly the fork or shock comes back up after being compressed.

The Rebound damping is usually adjusted by clicks.

BOTTOMING:

Is caused by lack of compression damping or too soft of a spring rate. Correct by adjusting the

compression damping stiffer until bottoming is under control. If you run out of adjustment and

bottoming still exists consistently, a stiffer spring rate may be necessary. If spring rate is correct,

too much compression damping is added and harshness is felt in forks then oil level can be

raised to increase bottoming resistance. (Generally 10cc / 10mm (consult your shop manual for

oil level ranges).

SHOCK - Is caused by lack of compression damping or too soft of a spring rate. Correct by

adjusting the compression damping stiffer until bottoming is under control. Note: If the

components have a lot of time on them, bottoming or a soft, springy feeling can be an indication

that a service or rebuild is necessary.

HEADSHAKE / HARSHNESS:

FORK - Is generally caused by too much compression damping in the forks. Soften compression

1-2 clicks. Lighter riders for the size bike you are riding may find it necessary to change to softer

fork springs. Too much rebound damping can also cause a "packing" situation in which the

damping holds the forks down in a stiffer area of the travel than is needed. Soften rebound

damping 1-2 clicks. Other causes can be:

a) Improper fork installation or binding of the fork.

b) Improper shock set up which causes the fork to ride too far into the stroke.

Too much air pressure in your front tire will cause some deflection and harshness feel to

your forks. We recommend only 11-13 psi of pressure.

BACK END KICKS SIDE TO SIDE:

SHOCK - Generally caused by too much compression damping on most types of terrain. Too

much compression damping on square edge terrain can cause the back end to kick side to side

and/or lose traction. Also, too much rebound damping will cause this because the back end is

held down in a stiffer area of the travel which in turn makes it too stiff for the bumps it's hitting

(packing).

BACK END KICKS STRAIGHT UP:

SHOCK - Generally caused by too little or not enough rebound damping. Slow rebound damping

1-2 clicks. Note: In some applications rebound affects compression damping. Adding too much

rebound stiffens the shock damping, decreasing rebound too much softens the shock damping.

VARIOUS TRACKS:

HARD TERRAIN / BLUE GROOVE TERRAIN

Generally adjust compression as soft as possible to handle square edges while still having some

control with bottoming.

INTERMEDIATE / LOAMY TERRAIN

Generally adjust a little stiffer for the softer terrain, jump faces and bottoming. Optimum settings

still should be on the softer side for square edges and rutted corners.

SOFT / SANDY TERRAIN

Generally, stiffen compression and rebound. You want the bike to ride on top of the terrain,

allowing the forks to ride up a little higher.

ROCKY / ROOTY TERRAIN

Generally you need compression very soft to absorb the sharp hits. Rebound is generally

softened to provide a very responsive feel and ride.

Good stuff!

Great stuff for the newbies

Which way do you turn to soften rebound

Hard or slow is clockwise, Soft or fast is ccw.

Thanks, it feels like my front end never grips when corning always whats to jump out of the berm.

Good info. i've been looking for a decent guide like this.

suspension can be a mystery. My question thou. Is the stock setting a good balance between the front and read suspension for an average weight person?

the guide should be a sticky too.

my front end goes straight up when i jump with a paddle tire on. I'm wondering if I can compensate for that with the clickers or is it just a paddle tire thing.

sirmish wrote:my front end goes straight up when i jump with a paddle tire on. I'm wondering if I can compensate for that with the clickers or is it just a paddle tire thing.

Rotating mass thingy...tap the rear brake slightly.

~ wrote:...tap the rear brake slightly.

Uggghhh...that is Sooooo late 90's!!

~ wrote:

sirmish wrote:my front end goes straight up when i jump with a paddle tire on. I'm wondering if I can compensate for that with the clickers or is it just a paddle tire thing.

Rotating mass thingy...tap the rear brake slightly.

Could be body postioning as well when leaving jump face. aka seat bouncing

Still a little confused with rebound. (Motosicko wrote "Hard or slow is clockwise, Soft or fast is ccw") lets say the front tire tends to wash out around turns especially if the dirt is a little pebbly and the front end rises too fast off jumps, could rebound settings affect this if so would I want to adjust it harder or softer?

crf45 wrote:Still a little confused with rebound. (Motosicko wrote "Hard or slow is clockwise, Soft or fast is ccw") lets say the front tire tends to wash out around turns especially if the dirt is a little pebbly and the front end rises too fast off jumps, could rebound settings affect this if so would I want to adjust it harder or softer?

Clockwise on the rebound...Harder...Slowing the speed of the rebound.

thanks, I'll give it a try next time out.

CRF916 wrote:Heres a little information I found about suspensions. It might help to better understand what your bike is saying to you without saying it.

Whicked... Thx!