rear suspension settings?

[Colezombie]

I was reading the reviews of the 08+ 250s in the stickys above. In the review from a guy named gary, he noted that he was 170lbs and had his suspension set on #3. I'm quite short and weigh roughly 100lbs. Is there a better setting for me than stock?

I bought my ninja from a friend who is most likely in the 140lbs range..

[kkim]

at 100lbs, I would suggest the lowest setting on the shock.

[Alex]

Agreed.

[kkim]

here's a link on how to adjust the rear shock preload...
http://www.ninjette.org/wiki/Setting..._Shock_Preload

[Colezombie]

Thanks guys, so would the lowest setting make it not so firm?
and how do I know which setting mine is on currently?

[scotty]

The lowest would make it less firm. To find out where yours is, just take a look at it. You want it on the lowest setting, like Kelly had said.

I keep mine on th highest setting. I read somewhere on the site that it's better for the curvs. I haven't been able to test this for myself due to this white stuff all over the ground. Blah..

[Colezombie]

Originally Posted by scotty

The lowest would make it less firm. To find out where yours is, just take a look at it. You want it on the lowest setting, like Kelly had said.

I keep mine on th highest setting. I read somewhere on the site that it's better for the curvs. I haven't been able to test this for myself due to this white stuff all over the ground. Blah..

haha, yeah I havent been able to ride either lately, but if you say highest is better for curves, then I may keep it high.. I love taking curves so if that helps ill keep it that way.. but Ill check it out and do a little testing.

thanks for the info and help!

[kkim]

they make the shock preload adjustable to suit a range of riders. while a firmer setting does help the suspension during faster cornering speeds, the feature to adjust is to match the shock to the rider's weight and riding style.

My recommendation is to start at the softest setting, then bump it up after a few rides, then keep doing so until you feel the shock is too stiff, then back it down one notch.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by kkim

they make the shock preload adjustable to suit a range of riders. while a firmer setting does help the suspension during faster cornering speeds, the feature to adjust is to match the shock to the rider's weight and riding style.

My recommendation is to start at the softest setting, then bump it up after a few rides, then keep doing so until you feel the shock is too stiff, then back it down one notch.

Well said. All last year I kept mine on the 2nd setting. I weigh only 120-125pounds, but the wife likes to ride with me at times so the 2nd setting seemed ideal.

[Colezombie]

Originally Posted by kkim

they make the shock preload adjustable to suit a range of riders. while a firmer setting does help the suspension during faster cornering speeds, the feature to adjust is to match the shock to the rider's weight and riding style.

My recommendation is to start at the softest setting, then bump it up after a few rides, then keep doing so until you feel the shock is too stiff, then back it down one notch.

Sounds good to me, Ill give that a shot

[wyckedflesh]

Originally Posted by scotty

Well said. All last year I kept mine on the 2nd setting. I weigh only 120-125pounds, but the wife likes to ride with me at times so the 2nd setting seemed ideal.

if your adding a passenger, you should be bumping the preload up at least 2 positions. Its harder for us fat gits to do this, so usually I don't ride 2 up or the front end gets light way to quickly and makes cornering sketchy.