| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
I've read several articles on how sensitive the Buell is to proper suspension setup. Since I've always been satisfied with how the Lightning felt, I never bothered to check the suspension. After reading this article at Motorcycle Daily: http://motorcycledaily.com/20october06_buell.htm and the suspension tuning article recently uploaded here (and in Fuell magazine) I decided to check my own suspension. I discovered that only the front preload was set to the recommended setting for my weight. Front rebound and compression damping, along with rear preload, compression and rebound damping were all off. It was a simple process (with the included rear shock spanner and screwdriver) to change all of the settings to match the factory recommendations. WOW!! What a difference! Although I was happy with the way the bike felt before, just those few simple tweaks make the bike feel VERY different! Much more sure-footed in bumpy turns, and it feels far more stable in the smooth ones as well! I wish I did this sooner. Now I can't wait for next year when I fully plan on putting it back on the track at Pocono Raceway! Before spending money on engine mods to make your bike faster, spend a few minutes checking out your suspension first! (Message edited by jaimec on November 26, 2006) | ||
| Surveyor |
What Jaime said.........you are soooooo right. (Message edited by surveyor on November 26, 2006) | ||
| Diablobrian |
Good stuff Jaime! Thanks for sharing your experience. It will help someone out there. | ||
| M1combat |
Exceedingly true  . For the way I ride I've found that an extra notch on the rear preload and a little less damping on the rear work well. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Jaime: If you go to Pocono, the East course is the best for a Buell. It has limited straights, compared to the other layouts. All of Pocono is VERY bumpy, so you may even want to dial up the suspension a little after riding a session or two. You will have fun at East and be able to pass lesser riders on faster bikes. You will hate the FUSA course, you'll be tapped out on the banking and guys will be buzzing you at 165mph. It is brutal. If you pass someone in the infield you are guaranteed to be stuck behind them again on the banking, then spend the rest of the lap trying to get around them again. | ||
| Jaimec |
I've only ever done the East Course. Twice with Reg Pridmore's C.L.A.S.S. and every time since with Keith Code's California Superbike School. Just signed up for Level 4 on May 14th. See http://tinyurl.com/tv6jj for photos from this past year. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Has anybody put any laps in at Mid Ohio? I'm going to do my best to do a track day, and Mid Ohio is the only track in the area. Any info would be great! | ||
| Bueaddicted |
I know the suspension is not right for myself, but I haven't had the courage to start playing with it. I wish I knew local Buell riders that knew how to change my suspension... According to all this is supposed to be very easy, but I must be mechanically "dead"...  | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I have "problem" with my suspension setup. The buell is my first bike, so I have no point of reference. I really don't know if my Buell is at an optimum setup or not. I wonder if anyone has similiar problem and/or there is a solution. I guess I will just have to change settings carefully and see how it feels. | ||
| Slaughter |
Fresno - have you setup your suspension by the manual's recommendations for your weight? Then you ought to read Highbee's table of setting suggestions for preload and damping adjustments. That will do wonders for getting a poorly handling bike "in the ballpark." From there, Higbee has suggestions for further tuning based on type of riding you do. You can find it here on Badweb in the KV somewhere - I'm too lazy to look it up but it's been posted a number of times and is always good. Any more adjusting and fiddling is probably best done just a tiny bit at a time - and only after your bike is handling pretty well. Each time you make an adjustment, ride it through the same few turns quite a few times before making another change. You really have to "sneak up" on suspension settings a little at a time | ||
| Jaimec |
The link to the suspension article in Fuell is in my first post in this thread. No need to go looking for it. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Slaughter, Yes, I have setup the bike recently and I think it is by Highbee's figures. I will certainly check it out. thanks for your help. I think the bike is close to being good as I recently went into a 270 degree downhill onramp "hot" and the bike seemed to carve the turn precisely, where before I would run wide. OR this could just be me becoming a better rider--looking thru the corner (not looking at the curb I am about to run into) & countersteering. See my problem!!! | ||
| Slaughter |
Fresno - I feel kinda stooopid - not chasing the links above that referenced the suspension setting charts and descriptions. The Higbee Settings that I had referred to are posted by Wyckedflesh in the thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/107725.html#POST779561 I've also collected a couple articles on suspension setup and tuning that I have used over the past couple years that I've put into some Word documents that I'd be glad to email to you if interested. Not all the answers but some good guidelines. If the bike feels good to you now, there's no reason to go making many changes unless you have specific things you're adjusting to achieve. If you want (or if anybody else wants them) - email me and I'd be glad to send you the articles. PM me through my profile here or email at: ****** qedqed at verizon "dot" net ****** I still haven't really read the Higbee article from this month's Fuell posted in the link above. (dangit!! gotta get my butt to my mailbox!) (Message edited by slaughter on November 27, 2006) | ||
| Diablobrian |
The current Higbee article is mostly of value to beginners and laymen trying to figure out what does what, why and what to adjust to make the suspension do what they want it to do. For veterans it is of lesser value, but it is still a nice "refresher" read. Shawn is very good at putting relatively complex actions into plain english. | ||
| Jaimec |
Just a caution: In my owner's manual, there were three different suspension charts. One for the XB12Scg, one for the standard XBs, and one for the XB12Ss. Make sure you're looking at the right chart. | ||
| Spatten1 |
Jaime: I looked at your pictures, and it looks like you had great time. One suggestion- consider crossroads bars. It looks like you are all scrunched up on the bike. I couldn't corner my bike at all without putting scary input through the bars until I got the Crossroads zero degree bars. They are the biggest improvement I've ever made to any bike, well worth the $250, especially if you are going to the track. The XB is very twitchy if you don't ride it perfectly smoothly, and that is much easier to do when the grips are more forward and lower, especially when you are moving your body around on the bike. | ||
| Jaimec |
I've thought about it, BUT a majority of my riding is spent stuck in Long Island traffic at just over walking speed. Having the more upright posture is VERY useful for seeing over the minivans and smaller SUVs, as well as not putting too much weight on my hands. For the few times I have her on the track, it's a decent trade off. And that's a Lightning Long... it isn't nearly as "twitchy" as the standard Lightning models... |
