Bling vs Bang

[DLIT]

I think suspension is the most crucial. I've ridden on the track with stock suspension that wasn't set up, stock that was set up and full Ohlins. The feeling you get from a properly tuned and/or upgraded suspension is great. More stable on the brakes, mid corner and exit. And you could have the best tires on your bike, a badly tuned suspension could eat through 'em in a matter of a few sessions. And getting your suspension tuned is probably the cheapest thing you could start out with...but you could see some great results from it. Power will make you faster in the straights. Suspension will get you through the corners faster.

I still have yet to try anything other than stock gearing, but I have a feeling it'll make a world of difference in regards to leaving corners and accelerating, as the R6 down low is a bit lacking. A couple extra teeth should help aleviate that.

[smileyman]

Gearing can be a bit of a compromise. and it probably isnt as crucial nowadays with FI'd bikes that pull through a much wider band of torque than with bikes in the past. Its just another one of those advantages you want on your side...

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by smileyman

Gearing can be a bit of a compromise. and it probably isnt as crucial nowadays with FI'd bikes that pull through a much wider band of torque than with bikes in the past. Its just another one of those advantages you want on your side...

Again, I totally agree. Back when I had carb'd bikes, I almost always changed the gearing, now never.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by DLIT

I think suspension is the most crucial. I've ridden on the track with stock suspension that wasn't set up, stock that was set up and full Ohlins. The feeling you get from a properly tuned and/or upgraded suspension is great. More stable on the brakes, mid corner and exit. And you could have the best tires on your bike, a badly tuned suspension could eat through 'em in a matter of a few sessions. And getting your suspension tuned is probably the cheapest thing you could start out with...but you could see some great results from it. Power will make you faster in the straights. Suspension will get you through the corners faster.

I still have yet to try anything other than stock gearing, but I have a feeling it'll make a world of difference in regards to leaving corners and accelerating, as the R6 down low is a bit lacking. A couple extra teeth should help aleviate that.

I agree on suspension upgrades. Stock suspension is a huge compromise the engineers make to try and cover every type/size of rider that may purchase the bike. I always get the springs done and tune the suspension to my style and taste at the very least.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by Amber Lamps

I agree on suspension upgrades. Stock suspension is a huge compromise the engineers make to try and cover every type/size of rider that may purchase the bike. I always get the springs done and tune the suspension to my style and taste at the very least.

Careful..........According to some people, spending money on suspension is a waste unless you race.

Never mind that your suspension affects you no matter how fast or slow you're going.......

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

Careful..........According to some people, spending money on suspension is a waste unless you race.

Never mind that your suspension affects you no matter how fast or slow you're going.......

Oh I'm one of those people to an extent... I have never seen the point in spending big money on Ohlins or whatever on a street bike. I replace the springs to match my weight and adjust the pre-load, etc and leave it alone after that. I'm not going to fiddle with my suspension every time I ride to match what road I'm going on so why mess with a race suspension for the street? Just an opinion...

[OTB]

And for most folks, that's OK, too.

A properly sprung and set up bike is about 90% as good as it gets....

The only folks who really NEED that other 10% are the guys who ride at 99%... the ones who find their forks chattering, or rear tire tearing or hopping on the rough stuff, or pushing the front end.

Or who load there bikes heavy for long distances.

Or who want a softer, more compliant ride with control.

Or , who've set their bike up properly and find it still is starting tankslappers on bumpy exits.

Or who are lighter than the theoretical "average" and get tired of harsh response even with a custom spring on those 500 miles backroad days........





Ps: lighter riders really do get the worst of it; most jap bikes are overdamped on compression, and a lot of harshness gets transmitted to lighter riders.

[Amber Lamps]

Originally Posted by OTB

And for most folks, that's OK, too.

A properly sprung and set up bike is about 90% as good as it gets....

The only folks who really NEED that other 10% are the guys who ride at 99%... the ones who find their forks chattering, or rear tire tearing or hopping on the rough stuff, or pushing the front end.

Or who load there bikes heavy for long distances.

Or who want a softer, more compliant ride with control.

Or , who've set their bike up properly and find it still is starting tankslappers on bumpy exits.

Or who are lighter than the theoretical "average" and get tired of harsh response even with a custom spring on those 500 miles backroad days........





Ps: lighter riders really do get the worst of it; most jap bikes are overdamped on compression, and a lot of harshness gets transmitted to lighter riders.

Okay and you call Race Tech, spend a couple hundred and get the forks/shock re-valved or you change the oil weight... BTW if you are getting tank slappers on the street on a re-sprung and "correctly set up" bike...Well, I'm not sure what modern bike you're talking about but have you ever heard of a steering damper? Seriously, what street riding requires a $5,000 set of Ohlins suspension components?

[OTB]

Originally Posted by Amber Lamps

Okay and you call Race Tech, spend a couple hundred and get the forks/shock re-valved or you change the oil weight... BTW if you are getting tank slappers on the street on a re-sprung and "correctly set up" bike...Well, I'm not sure what modern bike you're talking about but have you ever heard of a steering damper? Seriously, what street riding requires a $5,000 set of Ohlins suspension components?

Who said you need to buy Ohlins? Not me. And I didn't say just "on the street".

What you said was "I replace the springs to match my weight and adjust the pre-load, etc and leave it alone after that." That's fine. For you. And your bike. For where you ride.

Sportbikes aren't the only bikes in the world...

About half of the suspension work we do is on touring, SM and standards with people who have specific issues. Unless someone has deep pockets and a need for bling, I try to talk folks into Racetech, Elka or Penske (1/2 the price of Ohlins) for the rear and Racetech g2-r ($179) and a correct spring set for the front.

That and a sag set and dialing in comp and rebound front and rear will do it for most.

The other half of the work we do is split pretty evenly between WERA and AMA guys doing serious racing, and everyday riders who split their riding between street and track and are finding the limits of what they have in a stock set-up during their trackdays. Not everybody has more than one bike, and for some, they "need" the versatility that a top-notch set-up brings to the table. That set-up might be a $2600 Ohlins fork, or it might be a new cartridge from one of the other folks (about 1/2 the price).

Note that the title of this thread was "Bling vs Bang".

And yes, sarcasm aside, I've heard of a "steering damper", and a steering damper fixes the symptom, not the problem...it's what you go to after all else fails. If you've never been to a high-speed track that's had the lines on the exits to the turns rippled from high HP (1000+) slick-shod race cars the week before, you wouldn't appreciate the need to use equipment that has separate high and low speed damping adjustments and the absolute difference that a REALLY well set up system can make.

I realize that most folks think that performance increases should be "formulaic"; i.e. the bike does THIS, so change THAT...at the limits of the envelope it seldom is so, ergo my initial post...