Adjusting back shocks

[scra99tch]

How much should the fender drop to find the correct weight for adjustable rear shocks?

[malik]

Now there's an open ended question - it depends upon the bike, the shocks, the springs, your weight, & so on. Start with a static  sag somewhere between 10 & 15cm & experiment from there. And you'll need a mate or two to help with that - one to hold the bike steady, one to lift, while you measure.

[scra99tch]

I thought you could measure static height then sit and measure back of fender drop.

[Numbercruncher]

Now there's an open ended question - it depends upon the bike, the shocks, the springs, your weight, & so on. Start with a static  sag somewhere between 10 & 15cm & experiment from there. And you'll need a mate or two to help with that - one to hold the bike steady, one to lift, while you measure.

Any chance you left out a decimal point?

I know a full size dirt bike likes about 100mm of race sage with about 25mm of static sag but a street bike can't possibly need 10 or 15 cm.  That is like 4-6 inches.

NC

[pyoungbl]

This is always an interesting topic.  My understanding is as follows.  The total wheel travel is what is advertised and used as a basis for setting the rear suspension.  You get the base point by lifting the rear wheel off the ground and measuring from a point on the swingarm near the axle or from the axle itself up to a point on the frame.  The idea is to measure straight up from the axle since that's the point used by the manufacturer.  I put a patch of blue painter's tape on the frame and draw a horizontal line, then measure down to a point on the swingarm.  Now lower the bike so the wheel is on the ground and supporting the weight of the bike.  Measure between those same points.  That's the static sag.  Now sit on the bike and have someone measure between those two points...now you have the race sag.  It really helps to use metric measurements.  I would want my race sag to be between 20% and 30% of the advertised wheel travel.

On my V7 the travel is 100mm so I set the pre load to give about 30mm of sag when I'm sitting on the bike.

Bear in mind that all this is just a starting point.  In the end you want to adjust from this starting point in order to get the suspension working for you and your riding style.

Peter Y.

[roadscum]

How much should the fender drop to find the correct weight for adjustable rear shocks?

Take a look here for some general guidance: https://motorbikewriter.com/set-motorcycle-suspension/

Paul