DR Z400S suspension Q's

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slyman

Guest
I am the proud owner of a new DR-Z400S. Although I am not new to motorcycles I am new to modern motorcycles; my previous bikes were older 2-strokes that had no suspension adjustments. My new bike has a plethora of adjustments! The owners manual does a great job of explaining HOW to adjust the suspension, it doesn’t tell you WHY to adjust the suspension or what EFFECT those adjustments have.



So….could someone please explain the following adjustments and give me some idea what effect they have. I’m 6’0 and 200 lbs.



Front fork compression

Front fork rebound

Front fork air pressure



Rear high speed compression

Rear low speed compression

Rear rebound

Rear spring preload



Thanks for helping a newbie and I hope to see you on the trails!


PS Took a ride up Eagle Ridge with my brother on Sunday. Had a great time. Nice intermediate trail with some challenging bits. Well, challenging for me anyway!:cool:
 
DRuZer

DRuZer

Member
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Hey Slyman
Since no one else has entertained this one, and I'm about the same weight, I'll give it a shot...

I too hadn't ridden modern bikes much prior to getting my S early in '03. I rode the bike a few outings as it was, but thought it was too soft (and it is for real rough stuff), so proceeded to preload the front and rear springs. I have since gone back to the stock preload, since it seems to suite the bike better. 'Sides, if you aren't bottoming out occasionally, you might as well ride a bike with less travel.

The damping settings (compression, rebound, high and low speed) all increase by turning the adjustment screw(s)IN. The stock position works pretty well on everything (good compromise), so I'd start there and ride it until you find something you want to tune for. For example, last year when riding Harrison Lk. road, I found the forks responding sluggishly on the washboard, making the front wheel wash a bit in rough corners. I decreased the rebound and compression damping, but haven't been back so I'm not sure if I have gained anything.

Another time (in hindsight) it might be interesting to diddle the settings while trying to ride through a clear cut. Next time, I'll dial in lots of compression damping (low speed) to keep the bike from falling into every hole.

Odd that with all those adjustments that there's not a hundred religously held opinions out there! Anyone?

See you out there,
Guy:hb:
 
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Guest

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kitchencabinet wrote:
if you haven't already tried thumpertalk you could try here for general dr z400 info.

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=25

or here for suspension

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=47

ken.
Click to expand...
:clap:Good links.

It's very hard to put into words what the different adjustments actually do. I've got a great article on it that puts into layman's terms. I'll see if my old scanner will work and post it up if I can.

As the late great Mike Hailwood once said about one of his race bikes,"there's a thousand suspension settings, but just 1 right one":hb:
 
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slyman

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Thanks!

Great links and good information. I should of thought of TT myself. :p

The front end wasstiff over small bumps so I softened the compression damping for the forks 4 clicks and it made a difference. A lot smoother now.

I have to check the sag next andrecord all the measurements. That will be a good rainy Sunday project with a few wobbly-pops. :hb:
 
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