How To Check Motorcycle Suspension Sag | MC Garage

Did I miss the number of sag or you didn't mention it? How many millimeters supposed to be for front and back?

Skip the rocket science....if it's too stiff & you're sore then dial it down (soften it). If it's too wiggly & mushy & you feel a lack of control in the bumpys & squirrelys then tighten it up (harden it up). Go in small increments until you feel in control with quick good response & you're not sore & achy the next day. Then you've got it dialed in. Good luck & happy trails from a late 60's boomer who's been riding for 50 years.

im a brand nea rider at 59. i just want to ride. i barely tip toe on my 21-mt07. i have a lowering link. what harm would it do if i installed the link and lowered the front by an 1"(inch)?

is that dude even breathing?

Easily the most clear cut no BS video out there. Thank you

Should all preload come off before doing any measurements?

Great video! If the sweet spot for rider sag is 1/3 to 1/4 of total travel... how do I measure the total travel for both front & back?

I'm sorry but for the rear suspension, if you do it this way the measurement will be completely off! If it's between 25 and 35% on the front your measuring a short distance, say 35cm, while on the rear you're measuring 60cm, obviously the percentage for the rear will be almost halved in proportion. You need to take a reference point, if possible, of the same distance. Alternatively, if you take the front as the standard measurement, calculate the rear by always using 35mm as L1 also for the rear

Dave Moss

Great video

Isn't there a fault in his conclusion?
"If you removed all preload and you still have too much sag, the spring is too stiff"
Should'nt it be "all preload out, but still not enough sag? = Too stiff"??

Why my rear sag calculations is always wayy off?

Is front fork sag adjustable without having adjustable preload? I'm having new springs installed on my bike and was wondering if the correct sag could be set during that process without the forks having adjustable preload.

Averaging is a nice twist of being precise I haven’t seen in other suspension how tos 👍🏼✌️

Where is 92 came from? I was confused.

i removed all preload and the rear still won't sag enough

You say if you take all preload out on forks and you still have 2 much sag your springs are too stiff / think you may have said something unintended, 🤔 as I would think you could add preload if that was the case !

Outstanding video. At the beginning you said adjusting suspension is one of the very first things you should do to a bike. One thing I may have missed is, why is this so important? Is this specifically to determine if your springs are right for rider weight? (rake, trail, ride height are "in the right range"?) So then, in a sense, when bikes are sold with stock springs, this is to cover the masses, not a specific individual? And this rider sag measurements are critical to identify if the spring you have is right for you as the individual rider, not the masses? Sorry, suspension is very new to me.

Dave moss also says that forks have a bottom out point which is listed in the manual, mine is 110mm travel

i still dont know how to set up suspension.

I get measuring the full piston exposed. But don't you have to consider what max travel would be ? Therfore having some piston area that wouldn't be considered going insider the fork when bottomed out

Tank should be full ?

Dave Moss secretly hates you. All those teasers he puts out. I’m not paying for no suspension set up. Sorry Dave. Thanks MC garage. Best video ever.

wow thanks!

Where do I find the tolerance figures for my bike? Great info.

?????

I have a question. How do you know the total travel in the first place? From the manufacturer’s data or the owner’s manual?

What if I change my suspension to an aftermarket product? Will the travel still be the same?

It kinda bothers me and I appreciate your answer. Thanks.

we should mention the different of spring. a progressive spring has a lot softer and that would have nothing to do with another spring rate coil down there. i have two progressive spring rear shocks they both can reach the average sag number which is 1/3 to 1/4. but the different is shown how a softer spring act when i wear full gear adding weight like 7 kgs and a softer spring will spread more rider sag number than a stronger one. of course on riding it is easier to get the feel which one is softer.

you say 43mm is more than you want. but how does one know what is desired?

My owners manual says to turn the adjusters counterclockwise to add preload, and to turn it counterclockwise to decrease preload. So, as long as I turn it counterclockwise, I'm good. Thanks Kawasaki!

Measure from axel to lower triple clamp ?

how a calculation motorcycle weight and suspension

We should know the total length of the rear suspension at that point, that is not the same that in the spring. In my opinion it's not a good manner to calculate rear sag, you should know the mm of travel of the rear suspension (let's say 130mm) and do the measurements (around 20-25% of SAG, about 30mm) very near the rear sock absorber to do an accurate calculation.
Best regards.

You say you adjust the 43mm to the "appropriate" range. How do I know if the range is in fact appropriate? Is that in the manual as well?

My rear sag for some reason is equating to 4.05 as a number and my values are l1=62.6 l2=58.5 l3=58.6

I don't understand this. The preload should be 1/3 of total travel. But the travel is on the shock and the dimensions I'm taking are X centimeters away from shock. I'm taking some random point on the frame to measure to. But picking different points on the frame will give me different sag numbers.
Or is my brain farting?

excellent video. it was worded and presented well

you didn't measure total travel only the travel with rider on bike ,

Fantastic video, straight to the point and well explained!

NO, i didn’t get it. you didn’t show any adjustments at all. all you did was measure and keep on yappin

Hi! Thanks for great video! A question ; l'm 135lb and use kx250f, my sag is 65. I can't make sag higher because the spring level is on almost max. If l lose the screw of the spring more, the spring starts to moving and wiggling. What should l do to make sag higher? Thanks.

Great video, your method is easy to apply. Question though, I watched a few videos by Dave Moss, and he presses down on the bike and raises it slightly, and he goes about adjusting, all without a rider. What’s the difference, is his method as accurate...is he some sort of “suspension whisperer”?

My bike's front showa upside down suspension goes down quickly but when doesn't come back to its first initial position. Is it normal?

That front stand is a bit of a fail because the bike isnt level

To the point and no waffle

How do you determine how much sag you're after? Why is 43mm in this example "more than what you're looking for?" 43/135 = 31.8% of total travel.

Setting your sag should be done annually. Don't forget to adjust your levers and foot controls too.