Dave moss tweaks for Stock eighth gen suspension

Discussion in '8th Generation 2014-Present' started by thecat, Feb 15, 2016.

  1. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Just thought I would this with this forum.
    I was fortunate that at last nights club meeting where Dave moss was a guest speaker that he chose to demonstrate suspension setup with my bike. How good is that!

    He asked first of all my settings were stock as per the owners manual and I said yes.

    So before a healthy crowd, he did his famous fork bounce test and it was clear to all the stock setting was way too slow. So out came the screwdriver and after a couple more tests, we could see the rebound action was way better.

    He checked the rear shock next and the stock rebound setting was too quick. He made it harder and got its return action similar to the front. But when he then pushed hard and quickly released in the middle of the bike, we could see there was still an imbalance. It's the preload, he said. The stock setting was too much. So he turned the preload down.
    The bounce test on the bike showed us then the front and rear moving down and then back up in unison or at least as good as it gets with stocks suspension with just over 5000kms done.

    I rode the bike home and felt such a vast difference for the better in the overall behavior of the bike. This morning I checked the settings and they were the following

    Front preload four grooves showing. rebound was now plus half turn softer than stock of one turn from hard. Rear rebound turned in hard by between quarter and half turn. Stock as per manual is 3/4 turn out from hard so the marks match. Rear preload is now at four ( with the softest setting counting as one). Manual says stock setting is seven clicks from full soft.

    The bike now feel taut and together, steering is quick and sharp and bumpy corners do not unsettle the bike. To be fair the stock settings gave good response compared with other bikes I have ridden but moss' tweaks take it to another level. I took my wife pillioning this morning ( just jacking up the rear preload) and she noticed the difference in quality of the ride. For me there was reduced effort with the bars as the front suspension was soaking up everything better than the stock settings. Overall the tweaks have transformed the bike and raised the fun factor.
     

    Attached Files:

    Shawn Mehaffey likes this.
  2. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2011
    Messages:
    6,479
    Likes Received:
    949
    Trophy Points:
    143
    Location:
    Anaheim, Ca.
    It's amazing what a little tweaking can do. Its unfortunate that the stock suspension on the older VFRs is limited to just preload and maybe rebound on the rear shock, but even just setting sag can make a big difference.

    Very cool that your bike was chosen as the demo. When I did my Total Control Class a couple years ago, they picked my bike (My Ducati) as the demo and although the sag was set the comp/rebound was way off! A couple of clicks here and there and viola! Almost a whole new bike.
     
  3. fatbastard

    fatbastard New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2015
    Messages:
    194
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    NSW Norah Head
    Map
    Thanks for posting that thecat, I've only done about 1600 km on the bike so far and have been thinking about some adjustments as our roads here are seriously shitty. The stock settings do feel a bit harsh and this just makes my mind up to have a little play.
     
  4. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    You're welcome. Moss emphasized safety for road riders and suspension setup was one of the keys. With it set right, he told the group there would be less fatigue and you could enjoy riding from the added confidence in the bike. Not saying one has to cane every corner but it would improve the bikes ability to deal with bumps in corner and be more stable. He decided preload on the back was set too high by trying to lift the rear after resetting the rebound and seeing an imbalance between the front and rear after the push in the middle test. There was no give when he tried. He said the shock needed a certain amount of 'dead space' and he loosened the preload until he got about an inch or a bit more. It was a new term to me but I think it relates to static sag. From his method I reckon getting the rebound right on both ends is the first two steps. Then use preload to set sag. Bear in mind I weigh 63 kg without my gear on. Cheers
     
  5. mj8411

    mj8411 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2015
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    What about us poor saps who bought the standard model...

    I have adjusted the rear shock's rebound towards the hard side but I didn't think preload would make that much of a difference; I'm only 165 lbs. I'll play around with it but without the ability to adjust any of the front it may be difficult to dial it in. I was thinking about better springs and thicker fork oil might help out the front.

    Thanks for the input.
     
  6. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    I think the most important thing is to have both ends working in unison as the starting point. As I described, once he got the rebound right at the rear, I just needed to pump up the preload when I carried a pillion and the ride was just as good. moss did say that if balance cannot be found given riding style and rider weight, then look at different weight fork oil and/ or springs ( in yr case for US standard models) or revalving and so on and so forth.
     
  7. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2011
    Messages:
    6,479
    Likes Received:
    949
    Trophy Points:
    143
    Location:
    Anaheim, Ca.
    Thecat pretty much said it but if you're really interested in improving your suspension check out fellow VFR member Jamie Daugherty's offerings: http://www.daughertymotorsports.com/v4section.html

    I've had all 3 of my bikes suspension systems redone by him. On my 5 Gen I went a little more than a rebuild as I also added the rebound adjusters to the forks and got a Penske shock for the rear. For my 6 Gen and Ducati, I just had him do a rebuild on the stock gear with new springs, valves and shim stack. It's been a great return on investment, even the 6 Gen with its limited adjustments was greatly improved!
     
  8. Abandoned Track

    Abandoned Track New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2015
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Thanks for this great info. I understood all of the settings except for the rear rebound. Does this mean 1/4 to 1/2 counter clockwise turn from the hardest setting?
     
  9. fatbastard

    fatbastard New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2015
    Messages:
    194
    Likes Received:
    26
    Trophy Points:
    28
    Location:
    NSW Norah Head
    Map
    Thanks for that mate, I weigh 85.5 without the gear and while it's less than the 92 I was, it's still likely to make a bit of a difference.
     
  10. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi
    I rechecked the rear shock setting. Dave has set it 1-1/2 turns out from full hard on the rebound. The previous rider had set it up for his racing style. But I had assumed incorrectly that the rebound setting was at stock as the punch mark and reference mark was aligned. Obviously it had been set softer hence the bounciness when Dave tested it. My apologies for the confusion.
    The bike was a Honda demo ridden by former world super biker Aaron slight and reports I read said he did nowt to the suspension settings except crank the preload up on the rear. When I bought the bike, I saw that he had done nothing to the front from stock settings, while the shock preload was set at the fourth line from full hard.
    To recap, turn the shock rebound setting to full hard and then back it out counterclockwise 1-1/2 turns.
    This would mean Hondas stock rebound settings for front and rear are way too hard.
    Please share your experience with these settings by Dave. It would be interesting to hear what you guys think!
     
    OTTOMAN likes this.
  11. Abandoned Track

    Abandoned Track New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2015
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    1
    Got it! This seems correct now. Will post my experience later. Not sure about the front being too hard, but the rear sure is with the stock settings.
     
  12. smoke4ndmears

    smoke4ndmears New Member

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2011
    Messages:
    101
    Likes Received:
    10
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Maryland
    Map
    Just wanted to chime in on this, I'm running these settings and the bike feels much more composed in all regards. Thanks for putting them up.
     
  13. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Glad they are working for you. Bet you find your hands are more relaxed and find less fatigue now. Once you are used to the new setup, and are adventurous, try raising for forks by 5mm, no more. The bike will steer sharper. I have since reduced it to just 3 mm and feels a little quicker which is enough for me. Bestest
     
  14. ldog

    ldog New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2016
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi Guys
    New to forum, just picked up a 2015 VFR800F , red of course, and great info on suspension set up. I am just confused on rear spring pre load, is that 4 clicks in from full soft or 4 lines in from full soft ?

    thanks
     
  15. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Four clicks in from full soft.
     
  16. ldog

    ldog New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2016
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Thanks thecat
     
  17. Thumbs

    Thumbs Member

    Country:
    United Kingdom
    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    1,582
    Likes Received:
    1,096
    Trophy Points:
    143
    Location:
    Bath(ish)
    I set my suspension up to your settings, transformed the bike, now handles very well ......thank you thecat
     
  18. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Happy that the info is helping. Cheers
     
  19. Allyance

    Allyance Insider

    Country:
    United States
    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2013
    Messages:
    3,522
    Likes Received:
    391
    Trophy Points:
    128
    Location:
    East Bay, California
    Map
    Great info, even I felt an improvement!
     
  20. thecat

    thecat New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    58
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi allyance. Glad the settings work for you too. Certainly, it's a base setting and you can adjust according to your respective weights. So if you need to adjust preload then adjust rebound accordingly. I have found little turns of the preload on the forks and and a click or two of the shock need rebound adjusted but slight turns to get balance back. It just makes the bike fun to ride now. Cheers
     
Related Topics

Share This Page