Rebound, how much do I want?

[Narly R]

People on here say to set the rebound so you can push it down, and it will come back up slow, but cant this maybe cause "packing" of the oil for the shock, and over a small series of bumps, like whoops at the dunes, wouldnt it eventually not be able to keep up, and just bottom out? I mean you want the shock to extend back to its anitial position to achive maximum travel right? Or am I rong here?:confused:

[KY Woods Rider]

From a jumping perspective, a slow rebound is nice, because it gives a nice and smooth lift as you leave the jump. For someone who simply goes out and hits a couple jumps, a slow rebound works well.

However, the majority of riders will also be riding where there's whoops and any other types of repetitive bumps, and in those situations, a slow rebound can cause packing. If the rebound is too slow and the shock cannot extend enough before hitting the next bump, you're driving the shock deeper into the travel with each consective bump, which means you'll eventually either bottom the shock or it will get so low in the travel that it's extremely stiff. Of course some people can get away with a slow rebound because they simply aren't going fast enough to need a faster rebound, but if you're the type of rider who hits the throttle and attacks the bumps, a slow rebound probably isn't going to work very well.

As a general rule, when you push down on the quad and release it, the front shocks will extend almost instantly while the rear shock will extend more gradually. However, pushing down on the quad and watching how fast it comes back up won't tell you much about how the shock will perform in the real world. Of course if you push down on it and it pops back up so fast that you think it's going to lift the tires off the ground, then you probably need to be looking into a rebuild instead of adjusting a screw:D

The only way to set your rebound correctly is to ride in normal conditions and set the adjustments based on how they feel to you, because everyone's settings will vary based on their own riding style and the terrain they ride on. Compression and preload are easy to adjust and everything will work out okay even if your settings aren't 100% correct. Rebound is a different story, because being off just a small amount in either direction can cause you to have a very bad day. However, even if you don't really understand what the adjustments do and you've never adjusted suspension, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what works best when you're riding the quad. Of course you need to be careful and don't try a high speed run until you make sure the adjustment is going to work reasonably well, but if you aren't happy with how the quad handles over some bumps or jumps, turn the adjuster and try it again. If that helped but it's still not like you want it, then turn it some more in the same direction and try it again. If the adjustment makes it worse, then go the other direction and try it. After you've tried a few settings, you should be able to find something that works well.

[Berry]

i have my rebound all the way down. everyone that i know that has done it plus me, have never have any problems. it actually helped me in the woops, and i am one too attack them. i had my rebound way to far up and when i could go through the woops it would rick me around. so my friend told me too take it out so i did and it felt like a new shock! but, that is my opinion!

[yamblaster200]

I have a related question. On the stock 400ex rear shock the rebound says hard and soft, which one is fast and slow? I wanted mine to be faster cuz i was having problems with it packing up then the shock wouldn't be soft enough to stick the rear tires on the ground going over small bumps. It wasn't rebounding too fast and bucking. I've had quads do that and this is different. It's like the shock goes down in its travel then just gets too stiff to work like its suppose to. I turned the screw to soft i believe...counter clockwise about 1 turn and didn't notice anything.

[SnellCRP]

I have posted this before and I know its long, but it should help.

This will take awhile.

1st - set your sag

As a general rule of thumb, the race sag dimension should be about one-third of the maximum travel. Your bike should be at normal racing weight, including fuel and engine oil, and wear all your gear.

Put the bike on a stand and measure the distance between a fixed point on the axle and one on the chassis somewhere.
Then get on the bike (all gear etc) and have a friend measure the distance between the same two marks that you measured when the bike was on the stand.
Subtract the two numbers and thats your race sag. Try to start at about 1/3 of the max travel and adjust to your personal preference from there.

2nd - rebound

Find a relatively fast straight with braking bumps leading into the entrance of a corner. Reduce the rebound damping until the rear end begins to hop or feel loose, then increase the rebound damping just until the hopping or looseness goes away.
Find a jump that tends to launch the quad out not up. The rear end should absorb the face and then smoothly lift the quad into the air, but if the rear end compresses and then bounces off the face, add rebound.
Find some large whoops. The quad should track straight through the whoops with the rear wheel extending to the ground before the next impact. If it dosen't, it is packing and the rebound damping should be reduced! This is not the setup for sand its for mx dirt.

3rd - compression

Find a corner with acceleration bumps on the exit. The rear of the quad should follow the ground. If the rear end hops and considerably looses traction, soften the compression. If this fails soften the rebound slightly.
Find some rough sections, a large jump. The shock should bottom on the roughest section but it should not be a slamming sensation. Add compression to fight bottoming, but avoid going to far because the little stuff will beat you to death. Remember the adjusters have a primary effect on the low speed, so even a large change in setting may only affect bottoming resistance slightly. Remember bottoming your suspension is not necessarily a bad thing. You should strive to bottom off the biggest bottoming load obstacle on the track. Whew, my brain hurts

[twisted threads]

Originally posted by SnellCRP


1st - set your sag

As a general rule of thumb, the race sag dimension should be about one-third of the maximum travel. Your bike should be at normal racing weight, including fuel and engine oil, and wear all your gear.



The sag is the distance between the bottom of your frame to the ground right? Im new at setting up the suspension so I want to make sure im understanding what your saying.:cool:

[SnellCRP]

Sag is the amount that the shock compresses just by you sitting on it with full gear and all fluids etc.
Put the bike on a stand and measure the distance between a fixed point on the axle and one on the chassis somewhere.
Then get on the bike (all gear etc) and have a friend measure the distance between the same two marks that you measured when the bike was on the stand. Subtract the two numbers and thats your race sag. ;)

[Iamgone]

Does this work with the factory adjustable preload shocks or only with the aftermarket racing shocks?:p

[SnellCRP]

You still can adjust the preload by moving the lock rings above the spring up or down, but you probably won't be able to get as much sag as you would like for it to handle extremely good and still have good resistance to bottoming over the big stuff. With the stock shock you will have to find a medium between sag and bottoming resistance. With the aftermarket shocks you will usually have a soft spring on top to get the desired sag and a stiff spring on the bottom for bottoming resistance. ;)

[Iamgone]

Thanks Snell:p

[KY Woods Rider]

Originally posted by yamblaster200
On the stock 400ex rear shock the rebound says hard and soft, which one is fast and slow?

Hard = Slow
Soft = Fast

[Narly R]

WOW! Thanks a TON guys! sorry I havent been able to check back o this thread for a bit, but thanks for the info. I will prolly save it or sumthin, thanks.;)