mx racers - rear suspension question

[Razorback]

for those who race mx, wondering how your compression and rebound is set. i have stock rear suspension (plan on getting converted to aftermarket after the season), and i have my compression and rebound set on the hard side. i figured this would be best for jumping and whoops, but i've found that on certain jumps, especially ones with a kicker-type lip at the top, the rear end wants to pop up pretty agressively and send the front end down too much.

i'm sure i don't have this setup correctly. how would you recommend i set these? both soft, both hard, comp hard/rebound soft, comp soft/rebound hard? i'm just not real comfortable with understanding how the different suspension settings work together on varied terrain. your help is greatly appreciated.

[beerock]

it all depends on your weight and riding style .

you cant really ask a question like that and expect to get a answer.

just set the rear shock so the seat doesnt kick you and so the shock doesnt bottom

[Razorback]

thanks for the response. riding weight is about 165. to your point, i guess what i'm asking is for opinions on how to, as you say, set the rear shock so the seat doesnt kick you and so the shock doesnt bottom. i assume for this, the compression needs to be on the hard side to keep from bottoming, and the rebound needs to be set a little softer to keep from rebounding so quickly? the rebound is what i don't fully understand. the owners manual says to set it harder for rough conditions and softer for smooth conditions. i don't know, just seems a little confusing. i ride pretty hard and am in good physical condition, so i'm not as worried about getting a "plush" ride as i am about the quad bouncing unnecessarily and causing me to get off track.

[Evan]

I would set it so it doesnt rebound at all. I am like you I can deal witht the roughness but not the kicking the back end up on a jump, which equals nose diving. I would turn it all the way out, its counterclockwise I belive. Dont set your compression all the way hard, set it so you bottom out on only one jump on the track, that way you get the softest ride. Hope this helps.

[Razorback]

thanks X-Rider. that's exactly what i wanted to hear. i appreciate the help.

The compression on my rear is normally 1 to 3/4 turns out from full soft,,and the rebound has been a nightmare since i had the rear shock rebuilt,,having it almost all the way out like X-rider mentioned is what I've pretty much gone too..

[Razorback]

thanks rico. what type of rebuild did you get? also, if you don't mind me asking, what is your riding weight (with gear) to get an idea of how your setup for compression would be close to what i might need to do. i want to get my rear shock converted after the season, and i've only seen info on the mac daddy kit.

First off I'm at least 205 or more with riding gear,,yes I have a beer gut,,but I've got alot of money invested in it so I'm gonna keep it..:eek: LOL

Ok,,here's the shock info...I had Terry marcum rebuild my stock rear shock,,No ssd, ZPS, etc. I had it revalved, resprung, new oil and gas, etc...pretty much the works done on it for $250. If you wiegh less than say 180 lbs you don't need the new spring so that's about $75 off the $250.. It was a major,,major improvement over stock,,so much smoother on trails and it really shines on the MX track,,but I had it built around MX racing..well well worth the money in my mind. and If you did plan on goin with SSD or ZPS dual rate springs can be added later without changing valves or anything else. I also run my compression adj.. on soft for all types of riding,,trail riding it's almost all the way in,,your supposed to never turn the compression or rebound adjusters all the way in,,leave them at least a half a turn out,,and that's what I do when trail riding..hope this info helps..:D

[400exBro]

is the comp. adj. the threaded preload on top of the shock?????
I found only the preload adj. and the one at the side from that were you take a flat head and turn it either hard or soft, i think that is rebound, right???
Also i have my preload, almost all the way down and the reound on soft, would this work for mx, i feel that does work well but he ride is a little harsh on whoops, so what do you think i should run?
Bro

[Razorback]

rico - thanks a lot for the details. i trust and value your opinion and appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. and, yes, you should protect that investment in your gut :)

bro - the comp. adj. is a small screw on the rezzie on top of the rear shock. the rebound is a small screw on the bottom of the shock. i may be mistaken, but the only way to adjust preload is the large ring nut on the shock itself. i don't know about your preload question. i suspect many people don't mess with that on the stock rear shock.

[Smoker]

www.customaxisshocks.com download the manual. You don't really want to play with preload unless your bike is sitting real low or real high when your sitting on it. The back shock should sag some while your sitting on it, the old magic number for rear shock was 100mm. :p

[seven]

I usually set up my front shocks first, Find a rough section a dial them in to suit your riding style. Then got to a small jump and see how the back feels. If it shoots the front of the quad up you need to set your rebound faster, If it dives to much you will need to slow down the rebound. Hit the same jump till it will handle the way you want it then ride it for a while and adjust the shocks. If your rear shock doesnt match the actions of the fronts you will be fighting with it on every jump.

[SGA]

I run Hare Scrambles, but I like to go over to the local MX track and air it out once in awhile. Yes, adjusting the rear shock can be confusing. The top screw is the compression, it controls how fast the shock compresses down. The lower screw is the rebound. It controls how fast the shock comes back up. Boths screws will turn out about 3 turns from the full closed (in) position and are set about 1-1/2 turns out from the factory. The rebound screw really should be stamped "F" and "S", Fast and Slow, Instead of "S" and "H", Soft and Hard. The more the top screw is turned in, the slower it compresses down. The more the bottom screw is turned in, the slower it rises back up. The rebound screw is the one to get right, if its too far out, it will kick you off the seat. Most people after adjusting it find it's set pretty good from the factory, 1-1/2 turns out from the full closed position. If your bottoming on jumps alot, its time for aftermarket help, such as front shocks and a rear rebuild.

The stock shocks are only so good, If you set them so they won't bottom out, they ride like a brick. If you set them to ride decent, they bottom. good luck.

[Razorback]

good explanation.

Originally posted by sgaexer
Most people after adjusting it find it's set pretty good from the factory, 1-1/2 turns out from the full closed position.

I've been wondering what the stock position was for about 3 weeks now..thanks Sgaexer:D

[SANDTRAX361]

i set my rear shock all the way stiff and the rebound as slow as it goes and it doesnt kick me at all. just be on the gas when you leave the jump and on the gas when you land and you would be very suprised how much smoother it is. you would think its scarry but now its scarrier to land and take off off the gas.

[airheadedduner]

I run the least amount of preload possible because it makes your shock rebound much less. Play with the compression till you get a happy medium between taking big jumps and little bumps. With your rebound it is all up to preference. The slower rebound the less your shock kicks and bounces off jumps, but..... if your rebound is to slow your shock will pack up in whoops and braking bumps and bottom which sux. I run a stock rear shock with an LRD long traval kit with valving and an eibach spring. Being you are running an ssd front shock I would go with a tcs scs conversion. It cost 450, coverts your shock to zero preload(ssd), and makes your shock fully adjustable including ride hight adjustable. Hope that helps:D

[Nausty]

Originally posted by RazorbackEXRider
thanks for the response. riding weight is about 165. to your point, i guess what i'm asking is for opinions on how to, as you say, set the rear shock so the seat doesnt kick you and so the shock doesnt bottom. i assume for this, the compression needs to be on the hard side to keep from bottoming, and the rebound needs to be set a little softer to keep from rebounding so quickly? the rebound is what i don't fully understand. the owners manual says to set it harder for rough conditions and softer for smooth conditions. i don't know, just seems a little confusing. i ride pretty hard and am in good physical condition, so i'm not as worried about getting a "plush" ride as i am about the quad bouncing unnecessarily and causing me to get off track.


The reason it is slower on the not so rough conditions is meant to be like smoother areas for a better ride and you want high rebound on like whoops and stuff so you can keep the wheels tracking on the ground. The reason it is kicking the rear end up to high is because on the kicker ramp it is practically preloading your suspension for you on the take off and the rear is rebounding faster than the fronts against the face of the jump as you take off. The rebound doesn't really make a differance i don't think for the landings I don't think if so it isn't that big of one and if you want a way to keep the front end from dropping so much try to stay back farther on the take off to keep the rear shock from rebounding as fast and to help the fronts rebound faster. And you can always gas it in the air which makes a differance.

[SGA]

Originally posted by airheadedduner
I run the least amount of preload possible because it makes your shock rebound much less. Play with the compression till you get a happy medium between taking big jumps and little bumps. With your rebound it is all up to preference. The slower rebound the less your shock kicks and bounces off jumps, but..... if your rebound is to slow your shock will pack up in whoops and braking bumps and bottom which sux. I run a stock rear shock with an LRD long traval kit with valving and an eibach spring. Being you are running an ssd front shock I would go with a tcs scs conversion. It cost 450, coverts your shock to zero preload(ssd), and makes your shock fully adjustable including ride hight adjustable. Hope that helps:D

I agree 100 percent.
Heres a tip, set both screws to the center of their settings. make a few laps. Then turn the compression screw all the in.(hard) Make a few laps. Note how it rides. Now turn the comp screw all the way out. Make some laps. Set the comp screw back to the center and do the same for the rebound screw. (the more the rebound screw is turned in, the slower the rebound) This lets you know the full range of your suspension and helps you set it up correctly.