Suspension tuning / respring for Loudon 7/25

[Ductard]

Hi,

I just bought a new (to me) track bike about a month ago off of this forum. It's an '04 GSX-R 600.

Long story short, I'm thinking about entering my first race at Loudon on 7/25, and I was hoping to get the problems below straightened out beforehand.

If I remember, the guy who had it before me was ~180 lbs., I'm around 205 lbs. The bike was originally set up by GMD Computrack, but who knows what the guy weighed that it was set up for (I did not buy it from the original owner).

It has an expensive looking Penske rear and some internals in the front that GMD put in it.

I don't know very much at all about suspension, but he had some zip-ties around the front forks, which I pushed up before riding the other day.

After some hot laps, I came back and they zip-ties were maybe an inch or so from the bottom of the fork tube. I've been told that might actually be bottoming out b/c the fork doesn't actually go all the way to the dust boot in a full stroke.

Add to that, the bike gets a little rough under full braking at the end of the straight, I feel some bumps in the track that people say I shouldn't, and I sometimes get some funky feeling at full lean - which I originally wrote off as "feedback" in my inexperience, but I'm thinking might also be related.

I don't know whether the suspension can be adjusted, or if it needs to be resprung.

I want to do a session with PRS the Friday before (hopefully on the adjusted suspension) -

Is there somebody you guys suggest for me to go see? Not to name names, but I've heard some people are more cost effective than others...

Ideally I could drop the bike off with somebody next week and pick either pick it up Thursday evening or meet them up at Loudon Thursday or Friday before the race (the bike is stored at NYST, and keeping it at my place is a little problematic).

Any thoughts / suggestions?

[GingahNinjah]

Do Penguin on friday and Register for the weekend and have GMD setup your suspension for you at the track in Center 15 stop by center 2 and say hi.

[Kurlon]

Call Peter Kates NOW so he'll have springs on hand for you.

[Pigman]

Don't waste your time as of now.....you can WIN races on a Bone stock bike (NV or AM) and its not bottoming out so who ever told you that is wrong. The Zip tie should stay about an inch off the botom of the fork leg and if it is all the way down then your bottoming out. You are on a bike that has a worked front end so you will be getting more feed back than normal. You could click it out a bit and stiffen it up. At this point you should be more worried about other things (line, passing, breaking ect) and just ride it as is and once you start getting faster and getting a feel or the feedback I would just ride it....and save some money as there will be a few more thing your going to have to buy LOLOLOL. The bike is more set up than you need for now...

my 2Cts flame away...

[Chippertheripper]

I too would just run what I've brung the first weekend, and send the stuff out immediately after.

[Ductard]

I too would just run what I've brung the first weekend, and send the stuff out immediately after.

Not 100% opposed to this - but if it's not right for me, what's the upside to waiting?

BTW - the guy that told me it might be bottoming out (and damaging the cartridges) was Brett from TPM. Maybe it was closer than an inch, but he seems pretty knowledgable and saw them first hand vs. The people on here who are disagreeing.

I don't need to be any faster to know that it feels awful when I'm braking on the front straight and I'm wondering if I won't go through more tires than I need to by putting off the adjustment, potentially offsetting any cost savings...

[Chippertheripper]

The upside is not rushing/scrambling.
There are enough stresses to getting ready for your first weekend.

It won't be as simple as dropping springs and going. You gotta re-set everything up again.

[The Snowman]

Don't waste your time as of now.....you can WIN races on a Bone stock bike (NV or AM) and its not bottoming out so who ever told you that is wrong. The Zip tie should stay about an inch off the botom of the fork leg and if it is all the way down then your bottoming out. You are on a bike that has a worked front end so you will be getting more feed back than normal. You could click it out a bit and stiffen it up. At this point you should be more worried about other things (line, passing, breaking ect) and just ride it as is and once you start getting faster and getting a feel or the feedback I would just ride it....and save some money as there will be a few more thing your going to have to buy LOLOLOL. The bike is more set up than you need for now...

my 2Cts flame away...

I too would just run what I've brung the first weekend, and send the stuff out immediately after.

If it's your first race weekend, there's so many more things that will be occupying your time. Run the races on the bike as it is and assess what may be required.

If you're really worried about the suspension THAT badly, bring it over to PK at GMD and have him perform a $25 push and click service. Talk PK up about how you feel on the bike and what it's doing. If after all that, you still feel you need something, talk to him after the weekend and get a plan going.

[Ductard]

......once you start getting faster and getting a feel or the feedback I would just ride it....and save some money....The bike is more set up than you need for now...

my 2Cts flame away...

The only thing I'm going to flame you for is for making assumptions on how fast I am :-p

Just kidding - I know I have a ton to learn.

I don't know how fast I run at Loudon - last year was my first track season and I ran 3 days there on a bike that I was very scared to throw down.

As just a "shits & giggles" number - does it make sense to *try* to extrapolate times from other tracks? For instance, if I was running ~1:41-1:42 at NYST, the track record is 1:31 (Set by some AMA rockstar I forget who) - so 111% of the track record. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the track record at Loudon is ~1:11 - 111% of that would be ~1:18. So, assume that since NYST is a new track, assume if people knew it as well as they did Loudon the record would be 1:26 - same calculation gets me to 1:23.

Now before anybody jumps on and points out the obvious (that it's how well you know the track, that every track is different, etc, etc) I'm just trying to get within a row of apple trees assuming I get a good feel for the track the day before the race. A row of apple trees for me is probably 2-3 seconds or more - where I know for some of you a row of apple trees might be a couple tenths of a second.

I know this is somewhat mental masturbation - guess I'm just excited to be at my first race and a curious to know if I can expect to be at least a little competitive in the novice class or whether I should be prepared to be a moving road-cone out there.

[Ductard]

If you're really worried about the suspension THAT badly, bring it over to PK at GMD and have him perform a $25 push and click service. Talk PK up about how you feel on the bike and what it's doing. If after all that, you still feel you need something, talk to him after the weekend and get a plan going.

That sounds like a good plan. Thanks for the advice.

[hondarider102]

I agree with Chuck, go give Pete $25, he will bounce on it, set it up and be able to tell you if you need to change springs or the valving.

[Pigman]

The only thing I'm going to flame you for is for making assumptions on how fast I am :-p

Just kidding - I know I have a ton to learn.

I don't know how fast I run at Loudon - last year was my first track season and I ran 3 days there on a bike that I was very scared to throw down.

As just a "shits & giggles" number - does it make sense to *try* to extrapolate times from other tracks? For instance, if I was running ~1:41-1:42 at NYST, the track record is 1:31 (Set by some AMA rockstar I forget who) - so 111% of the track record. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the track record at Loudon is ~1:11 - 111% of that would be ~1:18. So, assume that since NYST is a new track, assume if people knew it as well as they did Loudon the record would be 1:26 - same calculation gets me to 1:23.

Now before anybody jumps on and points out the obvious (that it's how well you know the track, that every track is different, etc, etc) I'm just trying to get within a row of apple trees assuming I get a good feel for the track the day before the race. A row of apple trees for me is probably 2-3 seconds or more - where I know for some of you a row of apple trees might be a couple tenths of a second.

I know this is somewhat mental masturbation - guess I'm just excited to be at my first race and a curious to know if I can expect to be at least a little competitive in the novice class or whether I should be prepared to be a moving road-cone out there.

There is a ton of factors that you are omitting...so just post back up after you hit your first race weekend and see if this theory is still Valid...

[CBR929RE]

first race weekend you can pit in the garage right next to GMD. its the perfect scenario for you.

[Gecko]

first race weekend you can pit in the garage right next to GMD. its the perfect scenario for you.

That is no longer the novice garage. Center 18 is rented out. My understanding is that the novice garage is a few doors down towards the Seacoast garage. I'm not sure of the actual garage number though.

[Kurlon]

There may not be an actual novice garage at this point, FYI. That said, ask around and you may find room.

[Pigman]

Amsoil has NV parking right......

[CBR929RE]

That is no longer the novice garage. Center 18 is rented out. My understanding is that the novice garage is a few doors down towards the Seacoast garage. I'm not sure of the actual garage number though.

There may not be an actual novice garage at this point, FYI. That said, ask around and you may find room.

didn't know that. if there is one near Seacoast then that's still a good spot.
someone has to know for sure.

[Gecko]

didn't know that. if there is one near Seacoast then that's still a good spot.
someone has to know for sure.

Paging Mr. maxim_X to the courtesy phone

[GingahNinjah]

Maxim is currently on vacation... not sure if he will see this but i know that he got picked up by the AMSOIL garage for the season.