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working out the kinks on Scura

mg spd rcr

mg spd rcr

Tuned and Synch'ed
GT Contributor
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Messages
96
Location
Los Angeles
I've been doing stuff as money allows...now the bike has been with me 4 or 5 years and slowly I've addressed the bikes negative traits...even though it came with Ohlins, they were not valved or sprung for our bike! Stig at PPS (pettersen pro suspension) was in O.C. California now in North Carolina. addressed my complaints he did a bunch of stuff to front forks and revalved rear we changed springs front and rear that was huge improvement but still not 100% so went to GuzziTech (Todd) he rode bike and confirmed my complaints on suspension, and offered a fix...he lowered the front .3" (3/10ths) now the bike is 100%. It is stable, is easy to change directions it goes over bumps without drama...now with suspension up to snuff he asked if I was willing to reflash the ECU he felt he could improve the throttle response. So I Ok'ed the work, OMG it was noticeable the bike has better everything! it is smooth, crisper throttle, and bike accelerates quicker it is like a new bike to me, WOW with the suspension reworked, adjusted and ECU flash (also have PCIIIusb) the bike is much better. It is the best time I've ever had on this bike!!! thanks Todd and Stig it was money well spent! I now want to ride my Scura everywhere!!
 
Good to hear.
Stig is the man when it comes to suspension.
Just a thought, you know you could raise the rear .3" instead of lowering the front. It should do the same thing but without the loss of ground clearance. Sometimes it is just a matter of balancing your front and rear sag numbers.
 
I have a Scura also. It is sitting at Todds right now with a shifting issue. I am also trying to sort out suspension issues. Todd was told by the previous owner that the suspension was redone. I don't know to what extent it was worked, I just can't seem to find any compromise settings. If I soften it up for regular riding, it ties itself in knots in the canyons. If I stiffen it up to get through canyons quickly, it feels like a hardtail on the freeway. I have put about 2000 miles on it in the past 2 months I have owned it and I just can't get there.
 
GM, no rear ride height option, wish there was. mg spd racer (Rich) just spent a wad of cash with Stig, and that wasn't part of the deal.

My re-flash went after timing for performance and pre-detonation. We're still waiting here in SoCal for Summer to hit for Rich report back on how well it works, as the V11S' are notorious for pinging.

KT, I can pull the shock/forks apart if you want. Ping me direct.
 
Todd, dropping the font end .3" (7.6 mm) is fine, but you could also raise the rear the same amount by adding preload to the rear shock to raise the rear ride height, no ride height option required (I am surprised that Ohlins does not have an adjustable shock eye on the bottom). I was just pointing out that while everybody seems to feel compelled to lower the front end to alter the handling of their bike, that raising the rear while do pretty much the same thing with out reducing ground clearance. And raising the rear is as simple as adding preload to the rear shock to raise the rear ride height. Although if the rider is short legged then lowering the front may be the preferred way.
In the end, the balance between the front and the rear suspensions is really what is important.
 
KT...i rememeber that feeling. the ohlins stuff was not set up for weight of bike.


GM...don't agree with the "preload" theory for ride height...I have found the V11 prefer the front and rear sag to be the same. (35mm to 40mm) The ride height should be done with adjusters that don't change the tension on spring. the shock and forks are OEM Ohlins which are not the same as their race aftermarket stuff...more like OEM but little better. this version of Ohlins do not have height adjusters.
 
mg spd rcr said:
KT...i rememeber that feeling. the ohlins stuff was not set up for weight of bike.


GM...don't agree with the "preload" theory for ride height...I have found the V11 prefer the front and rear sag to be the same. (35mm to 40mm) The ride height should be done with adjusters that don't change the tension on spring. the shock and forks are OEM Ohlins which are not the same as their race aftermarket stuff...more like OEM but little better. this version of Ohlins do not have height adjusters.
Click to expand...
OK... You say that the V11 prefers the front and rear sag to be the same. Do you mean that your bike can tell the difference between running sag the same and dropping the front end 7.6mm and running front sag 7.6mm less then the rear?
Mine can't.
Now, if you need to make large changes that are outside the range of what you can achieve with adjusting sag then sure, slide the fork tubes in the triples. But as long as you keep your free sag and race sag numbers within an acceptable range you are fine. That is part of the reason that sag numbers are set to a range and not a specific number. Even your post lists a range (35 - 40 mm) that is nearly as wide as the change the OP was making to his front ride height.
But sag is ride height, not spring rate. Adjusting the sag does not change the spring rate, it changes the ride height. Adjusting one different then the other changes the balance of the bike front to rear just like sliding the fork tubes in the triples does.
As long as you still have at least some free sag the changing the preload does not change the tension on the spring and it does not change the rate of the spring (unless you have progressive springs). The tension on the springs is determined by the weight of they are holding up and the rate of a straight rate spring is determined by its dimensions and material.
 
OK... You say that the V11 prefers the front and rear sag to be the same. Do you mean that your bike can tell the difference between running sag the same and dropping the front end 7.6mm and running front sag 7.6mm less then the rear?
Mine can't.
Click to expand...

yes...when i first started playing with the reworked shock and forks I left them where Stig set them and broke 'em in... they were set soft so started just moving sag/comp/rebound by "seat of pants" I got them in ballpark and then measured to see where I was vs. what Stig was telling me to do. by seat of pants I was at 43mm in front and 37mm at rear and within comp settings I was 2 clicks off...and both ends still felt disconected, just not as bad as stock set up. I now had a feeling for bike so my instinct was front needed to be firmer. So I added comp and it got harsher. I now had some info to work with and set up bike the way Stig instructed me to. yeah I know most would of do it this way first but I wanted to see for myself he told me set sag both ends at 40mm for track or 35mm of street, (used street settings) I then set his setting for comp and rebound (I was slightly softer at both ends) told Todd bike is much better but still had a twitch at the start of a turn but when I would be going downhill it would go away. Todd confirmed the issue and offered a no cost fix. :) I was reluctant to lower forks because of sag numbers from before...i had the back higher and didn't like it. So he talked me into it and I don't regret it.

an other thing Stig told me was the shock gets harsh when sag is less than 35mm. I didn't post the comp/rebound settings because the internals are completely different. If i did it again I would of tossed oem Ohlins rear shock and buy the race version think at end I spent within $400 of new shock and it would have ride height and hi/lo speed comp. my re-worked shock works great but it doesn't have all the adjustablity of their aftermarket race/sport version.
 
That is great that you got the suspension set up to your liking. But my point is that dropping the front triples down the fork tubes a little and backing off the preload for the forks (as well as adding a little preload at the rear) a little both lower the ride height at the front a little relative to the back. Neither one changes the rate of the fork springs. I personally do not run the lowered front set up (red framed V11 with no steering damper does not seem to need the extra rake and I don't want to lose the trail), but over the years as a racer I have tried both ways and more to achieve the same result, and what I have found is that there is more then one way to skin a cat.
Again, I am glad you got your bike set up, but all I am saying is that there more then one way to skin a cat. Changing the ride height is changing the ride height. The bike does not know or care how you do it. However you do it will have pretty much the same impact on rake, trail, and weight distribution.
 
An update on my bike. I think Todd and I came to the conclusion that my bike needs to be re-sprung. Although we did come up with a decent setting. And yes raising the forks .3" did take most of the wobble out. New springs with adjustable ride height shock is what is needed. Then reflash and PCV/autotune is on the menu.Thanks Todd.
 
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