eh, i would say if you make sure the spring rate is good for your weight and can have someone set the suspension up good (like at the track for example) then you should be alright...

i did many advanced track days with my 2006 zx10 with stock suspension for the most part and i didnt end up dying


edit: i would have been considered lower level advanced as well....most of the other riders are WERA guys

 

You want to got racing, but don't want to spend any money on suspension?

Stick with riding it on the road and doing a few track days... You need decent suspension set up correctly for racing or you're probably going to end up in the sand.

 

it is a the best way to start racing, keep the bike stock and learn to ride fast on a racetrack, unless you are riding it within 3-4 secs of the lap record you would be wasting your money. the faster you get the suspension will behave differently anyway and when you get to within a second of the lap record times it will be very different, ride at as many track days as possible with the money saved and you will be soon passing many ohlins shod bikes, good luck.

 

What????!!! So forget about the bike and just worry about the tyres??? How about a balance between the two. What about brake pads/oil so they don't fade. The bike is what transfers power to the tyre and suspension is what keeps the tyre on the ground so the power can be used properly.

No one is suggesting million dollar suspension. Before anyone start so racing, they probably need to decide if they can afford to do so safely.

 

Let me ask you this, would you run cheep A$$ $160 Shinko slicks on your $16,000 bike and go out and tear up the track?

Well your suspension is just as important as your tires…. Tires run on the ground suspension holds them there!

 

compare apples with apples! could you safely ride around a track four seconds of the lap record with stock suspension? i have and i can do it all day, can you do the same with cheap crappy tyres? i see so many new riders with high end suspension and bling on their race bikes and they have no idea how to set it up, in some cases they make the bike worse! get down to some consistant times on your stock suspension and when the stock gear is holding you back then replace it, spend time on learning what the suspension is doing and why

 

It is somewhat of a loaded question because there is a happy medium between how much money to stick in suspension and one's ability. The bottom line is, the suspension (whatever name is on it) NEEDS TO BE SETUP FOR YOU!! You can have your suspension tuned with minimal cost and not necessarily have Ohlins sitting on there. For example, correct spring in the rear, ride height adjusted properly, the front reworked/valved w/correct springs, etc. This would get you well beyond where you're at now in speed around the track.

But don't assume your current setup is good unless you know what you're doing and/or had someone that does look at it and help you trackside. As you get faster further adjustments will need to be made too... so it's not a one time deal.

An aside... are you OK w/tossing your S1000RR down the track? Serious question. If the answer is no, you might even consider going to a cheaper track only bike. I have known too many folks say they always fear tossing their shiny new bike down the track. This gets in your head and can prevent you from getting fast quickly.

Another aside... good suspension and good tires (setup properly) will also give you confidence. You will go out on the track and know that it is your skill at test, not the bikes technical ability. Same with the concept of buying tire warmers... you'll gain confidence knowing you can do hot/fast laps whenever you want and not wonder when you have warmed the tires up enough to let her rip.

My $.02...

 

+1

i would generalized to acquire knowledge about tires + suspension would help greatly. This path will take time to develop, it will not be over night type of things....

 

your money is better spent on track days. if you install new suspension, you wont know what does what and how it effects your bike. youll just have better suspension and it wont likely be set up properly for you unless you have a suspension tuner. at my local track, the track record is held on a stock bike, with the knobs fiddled with. stock suspension, everything. riding expierience is what you need before you can start changing junk just because people say it is better. as long as you can get your sag set properly with the springs that are in there, i believe you are on the right track.

 

wattsy rules-

so by your reasoning production racing here in australia should be banned becuase it is too dangerous???? do you remember the castrol 6 hour production races at amaroo park the one kevin magee, wayne gardner and many others competed in and won! 6 hours racing on a bike with standard suspension, and 1980 standard suspension at that! production racing was also a big part of bathurst! a track that really tests suspension

 

No I'm saying nothing of the sort.

Instead of putting words in my mouth that is extreme, why not just have a look at the facts.

Yes, the S1000RR is an excellent bike and can be raced pretty much as is, BUT, why would you just say "get some good tyres and you'll be right mate"...That's garbage and if you weren't defending your original statements you'd agree.

To race SAFELY you need a balanced bike. This does NOT mean Ohlins etc, etc. It means take your bike to a suspension mechanic and have the springs, valves and oil sized to your weight and riding ability, front and rear. Have the fork legs polished to remove stiction. Have the Sags set correctly and then get some advice on setting Compression/Rebound. I know that to do this will cost less than a set of tyres!!!

Get brake pads and oil that won't fade under constant abuse while on the track the track. Set the bike up so it works as good as it can SAFELY.

Maoipoi said he wanted to go racing and "The way I see it, dealing with the mushy stock suspension in combination with good trackday tires such as the Q2s will help me learn bike control much better, improving my raw skill."

For less than a set of tyres he can have his bike set up so he can race safely.

 

my original statements dont need defending they are logical! the OP was talking about foregoing the upgrade to better suspension, NOT trying to improve the stock suspension. in production racing there is not a lot you can do with the stock suspension, when i raced production bikes we were not even allowed to change the springs, we could only change the oil viscosity, it made me a better rider though.

 

His exact statement was "...mushy stock suspension".

How is throwing the bike down the road supposed to make him a better rider? I'm talking about safety. Small improvements of his bike will increase his safety.

"Upgrading to better suspension"...pffwwtttt, you wouldn't be a lawyer would you. This could mean other brands OR just upgrading springs, valves and oil.

 

How is throwing the bike down the road supposed to make him a better rider? I'm talking about safety. Small improvements of his bike will increase his safety.

how is he supposed to become a better rider and not throw it down the road! it is part of racing and you cant avoid it if you want to be fast. i can lap within 1.5 sec of the lap record at my local track on stock suspension

am i a lawyer? no
i started racing when i was 17 and i have raced for 15 years and have been involved with racing to the present day (i am now 48) after a 20 year break i took it up again mid last year and i am back in A grade And planning to race the local state rounds.

out of curiosity how long have you raced for?

 

Blah blah blah...out of curiosity how long have you raced for?

Started racing motocross when I was 12 and stopped racing about 3 years ago. I'm now 46, so by my calculations I've been racing in various forms for over 30 years...I've also had the pleasure of hanging out and riding with some of the best riders Aus has seen, past and present.

You don't need to race to know that you don't just put a good set of tyres on a bike and think "She'll be right mate", especially when it costs a minimal amount to make an excellent bike so much better. That's all I've tried to say...

You just keep defending your brainless comments any which way you want.

 

Here is my take, suspension keeps the tires on the road, especially when dealing with a bumpy track and during a acceleration and breaking. There appears to be some balance to your suspension for bumpy tracks and traction while turning. Depending on the track and your entry and exit speeds, your may run out of the stock suspension and hit a stop. If you hit a stop you will most likely crash. A well, setup for you and your riding style, suspension, will give greater range than the stock suspension. You should probably determine how much of the stock suspension you are using.

Now tires, I honestly don't know how many times I herd people say, "dude, you simply ran out of tire," to people running street tires on the track in the advanced group. Tires are what touches the road. Regardless of what you decide on suspension, and no body here can say for certain you need an upgrade, your going to need tires that give you grip at max lean. Suspension helps you maintain that grip when something changes the force applied to the front or rear wheel, be it a slight bump or you changing a throttle input , like being a little heavy on the throttle chasing the track leader.

Good luck with you decision.


Sent from my Motorcycle iPhone app

 

what class did you road race in? we are similar age so i may have raced against you or i may know you? i raced at most tracks around australia from 82 through to 89 was based in wa.
our team was helped a lot by warren willing and he taught us a lot about suspension and bike setup.

 

I raced when you guys were still crapping in your pants. Well i raced before there were tracks. I raced Moses down the mountian. I have every track record in the world. A little too much coffee today guys? Hes not an expert and wants to try racing, money is an object. First year to gain experince and find your way around imo the stock suspension will work for that. First thing upgrade to real race tires Q2s are street tires. Have your sag set to your weight with all your gear on also have a real suspension guy check it out not Joe dumbass with his leathers all scraped up giving you advice. Youll get more advice from people who dont know sh*t about suspension set up. A smart person doent know all the anwsers but he knows the right people to ask. Dont ask me.

 

agreed with this guy.

 

I would like to ask the OP just one question, what exhaust do you have on your bike?


this is in no way a jab but 90% of riders will go out and waste $1300 + on a full exhaust that does them absolutely no good because thats the 1st question most people ask them, "what exhaust are you going to put on it" so they think it's a good thing to do...... how manny people ask "so how you going to set your suspension up"?
this is my point there is only a few things holding you to the ground your tires, your skill and your suspension why not try and achieve the best out of all 3

no one is saying go out and spend thousands of dollars on suspension what they are saying is spend some $ making the things you can better re-valve the forks get the right springs for both, change oil..... make them work well

 

First year to gain experince and find your way around imo the stock suspension will work for that.

if you read my original posts i could not agree more with you (except the bit about beating moses down the mountain

 

difference between ohlins and stock is night and day......i learned more about suspension and how the bike works based on the better feel of the ohlins......i have ohlins on my r1 and stock on the bmw....i alternate riding them each day and you can feel the difference and it is best upgrade to make on the bike

 

Great discussion from some passionate riders, but...

What is Mapoipoi supposed to do with all this info?

 

Hopefully read threw all the post. Pick out one or two good pieces of information. Try and figure out if anything else applies to his question. Maybe read a couple of other threads. Then make the best choice he/she can for what they know/want.

Although not all the info above may apply to the OP there are some great opinions presented that may give other riders some food for thought too.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Motorcycle App

 

Thank you all for the responses, definitely gave me some good insight on how to proceed.
Amrra, haha, I actually could not agree more. I see people spending fortunes on exhausts. One guy told me it was better to eat less, lose a few pounds, and just get the akra in steel rather than titanium...

The fact of the matter is, the entire bike is stock except for the woodcraft protectors and the brembo 19x18 master cylinder. I need those brakes...

For me, it is most likely/for sure too late for wsbk or motogp.

However, I'm just 20 and would one day like to turn semi-pro. One way or another, I will eventually get the darn ohlins out of necessity.
In the mean time, I'm making the cash flow work so I can get better quickly, and trying to determine that time where I will just know that it's time to upgrade.

Thank you for all the responses, and yes, I will look at making sure the bike is well set up and serviced first and then based on some more track days determine.

See you all on the track. If things work out, I'm planning to do about 45 track days this year.

 

You now have your answer. Chuck some tyres on a POS and go as hard as you can. In fact, buy some cheap **** tyres and chuck them on and when they wear out, just turn em around...theyll have plenty of wear the other way too.

Good luck with that...

 

Always rider upgrades before bike upgrades



I posted this up on December 17 hoping to help guys in situations like the above: http://www.s1000rrforum.com/forum/s...1000rr-suspension-setup-tires-wheels/10681-street-canyon-setup-data-so-far.html

To me, suspension work is a series of simple scientific experiments. So, data and notes are crucial to results.

You begin by identifying deficiencies with the stock components after riding on them (just as I have). If you don't have any deficiencies identified, why would you change anything?

Believe me, you can set a very respectable (and very fun) pace on the stock components; on the street and the track

 

I'm getting to the party late..

Yes.

Triple

 

the stock suspension can be great for one person and bad for a different person. one thing i know from my track is the steering dampener needs to be upgraded. as for the suspension i haven't had any problems and a good friend of mine races his s1rr in supper sport with stock setup after being set up for him.

one thing i wanted to ask is u said u run advanced on Q2 tires? i don't know what time u consider advanced but i know not one person in the advanced group at my track would use street tires at the lap times there running. my first upgrades would be a dampener, track tires(slicks/dot) and tire warmers