Falco Suspension Tuning -- My current setup

This page used to be a diary of mistakes and successes I had made in the quest to make the Falco handle well. It was interesting to me to keep track of what I had done, but it was getting quite long-winded. If you are interested in how I got to my present setup, you can still have a look at my suspension tuning diary. But the abbreviated version appears below.

My Set-up As Of January 17, 2002

Me
Weight 145 lbs in street clothes
Riding styleIntermediate on bumpy mostly 45-75 mph roads
Preference Softer suspension (more traction, more motion)
Bike
Description2000.5 Falco with aftermarket slip-ons
Weight 450-475 lbs depending on fuel
Fork Setup
Specification My setting Stock setting
Description Stock Showas 43 mm USDs with steel cartridge  
Installed height 4 spaces showing (16 mm triple to anodized cap) 3 spaces (12 mm)
Valving Stock -
Rebound screw setting 0.75 turns out 1.5 turns out
Compression screw setting 1.75 turns out 1.5 turns out
Oil viscosity 5W (Showa/Honda Pro) probably 5W or 7.5W ?
Oil level 150 mm (from top, collapsed, no spring) 116-120 mm
Spring rate 0.95 kg/mm 1.01 kg/mm
Spring free length 272 mm 292 mm
Preload spacer 128 mm plus stock washers 100 mm
Preload cap 6 lines (12 mm from anodized to taper) 5 lines (10 mm)
Sag (bike) 22 mm ?
Sag (rider) 35 mm 25 mm
Shock Setup
Specification My setting Stock setting
Description Penske 8981 (8900 series deCarbon damper with 8100 reservoir) Sachs emulsion-type damper
Installed height ~320 mm eye-to-eye
~ 1 thread showing on adjuster
~312 mm
non-adjustable
Sag (bike) ~5 mm ?
Sag (rider) 32 mm 41 mm
Spring rate 800 lb/in (6-inch spring) -
Oil viscosity standard -
Valving standard (track) -
Rebound screw setting ? about midscale +2 to +4 more clicks -16 clicks from full-in
Compression knob setting "1" of 6 (largest orifice) non-adjustable
Preload 20 mm threads above lock ring 41 mm threads above lock ring
Tires
Specification My setting Stock setting
Type Dunlop D207 Metzeler MEZ3
Front size 120/70 120/70
Rear size 180/55 180/55
Tire pressure (F/R) 32/34 psi ? 35/36 psi
 

Update: Some advice (July 2003)

People email me a lot asking for setup adice. Although its pretty much up to your tastes, I've done a lot of trial-and-error and can offer this:

Go back to the Falco home page.

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