New owner with suspension questions

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mmchutchon · #1 Post by **mmchutchon** » Sat May 03, 2008 3:01 pm

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, had my Falco a month and loving it. '99 plate, 18000 miles, Red, Art carbon cans, otherwise standard i think! Came with the Aprilia luggage which was handy, oh and it's got some flashy seat on it. Funfun!

It has the original blue spring sachs shock (yeah, i know). It's also running some 40 mm of preload.

My basic understanding of suspension leads me to think that an ideal suspension setup has as little preload as possible. If I have an amount of preload equivalent to say 300 N of force on the spring, then only a bump which generates over 300 N force at the shock will make the suspension move. In short, putting lots of preload on makes small bump sensitivity rubbish.

I'm keen to get Gareth at Reactive Suspension to sort the Showa forks later in the summer - he says the fork springs are about right on the Falco. But has anyone tried putting a stiffer spring on the rear? Is the Falco-specific Ohlins differently sprung to the stock shock?

By the sounds of things there are numerous mods that are not just for show and I shall be embarking on a few of them soon: side stand, rear shock/linkage, possibly 15T front sprocket...we shall see!

Glad there's a proper community for such an ace bike! My first and previous bike was a Thundercat which I loved, but I really think the Falco is perfect for me - nothing else available ticks so many boxes for me. I hope I have this bike for many years to come....

peace,

Mark

hornetrider · #2 Post by **hornetrider** » Sat May 03, 2008 3:18 pm

Hello mate, welcome!

I found the sachs very harsh indeed and no amount of winding off the preload made it any better I'm afraid. I suppose it could be an option replacing the spring but my instinct would be to go softer not harder in that case. I couldn't find any info about doing that so decided to go the "easy" route and get a Falco specific Ohlins. Its a brilliant upgrade, the back and is so plush and controlled now!

mmchutchon · #3 Post by **mmchutchon** » Sat May 03, 2008 4:10 pm

Yeah, if a shock feels harsh with no preload then it has too much compression damping. However, as the stock shock has no piggyback it means the same oil is used for damping as well as lubrication so it's never going to perform consistently. It's a shame the stock damping isn't a bit better though.

Has anyone used one of those stabilising spring mounts that reactive suspension supply? Makes sense to me and could be a really cost-effective mod...

Thumper · #4 Post by **Thumper** » Mon May 05, 2008 7:32 am

Hi Mark loads of info here, bottom line is change the rear shock for a better quality one, for low cost buy a early mille shock ( £50-100)with a white spring, if you are heavy you may need to fit a stronger spring I did
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ ... =FLK4S0150

The falco shock is not much use unless you want a back ache

FalcoHeadbanger · #5 Post by **FalcoHeadbanger** » Fri May 09, 2008 1:28 pm

I put a secondhand ohlins on my Falco (The 46PRC) It cost 250.00 but TRANSFORMS the back end

In my view, the best no question performance mod you can make, you will just want to lean forever, and the ride is transformed. I am heavy ish (15st) and spring rate just fine

Tweaker · #6 Post by **Tweaker** » Fri May 09, 2008 2:10 pm

Hi MM. The Sachs shock is not good - pretty much most people agree. However, it can be made to work at it's best by setting the crucial static sag - if you do a search there are a few worthy sages who have written about how to set it. Pre-load doesn't affect the spring rate, it simply raises or lowers the suspension by lengthening (or shortening) the amount of travel of the piston. Too much either way and the shock will bottom or top out. IIRC the ideal is to get the travel somewhere near the middle - setting the correct sag will achieve this.
Whatever shock you fit, the correct static sag will still be the starting point - if you can't achieve the correct figure the spring will probably need changing.