Suspension. Is there any topic which generates more debate? OK, OK, apart from the iniquities of corporate capitalism? You can rant all you like about a bike's power and speed but you can measure those 'scientifically' and put an end to the bullshit. Suspension though? Ooooh, where does the bullshit end? For those of you who read the 'Suspension explained' feature last month (August issue), I hope you gave it a go and found some improvements or, at the very least, are now better able to understand what you were doing.

Before doing anything to suspension I was told by someone who knows that I should make sure that the sag settings on the bike were in the ballpark.

For 73kg me on I went for 29mm on the fork and 11mm at the rear. This might seem a bit too much on the front (it's the stock setting), but this is (mostly) a road bike and I don't want race bike settings. To achieve that sag measurement I set the fork preload to four and a half rings showing. At the rear, 11mm of sag is achieved using the sixth preload setting from fully wound in. The rear static sag is two clicks more than the stock setting. Actually, when it boils down to it, I've kept things pretty much standard on the preload front, there's nothing too extreme going on, but it's important to know where I am before I start slowly turning my bike into an unrideable monster.

SUSPENSION SETTINGS:

I went for a couple of clicks more compression damping on the fork and left the rear suspension damping settings standard but am tempted to add a bit more rebound – we'll see. If I've got this right it means the fork doesn't run through its travel so quickly under heavy braking. It feels a wee bit more stable under heavy braking and turning in, so I'm pleased. I didn't change any damping or rebound at the back because I didn't feel there was a problem and – just as important – I didn't reckon the changes I made were enough to really change the weight balance of the bike. More on this endless experiment next month.

SATO REAR ELEGANCE:

Some folks like to hear things scraping as they ride – hero blobs, toe sliders, knee sliders, fairing lowers – me, I'm not so keen, apart from a knee slider of course. The toes and hero blobs I like to keep more or less intact. On track on the R1 this isn't always possible so when a lovely pair of Japanese-made Sato Racing rearsets appeared at the magazine, there was only one thing to do – get Al to fit them.

They took an hour to fit and I now have no back brake light (unless I want a pressure switch) but I now feel like I'm 'on' the bike rather than 'in' it. In addition, I feel that my body weight is a little bit further forward, which is, in my opinion 'a good thing.' It feels like you are more in control of the front of the bike and not quite hunched up like a jump jockey. The shifting is positive too, the footpegs have savage non-slip knurling on them and are a little stubbier than standard too. If you fancy some rearsets that look great, function to perfection and will enable you to tweak your riding position and weight distribution on the bike, these are well worth seeking out.

CONTACTS:

n Sato Racing Pertech Imports
01524 733994 www.pertech-imports.com
n Michelin 01782 401853
www.Michelin.com
n K-Tech suspension 01530 810625
www.k-tech.uk.com