this is probably a rather repetitive question, but....

[dank]

ok i bought my 03 ec250 with what i assume is the stock spring on the ohlins shock. they guys i am going to ride with told me to set my standing, my static, and my race sag. the manual i have sheds zero light on the subject. the guy said that i had to measure from a fixed point on the bike to a fixed point on the swing arm. now, i would like to know what those measurements should be, so that i can do it. to the best of my knowledge its a 4.0 spring, and i weigh in the general vicinity of 175 with gear. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
dan

[Skidad]

Stock spring was most likely a 5.2 and somewhere on the spring it should have some #'s to indicate this. 5.2 should work just fine for your weight but a 4.0 is soft and I tend to doubt that's what is on there unless the previous owner was very light. Check the spring for markings and report back.

Race sag is a personal thing. Some like 100mm and some like 115mm-120mm.
With all your gear on try maybe 105-110mm and then adjust as needed. Check over the suspension section as there is lots of info about this.

[dank]

and those measurements are from where to where? and the manual i downloaded says that a 4.0 was stock, but if it was changed it wouldnt surprise me. i'll check it and see.

[skid jackson]

fyi just for visualization purposes 100mm to 110mm is something like 4 to 4 1/2 inches. That means when you set your geared up and ready to ride butt on your bike it should sag somewhere between 4 and 4 1/2 inches. As mentioned above this is kind of personal and some guy run more sag. you'll want to adjust up and down some and find your sweet spot. Some guys measure from the rear axle straight up to the fender, others will go from the axle to the upper side number plate bolt. measuring from the axle to the side plate bolt is suppose to be similar to the same plane hte rear shock travels. the important thing is to measure to the same points all the time. Static sag is how much your bike sags on its own weight I should know for sure but I believe it should be 25 to 35 mm which is 1 inch to 1.5 I think inches. His reference to standing sag sounds like static sag to me.

the first thing you do is put your bike on a stand pick what two points you will used and measure what the distance is with the back wheel hanging. that tells you what the distance is when the shock is fully extended. Take the bike off the stand, set your fly weight arse all geared up on it. Don't forget your camel back and tool belt if you ride with one. Have someone measure the distance between your two selected points again. That is your race sag. Get off the bike ... bounce the seat a few times and let it settle. measure the distance between the two points again ... thats your static sag.

so if your bike measures 26" fully extended and you set your butt on it and it measures 23 3/4 inches you've got 4 1/4 race sag. If you measure the distance after you get off and the bike is sitting under its own weight and you get 1 1/4 inches then your bike is generally considered to have the right weight rear spring in it and it is in fact in the sweet spot. If your race sag is at 4 1/4 inches but your static sag was less than and inch that would indicate that the spring may be too light or too heavy a weight and if it was more than 1.5 inches(i think) it would again indicate too heavy or two light a spring. and a change may be in order. I can never remember which way it goes though. to one side of an inch means one thing to the other side 1.5 means the other. remember this is a general guideline. some guys ride just fine on bikes that have funky sag numbers. set it to the general guidelines and work from there, ride and see what you think. I'm around 195 to 200 lbs geared up and have been running a 5.4. My sag numbers indicate that may be a bit light so i threw a 5.6 on this winter just to see. Conventional wisdom would say a 5.6 may be too heavy but what the hell I'll try it an see.

If you do a web search or even a you tube search you should get a ton of info on this as almost every suspension tuner has a section on setting sag on their website.

Getting your sag right is important, a bike with the improper sag set up can really hold you back. With the sag dialed correctly it can be noticable better as proper sag set up lets your suspension work all the way through it's stroke. i.e. you get the benefit of everything your boingers have to offer.

If you are going to ride alot make it a point to learn about suspension set up. the benefits are huge!!!

[dank]

Thats just what i needed to know. you gotta understand i am as green as i can be to bikes. i bought it last fall, and im 17 and my family has had nothing to do with them. my ec 250 is the first and only bike that i have ever ridden. my girlfriend and her dad (the people i plan to ride with) own ktms( I know, im trying to get them to convert, but she loves her 200 exc, and her dad is 6' 7"ish. their orange to the core) so they arnt that much help. so that last message helps alot. i know what im doing tomorrow night! thank you very much.

[cbutler]

Here you go but your spring will not turn that easy use a large screwdriver on the spanner nut to help it along.

Seeing how you are so green a word of advice pick the brains of those you ride with.Ask for help, they may give you a hard time put it is in all good fun.If I were you I would ask your girlfriends dad to help you out in only afternoon your bike would be race ready.The basics and concepts are the same for all bikes.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jfuRSiCCdY

[dank]

thanks alot!

[dank]

thanks! and i would get his help, but they live about 2 1/2 hrs away. and its not so much that they give me crap, its just than they have things we dont, and vice versa. like their rear shock goes straight to the swing arm, verses the linkage underneath. but thanks alot for the link!