Tank Pad / Gripa recommendations (CBR650R)

[RideWithStyles]

Yep I remember the hoover pipes bikes, looked at getting the 400 as a first bike yonks ago cor so cool .

 

Let me share some information with you.

 

So lighter than the average who was it designed for? Male and or female, Asian market, European, American? Closer to a small skinny teen or extra baggage 70 year old? 
Now most of the time the suspension internals and springs never change between markets and what each manufacturer thinks is right for the designed bike, updates at periodic times maybe but that will be due to supplier making the changes.

 

So your a few kg less than me () now with my bike as standard settings it handled sloppy and crashy all the same time and im most likely less weight than the average euro but more than the asian buyer, i STILL had to add a notch of preload for SOFT set up solo due to the laughable amounts of dead space which eaten into close to have the travel, then two for a very SOFT set up with topbox on for the preload on my bike from what the manufacturer stated for my bike as stock settings for bikes are guessed and thats before a pillion or any other item i care and could fit to the bike.

If i wanted normal setting it would be one more again which i may do as ive just changed the tyres.

 

Id say its safer if its checked at least you will know rather than leave to assuming.

 

one thing to also note that because your really far back you are leveraging more on the suspension so even though thinking your lighter your more like a pillion and deemed heavier to the spring so the travel on the shock is lower down the shaft eating into what travel is available to you (think of a chopper) the if it's progressive spring your immediately into the stiffer part which you dont want off the bat..

Question to ask yourself is the spring progressive or linear? If it's progressive whick part is soft point ( 1/8, 1/4, 1/2?) to the harding and max point (1/4,1/2/ 3/4?).
you really do need it in the correct place of where it sits and starts to work best when you need it not before or after those points.

Otherwise its gonna be hitching itself at different points compared to the forks if honda worked the number close enough.

rear looks a bit lower than the front from the picture, which possibly might be lifting up the front.
if you say it feels ok on speed bumps and humps?(humps rather than pot holes? ).

 If its low down in the stroke of the forks / shock it will feel better only for that as there will be loads of dead space above for lift but youll be eating into your lower travel which is really important.
Your forks have 110mm travel which is quite short so with the dual bend valve (which is just a cheap valve) working quite early you'd have thought but where is that starting to work and which point does it stop usefully?

shock has 127mm travel apparently with direct link and ill guess its progressive with those numbers so its important to get that right.

test the measurements as below after a ride to make sure the oils/gas and linkages are warmed up, especially if a bike has had 4000+miles of usage without fork oil change (especially factory filled) and shock checked.

with the bike level how much lift in mms of the rear has without you on it? ideally you need some lift of 5-10mm in general tight road form to in some cases of bike (racing, dirt or adventure) 20mm or more of raising to the shock top out. That is called static sag, the purpose of that is to allow a bit of space so you dont get your arse smacked by top out while trying to keep the wheel on the ground as the shock returns especially after raised bumps, If its more than that figure it needs more preload, if less, less preload.

same with rule with forks but the number are slightly more, starting point 15-20mm sag. 
these figures are important to stick to as you dont have the adjustablilty to cope with aging or heat variables of the fluids and gas in those components.
 

Then how much does the bike sink into its stroke with you on it? If it sinks an extra 20mm from its normal position (just bike weight) there is too much preload, if more than 40mm there isn't enough preload. If it's between those numbers your somewhere there which can be tweaked depending on the internal setup and how it feels to you.

Ramp or castle nut adjusters as they are sometimes called on the shock preload are not liner due to manufacturing tolerances and / or they might have done it like non liner that due to the progressive spring that it may have selected for that bike and only have so many step given that they deemed should be enough while If you have a twin ring set up its very adjustable. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by RideWithStyles

[Interference Fit]

Thanks for a really detailed and helpful reply - I'll have a good read and digest and then assess where it's at and report back!

 

[bonio]

For comparison, I'm just over 9st. I find a lot of Italian and Japanese bikes' suspensions suit me as set up by the factory.

By the way, when you come to get your next bike, put the Ninja 1000SX / Z1000SX on your list. Not sure it's the right size for you, but if it fits, I think you'd like it.

[fullscreenaging]

27 minutes ago, bonio said:

For comparison, I'm just over 9st. I find a lot of Italian and Japanese bikes' suspensions suit me as set up by the factory.

By the way, when you come to get your next bike, put the Ninja 1000SX / Z1000SX on your list. Not sure it's the right size for you, but if it fits, I think you'd like it.

+1

 

 

[RideWithStyles]

They are correct, thanks guys. Good base line bike, just sensitive to tyres and pressures. Even suzukis latest version is very good if as an alternative if you wanted to keep with inline 4.

 

Yes bigger bike to accommodate tall or heavier people for a little bit more weight, plus that bike will be designed for sport touring, with panniers or top box and pillion weight included in mind, so even if kawasaki might be still have thought of keeping it on the soft side of accessible for suspension set up for its home market it will be closer to the average foreign buyer.

 

so to put it in perspective in car terms ull understand and why weight in cars sort of matters but REALLY REALLY MATTERS for bikes that have far greater impact than cars. 
simple but terms medium similar to yours Bike 200kg, rider 80kg, difference = 120kg nearing half hanging off the back with more real trail and less centre massed on a stick.

car weight 1800kg, four passengers at 80kg each = 320kg, not much of an impact and all bases in the middle of a wide platform with four contact points sharing the weight between each fairly evenly distributed but yet still in acar you can feel that difference when driving (unless its a heavy and powerhouse engine or crazy tech to try and offset its feeling) but if you were to make the same difference as to the bike try driving a car with 720kg in the boot...thats just over 8 1/4 chonky adults in the boot or nearly the same as two and a half industrial barrels / drums of medium weight liquids and im sure it aint going to go as fast nor handle as well .

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by RideWithStyles