front suspension

[gavo]

can someone help please. my 01 mandello has forks with what appeares to b rebound ajustment on 1 leg and compression on the other with only a small screw for ajustment.16 clicks on one 18 clicks on the other. my manual does not show this type of fork or specify settings ,has anyone got the standard factory settings

[Guest ratchethack]

Gavo, my friend.

 

As a fellow owner of a "short frame" V11, my hat's off to you on your choice of a fine (and somewhat rare) Guzzi!

 

However, your question is the equivalent of calling up your local haberdasher and ordering a tailor-fit suit over the phone, and expecting him to provide it to you sight unseen, with no other information to go on, other than your request for a "standard" fit.

 

As I've often winged on like a mad hatter hereabouts, there are no "standard suspension settings".

 

But if you're interested in knowing wot the Guzzi engineers and Maestro Luigi Forza crew in Mandello had in mind in the way of handling and road feel when they produced the short frame V11's, may I most enthusiastically invite you to set up your suspension according to the principles, guidelines, and how-to instructions I've used meself (and also referred to many who've thanked me most heartily afterward) here:

 

http://www.racetech.com/articles/SuspensionAndSprings.htm

 

and here:

 

http://www.strappe.com/suspension.html

 

and for the final settings on the fork, this single page at the site here:

 

http://www.peterverdonedesigns.com/oilheight.htm

 

The effort of learning how your suspension works and tailoring it to match your unique needs -- AS INTENDED -- will pay you back one hundredfold on the road. On the other side o' this coin, I'm afraid that without setting it up properly, your chances of ever having a clue wot the Luigi's had in mind in terms of handling for your RM may be found somewhere along the sorry side of the lonely road between SLIM and ZIP.

 

Best of luck, my friend. Have some FUN while y'er at it.

[richard100t]

I have a Rosso Mandello as well. Ratchethack is correct as in we dont know what you weigh or your riding style, or just what type of ride you like. Just adjusting the compression & rebound clickers will not likely help you until you get the preload setting right. That is where the links Ratchet provided will be very helpful. Generally speaking when you figure out how much sag you would like theres a blue nut under each cap labeled c and r. Tightening down these nuts will give you more preload & a softer ride. Loosening them up will give you a stiffer front end. Think of the clickers on top as fine tuning adjustments for once you get your preload set right. You also MUST get the rear suspension set to match the front or you'll be frustrated with no success. Your bike has a lot of components that are very adjustable, from the clip ons to the gear shift levers to the brake levers & so on. Once you get it done the way you like it, of course it will be worth the effort. Sometimes its well worth it to pay an experienced wrench to either do it for you or help you to learn how.

[gavo]

I have a Rosso Mandello as well. Ratchethack is correct as in we dont know what you weigh or your riding style, or just what type of ride you like. Just adjusting the compression & rebound clickers will not likely help you until you get the preload setting right. That is where the links Ratchet provided will be very helpful. Generally speaking when you figure out how much sag you would like theres a blue nut under each cap labeled c and r. Tightening down these nuts will give you more preload & a softer ride. Loosening them up will give you a stiffer front end. Think of the clickers on top as fine tuning adjustments for once you get your preload set right. You also MUST get the rear suspension set to match the front or you'll be frustrated with no success. Your bike has a lot of components that are very adjustable, from the clip ons to the gear shift levers to the brake levers & so on. Once you get it done the way you like it, of course it will be worth the effort. Sometimes its well worth it to pay an experienced wrench to either do it for you or help you to learn how.

no,no,no I just wanted the baseline figure they give in the manual,my manual is for a later model and gives baseline figures but not for my forks. my bike is second group of mandello's and the forks look like marzocchi. the bike is second hand and i have no idea who's changed what. so i would like a standard starting point,then if i can't ajust them to my likeing I'll get into the internals. pushing hard on the bumpy roads around here wear's me out I need more compliant suspension still good for fast twisties

[dlaing]

no,no,no I just wanted the baseline figure they give in the manual,my manual is for a later model and gives baseline figures but not for my forks. my bike is second group of mandello's and the forks look like marzocchi. the bike is second hand and i have no idea who's changed what. so i would like a standard starting point,then if i can't ajust them to my likeing I'll get into the internals. pushing hard on the bumpy roads around here wear's me out I need more compliant suspension still good for fast twisties

Here are the standard values listed in the WORKSHOP manual for the early V11 with Sachs,

Rebound: position 20

Compression: position 10

Spring Pre-Load 13mm

For the forks, I did not now find standard values, but I recall there are some.

 

Regardless of the standard baseline numbers, getting the right springs and pre-load should not be delayed for long.

Ratchet and Richard offered good advice.

Go ahead and spend a little time dialing in damping, but spring selection and pre-load setup ideally should be the starting point of getting it setup.

I recommend starting with damping backed all the way off and then adding damping and doing bounce tests to determine if it helps. Once close, test ride it to find the right damping adjustment.

But the springs are the most important part of the suspension. Select the proper spring and set the sag correctly!

Start by measuring the sag and adjusting atleast the rear pre-load.

I suspect the links Ratchet provided should show you how to do that.

If you tell us your sag numbers we can give you an idea of what to do.

If you tell us your weight, it can also give us a clue.

If you are lucky, your springs are the right firmness, but if not springs are relatively cheap.

[gavo]

thanks to all for the help I'll give it a go, sag is 30mm both ends I weight 90 kg sometimes have 60 kg pillion some times a little luggage(tent, sleeping bag,tank bag)nearly always sport riding and a lot of bumpy roads. I've ridden a mates 76 mk1 lemans and it rides as plush as a limo,(he uses 5 weight oil)of course I have heaps more ajustments so I have to start somewhere I know hidden in there is a softer ride without sacrificeing handling

[dlaing]

thanks to all for the help I'll give it a go, sag is 30mm both ends I weight 90 kg sometimes have 60 kg pillion some times a little luggage(tent, sleeping bag,tank bag)nearly always sport riding and a lot of bumpy roads. I've ridden a mates 76 mk1 lemans and it rides as plush as a limo,(he uses 5 weight oil)of course I have heaps more ajustments so I have to start somewhere I know hidden in there is a softer ride without sacrificeing handling

30mm of laden sag is pretty good.

To be sure we need to know both laden and unladen sag.

The target many seem to go for is 15% unladen sag (sag from bike's weight) and 30% laden sag (sag from bike's and rider's weight)

Other numbers can certainly work. I prefer somewhere between the 15%/30% rule and Ohlins recommended (note Ohlins rear shock has about 20mm more travel than the Sachs shock) :

Without rider:

Rear: 5-15 mm

Front: 25-30 mm

With rider:

Rear: 30-40 mm

Front: 35-50 mm

 

So for the Marzocchi Sachs set up, you might target:

Without rider:

Rear: 10 mm 8%

Front: 20 mm 17%

With rider:

Rear: 30-35 mm 25-29%

Front: 40 mm 33%

 

I think Ratchet recommends something like 18mm unladen and 36mm laden both front and rear. He is about your weight. Matching front and rear sags theoretically better balances the suspension.

I prefer a softer rear shock for comfort, but since you do a lot of two up, Ratchet's numbers should work great.

 

Also, backing off on the compression damping really helps the comfort.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is adding too much rebound damping, which can cause the suspension to pack down and ride rough. So, give it just enough rebound damping.

[Skeeve]

Also, backing off on the compression damping really helps the comfort.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is adding too much rebound damping, which can cause the suspension to pack down and ride rough. So, give it just enough rebound damping.

 

Back in the old days, there *was* no compression damping in bike suspension, since it's counter-productive [harsher ride] for most street bikes: the stutter bumps that cause the suspension to pack down from too much rebound damping are rare on the street, whereas "square edge" bumps that cause hydraulic lock in compression circuits are common. Ergo, back off the compression adjustment all the way, and ride. Increase incrementally each time until you notice some harshness creeping in, & back off a couple notches. That setting will probably be just a little up from backed completely off, and will do fine for 90% of your riding. Enjoy!

[dlaing]

snip, whereas "square edge" bumps that cause hydraulic lock in compression circuits are common.

Do the Marzocchi have spring loaded valves to relieve high speed compression damping, like Race Tech Cartridge Emulators, Ohlins, etc.?

[Tom M]

I don't know what the standard settings are supposed to be but I've always had good luck starting out with the compression damping adjuster all the way out (zero damping) as Skeeve suggested, and the rebound damping set to it's middle position. I make 4 click adjustments in either direction from there to get a feel for how much it effects the ride, then go to 2 click adjustments. FWIW on my '02 Marz fork with my firmer than stock aftermarket springs I'm currently running 17 clicks out on compression and 12 clicks out rebound.