The bike is mostly assembled now, just missing the gauges and a muffler, so I took last night to get the suspension set up. Doc if you’re reading this, here are the initial numbers.
*Just going to note for anyone looking to apply this to your cb550- this setup is utilizing cb650 fork tubes (non Special) & a no-drop (flat) top triple, 13.75-14.2“ adjustable shocks, and 130/70-18 & 110/80-18 tires.
I got the sag dialed in much better than I was expecting, shooting for 30 mm rider sag. I’m a little lighter than usual right now, and did it in comfortable clothes so I’m expecting mid 30s actually riding:
Front static sag: 18 mm
Front rider sag: 31 mm
Rear static sag: 11 mm
Rear rider sag: 30 mm
Forks being flush with triples equates to roughly stock ride height (flat top triple plus longer fork tubes)
Front lowered 17mm: 23 degrees rake / 81.5 mm trail
Front lowered 8mm: 24 degrees rake / 84 mm
I didn’t measure stock height as I deemed it too lethargic to consider, but we can extrapolate 25 degrees rake / 86.5mm trail
I want 24 degrees and 90mm, but I’m not going to get that without reduced offset triples…
Rear shock length is unchanged from the +35mm it was (12.5” stock, to 13 7/8”)
There is too much rebound damping in the shocks still, even with adjusters backed all the way out. They really weren’t meant to be permanent, and the price reflects it I think, but I’m going to have to make finding some decent rear suspension a priority.
And I could actually use more rebound damping in the front, which is only controllable via oil with the race tech valves. Might look to swap in some heavier stuff, but I’d like to get a ride or two on it first.
Other than that I made a cable to keep from losing the seat pin. It doesn’t fall through the lower hole unless the button remains pressed, but other people do ride this bike pretty regularly and don’t know all the quirks.
I also got a good pic of the paint discoloration, after a 2000grit wet sand. Still very much there, so I’ll likely just ignore it for the time being as it’s just cosmetic. I’d still like to know the “why” though. Where’s t71ford when you need him??