Front Suspension Fork Dive

[STORMY]

2017 latest gen DL1000 A8
The problem: front end dive under braking
I accept that because of the design of the bike there will always be an element of fork dive, I never go off road so I’m looking to minimise as much as I can without sacrificing rider comfort.
I believe the settings have not been changed since they were set at the factory.
Spring Preload adjuster nut top of the forks adjustment range 0-5 (5 being the minimum preload, and 0 is the maximum setting) currently on setting 4
Damping Force adjuster screws also located at the top of the forks and the bottom.
Can anybody offer the benefit of their knowledge / experience on this one, freely admit I’m a bit confused. Whatever I try it will only be 1 click at a time but which adjuster?
Thanks blokes

[Gert]

Not sure how your setup is, but on the older Wee, the top bolts on the yoke / triple tree has to be slacked off, to allow the adjuster to be turned. The standard position is set at 3. Just remember to fasten the yoke bolts again before test riding. If you have time, in the downloads section will have a service manual for the earlier model Wee, containing the adjustment information (see page 7-26).

[Himself]

I'm not an expert, but I've been working n the same area. If someone knows better than me, please correct me if I get this wrong!

Pre Load - This will not alter the height of the forks, only the amount of tension the spring is under without any other load. As the spring compresses (as the forks dive) the resistance to any further compression increases. If you want less dive, then increase the preload.

Rebound damping - When the compression force is removed (you stop braking) the spring will want to expand again. The more it was compressed the greater the force it will want to expand with. Rebound damping controls the rate at which the spring is allowed to expand. It can't change the force involved, only the rate at which the spring expands.

Compression damping - Is the opposite of rebound. It controls the rate at which the spring is allowed to compress. The forces remain the same, it is the amount of time the spring will take to compress to the point where it has compressed to take the load of the applied force.

So ... If the dive is too much you can increase the pre-load - thereby stiffening the spring and it will take more force to compress it further. The downside of this is that smaller bumps in the road will not be absorbed by the spring and you get a juddering ride. Increasing the compression damping will slow the rate of compression. Perhaps compression damping (slower compression) is what you are looking for.

The process I went through (I'm 6 feet and 90Kgs) was to set everything to factory standard - front and rear - and then make small changes, front and rear. Don't go chasing a setting and ideal only change one setting at a time. If it doesn't make the improvement you are looking for, put it back to where it was before and try something else. Small changes and ride the bike 15-20 miles to test the results.

I found that for me (just me and the way I ride) 3 clicks more preload on the rear and one-click less compression damping (to remove chatter over uneven road surfaces)was what I wanted.

Tin hat on  happy to be corrected.

[Brockett]

Preloading suspension does alter (raise) ride height. Surely, that is how to adjust 'sag'.

[Mr Nick]

Yeah, that's pretty much all pre-load does: it's purpose isn't to combat dive - that's a combination of geometry, spring rate and compression damping. Reducing dive without fancy valving is a compromise between ride quality & dive: solid springs & damping will eliminate dive but there will be no compliance so the front wheel will jar over every bump. Stock springs & oil are on the easy ride side so you can go a bit firmer as long as you're OK with a harsher feeling front end.

[bako]

On the AL8 Front forks the factory default is: Pre load 4th marker. Rebound 8 clicks from hardest. Compression 8 clicks from hardest. Rear shock pre load is 11 clicks from softest. rebound is screw all the way clock wise then back off 1 and a half turns anti clock wise.
Adjusting the pre load will adjust the height of the bike as it controls the amount of static and dynamic sag. Alot depends on the weight of the rider, luggage and pillion. incorrectly set will effect the bikes handling.
To control front end dive you need to reduce the speed the fork compresses. Turning the compression a couple of clicks clockwise.
Changing to a heavier fork oil will also reduce dive. When I first changed the fork oil in my 2017 Vee I found it had uneven amounts in each side and the oil that came out was like treacle.
Suspension set up is a bit of a black art, there is plenty of videos on youtube which will no doubt help to confuse you more.
Easiest option try a couple of clicks clock wise on the compression.

[Himself]

Preloading suspension does alter (raise) ride height. Surely, that is how to adjust 'sag'.

You are correct. I wonder what I was thinking? I wonder what the range of extension is?

When I first changed the fork oil in my 2017 Vee I found it had uneven amounts in each side and the oil that came out was like treacle.

I had the same thing when I changed the fork oil on my Tiger. The bike was totally different after the oil change.

[porter]

I fitted Wilbers springs to my forks and 2.5w oil. The springs helped with the front end dive no end but I lost my comfort even with the light oil, so I changed back to the oe springs.
Up the preload a few lines, and the compression damping a few clicks and see how it feels. The compression damping adjusters don't  do a great deal and there is too much high speed compression damping built into the forks so it's easy to lose the comfort if you adjust to far.

[STORMY]

This is good stuff exactly the kind of feedback I’ve been looking for .
Very informative blokes, make a minimal change and check results is good advice I was already thinking along those lines.
I expect a pay off for reducing the dive, and suspected it would be a harsher ride I guess it’s just finding the right balance.
No pillion, 6’ tall 88 kg’s so I’ll give it go - if it all goes tits up I’ll just reset to factory and start over.
Thank’s once again everyone

[Kuhn]

I mounted the suspension of the DL1000 2002-2008 on my DL650 of 2018, and I just come to say works perfectly.
The operation of the front forks was sublime and very balanced in conjunction with the rear suspension.
I don't understand why the bike doesn't come with that configuration. Just add another € 300 to the final price and place the "DAMPER ROD" inside the front forks.

The bike brakes better (no more deep dive), the suspension makes a good reading of the road, even in the most accentuated broken roads ... the suspension travel rise from 15cm to 16cm. Now I got a 16/16 back / front travel.

Materials used
Complete suspension of a used DL1000,
From the 650 I only use the "Tube outer R" and "Tube outer L" which is perfectly compatible with the suspension parts of the DL1000 from 2007-2008.
Suspension oil: Motul factory line 7.5W
With the tubes of DL1000 mounted, the suspension is 1.4cm longer, for me is just perfect, to the shorter people can safely leave 10mm above T to maintein original higth .
SAG 42mm

Suzuki I give you my DL650 for test drive :D

Total cost 600 €


DL1000 fork

[Gert]

https://www.vstrom.info/Smf/index.php/topic,7132.0.html has some useful info. Please note, should you receive a line 285 error, try a bit later when the site is back on-line again.