Fireblade Suspension Set-up Guides.

Whether your after some setting's to improve the road manners of your Blade
or the ultimate trackday set-up, here are some settings to try.

All these setting's are mostly for track setting's, and will probably need some adjustment for road use, your weight and riding style, etc.

All setting's courtesy of Performance Bikes Magazine, Ride Magazine & MCN.

RRN > RRS	1992 -1995
Front	Road		Track
Preload	3 rings showing		Fully in max
Rebound	3 clicks back from max		3 clicks back from max
Compression	N/A		N/A
Tyre Pressure	34 psi		30 psi
Rear
Preload	Position 2		Position 4
Rebound	1 Turn back from max		As Standard
Compression	1.5 Turns back from max		As Standard
Tyre Pressure	39 psi		32 psi
RRT & RRV	1996 -1997		RRW & RRX		1998 -1999
Front			Front
Fork height through yokes excluding fork cap.	2mm road 5mm track		Static sag		31mm loaded with rider
Preload	1 line visible		Preload		3 lines visible
Rebound	1 turn back from max		Rebound		1 turn back from max
Compression	1/2 turn back from max		Compression		1 1/4 turns back from max
Tyre pressure	34 psi road 30 psi track		Tyre pressure		36 psi road 32 psi track
Rear			Rear
Preload	Position 6 of 7		Preload		fourth notch back from max 3rd if two up or rider 14 stone+
Rebound	1/2 turn back from max		Rebound		1/2 turn back from max
Compression	1/2 turn back from max		Compression		1/4 turn back from max
Tyre pressure	39 psi road 32 psi track		Tyre pressure		42 psi road 32 psi track
RRY & RR- 1	2000 -2001		RR- 2 & RR- 3		2002 -2003
Front			Front		Road	Track
Preload	2 Lines or 4mm visible		Preload		11 turns back from max	9 turns back from max
Rebound	1/2 turn back from max		Rebound		2 turns back from max	2 turns back from max
Compression	3/4 turn back from max		Compression		3 turns back from max	1 turn back from max
Tyre pressure	33 psi		Tyre pressure		36 psi	32 psi
Rear			Rear		Road	Track
Preload	Position 7 of 9		Preload		Position 6 from minimum	Position 6 from minimum
Rebound	3/4 turn back from max		Rebound		2 turns back from max	2 turns back from max
Compression	Screwed fully in clockwise		Compression		1 turn back from max	1 turn back from max
Tyre pressure	35 psi		Tyre pressure		42 psi	36 psi
RR- 4 SC57	2004 -
MCN Road Settings					Performance Bikes Track Settings
Setting's to stop bike running wide out of corners.					Rider Weight 10 stone Average
Front					Front
Preload		+ 1 ring extra clockwise			Preload	Max fully in 34mm Sag
Rebound		+ 1 click extra clockwise			Rebound	2 -1/4 turns back from max
Compression		as standard			Compression	2 -1/4 turns back from max in
Rear					Rear
Preload		as standard 8mm of sag			Preload	As standard 8mm of sag
Rebound		1/4 turn in extra clockwise			Rebound	3 -3/4 turns back from max in
Compression		1/4 turn in extra clockwise			Compression	14 clicks back from max in
					Tyre Pressures:	Track	Road
					Front: psi	31	34
					Rear: psi	30	39
RR- 4 2004 & RR- 5 2005 - Road Settings					Ride Magazine Road Setting's
					Front
					Preload	9 turns back from max
					Rebound	1 turn back from max
					Compression	1.5 turns back from max
					Rear
					Preload	Sixth notch back from max
					Rebound	2.5 turns back from max
					Compression	9 clicks back from max
					Tyre Pressures
					Front psi	34
					Rear psi	39
RR- 4 2004 & RR- 5 2005 - Track Settings					Ride Magazine Track Setting's
					Front
					Preload	Fully in max
					Rebound	2.25 turns back from max
					Compression	2.25 turns back from max
					Rear
					Preload	As Standard
					Rebound	3.25 turns back from max
					Compression	14 clicks back from max
					Tyre Pressures
					Front psi	31
					Rear psi	30
The Suspension Settings; Applicable to 1997 RRV. Raising the forks up the yokes. This is something PB suggested doing to the RRW, but didn't actually do at the time and is optional to these settings, you can make your own mind up whether you want to do this or not, and once you've got used to the new settings you can always do it afterwards, if you want the bike to steer a bit quicker. A steering damper would definitely be a good idea if you do decide to raise the forks up anything more than about 5mm. I did have them set at 12mm when I first did these RRW setting's (April 2002) but have subsequently moved them back to 10mm (march 2003) as I'm now using the proper RRV setting's recommended by PB, although slightly modded to those above. See detail's on the Webmaster page 2. Raising the fork height is something I always tend to do to bikes I own, as I like really quick steering, and having had such good result's with previous bikes, tried it on the Blade and am pleased with the results so far. Raising the forks speeds up the steering nicely, and now the bike drop's into corners at the blink of an eye, and surprisingly hasn't made the bike into a nasty slap happy monster, even with the 16 inch front wheel. End result is the front tyre is getting used over more of it's area now. Adjustments Raise the forks through the yokes, measured from the top surface of the fork cap to the top surface of the top yoke. Use a vernier gauge to do this, as it's more accurate
First measure the loaded sag, set it to 31mm with a 14 stone rider onboard.				Adjust the front spring Preload, so 3rd line is just showing over the top, or 12mm as in second picture.
Adjust front Compression 1 1/4 turns out from fully in.				Adjust the front Rebound 1 turn fully out from max.
Measure sag as above to a fixed point, on the rear.				Adjust rear spring Preload to fourth notch from max, or 3rd if rider more than 14 stone or you go two up regularly.
Turn rear Compression 1/4 of a turn out from fully max.				Turn rear Rebound adjuster 1/2 turn out from max.
Tyre Pressures Just a word on tyre pressures, Performance Bikes suggest using lower pressures (34-38 psi) than the standard ones, on the road, but after a lot of trail and error, I would say stick with the standard 36 front and 42 psi rear, as these seem to work best on the road. At least for me. And 32 psi front 32 psi rear as PB suggest if you go on a track day. SAFETY NOTICE
As with any work you carry out please check your standard setting's before commencing any work. And if you have any doubt consult a qualified mechanic.
The author (honda-fireblades.co.uk) accepts no responsibility for the validity for any of the above advice, If you use it, you do so at your own risk.