Thread: Help with suspension settings & information on default suspension settings on the K8

Hi guys...
This are the facts:
I just make a tire change on my K8, went with a pair of Michelin 2CT, with a rear 190/55. I weigth 96kg.(212lbs.) with full gear. I went with the 55 rear for sharper cornering and a little bit of more tire side contact while twisting. I can say that you can imediatly notice the change with just the new tire size, feels much more light while stearing.

Now is time to change some settings to the suspension.

This is what I got from the service manual about suspension settings:

Default Settings:
Front
Preload: 3 1/2 lines showing; Range: 0=Spring with minimm travel - 5=Spring with maximum travel.
Compression: 8 clicks out; Range: 16 clicks
Rebound: 8 clicks out; Range: 16 clicks
Back
Preload: 1950mm thats the length of the spring, and thats about 4 to 5 threads visible in the upper part of the spring.
Compression: 8 clicks out; Range: ?
Rebound: 12 clicks out; Range ?

This is what I get from forums search:

For a Racer Ride:
Front:
Preload: 2.5 lines showing
Compression: 2clicks out
Rebound: 2 clicks out
Rear:
Preload: 1.25 of Sag
Compression: 5 clicks out
Rebound:7 clicks out

For a Friendly Ride:
Front:
Preload: 3 lines showing
Compresion: 3 clicks out
Rebound: 3 clicks out
Rear:
Preload: 9-10 threads showing
Compression: 4 clicks out
Rebound: 4 clicks out

My logic:
Facts: I ride mostly twisities, and the rodes around here are in very bad shape sometimes, in a scale of 0=off road to 10=a USA highway, ours are around 4. Taking into account this I can not go so tight on compression neither on rebound, after compression of the shocks i need the tire to return as fast as possible to the ground to regain traction, so rebound should be quite fast.

So this is going to be my first try:
Front:
Preload: 3 lines showing
Compression: 4 clicks out
Rebount: 4 clicks out
Rear:
Preload: 8 threads showing
Compression: 6 clicks out
Rebound: 8 clicks out

Got two questions for all you guys
1. How do I access the rear spring nuts to set the preload??? they seem quite difficult to get to them.
2. And the second question, is after reading all the thread, what are your impresions, recomedations or corrections i should make to the settings?

Kindest Regards,
Hector