"Pogo-ing" rear suspension?

growse · 15 Jun 2015 at 12:20

Now that the roads are mostly dry, there's good chance to push the bike a bit harder (where it's safe to do so

).

One thing I've noticed is that coming off a particular NSL roundabout, it's quite easy to get the rear wheel to slip a little and control it. However, what often happens is that it feels like the rear suspension is 'pogoing' up and down, with the rear slipping a bit, then coming back, then slipping a bit more. Even if the tyre isn't sliding, it still feels like the back end is going up and down - the rate isn't particularly fast, probably 1-2 times a second.

My initial thought is that there's too little rebound damping at the rear. I did have the suspension set up about 12 months ago and that really helped with the feel. Am I on the right track, or could this be caused by something else?

Bike is a 2012 Speed Triple.

wazza300 · 15 Jun 2015 at 12:22

maybe a touch more preload?

then try one click more rebound,check tyre pressure aswell,

growse · 15 Jun 2015 at 12:48

Pressure is at 35psi, should be good.

Will try to find and add rebound for the ride home.

ShakenNstirred · 15 Jun 2015 at 13:00

if you have had the suspension setup and only now is it 'pogoing' then i'd say you may need a new shock as the damping has gone

growse · 15 Jun 2015 at 13:11

Uh oh.

Maybe I never noticed it before. Hmm. Actually, thinking about it, my rear tyre is on the way out meaning that I can push it to slidey slideyville a little easier, so it's possible I am only just noticing it now.

ShakenNstirred · 15 Jun 2015 at 13:18

push down on the seat with your hand and see what it does
it should go down and back up in a controlled way and stop without bouncing or trying to go back down a second time

4T5 · 15 Jun 2015 at 13:21

35psi on the rear seems low to me, Is that right on a Triple ?

growse · 15 Jun 2015 at 13:50

Off the top of my head, I run 32 on the front and 35 on the rear. I know some run a bit higher (34/40ish).

wazza300 · 15 Jun 2015 at 15:09

low tread wont help,its got less meat to absorb the bumps,i can tell with my new front tyre compared to the old bald one,felt a lot harsher before

shocks should last you a lot longer than 3 years imo

I had mine setup by a suspenshion shop,yet I still had to add one more line of preload on front forks,it just didn't feel right,feels ok now

ttaskmaster · 15 Jun 2015 at 15:34

growse said:
Off the top of my head, I run 32 on the front and 35 on the rear. I know some run a bit higher (34/40ish).

What does the tyre manufacturer say you should use for that exact tyre on a SpeedTriple?

Sometimes even 2psi difference can drastically change things. This is what your POWER checks are for...

Fireskull · 15 Jun 2015 at 15:58

The pressures ratings in the owners manual are only for the OE tyre as soon as you change tyre they wont necessarily be correct anymore. And tyre pressures are subjective anyway what feels ok for you might not feel ok for me, many of us here have not and wont ever run the 'recommended' pressures which on a lot of bikes are what 36-38 and 42 psi?, waaaaaay to hard!

Were you running similar pressures when you had it setup before? what time of the year did you get yours setup? heat can change how the shock works, do you have your current settings noted down? if so just play with the settings few clicks either way and see if that makes any difference.
As Wazza said shocks should last much longer than 3 years but you never know, if changing settings makes no difference it might be time to send it for a refurb, how much mileage has it done? what sort of riding, track riding etc?

growse · 15 Jun 2015 at 16:30

Got it set up about 12 months ago, so same time of year. Bike has 15k miles, so not sure that the shock should be broken yet. If I'm going to swap it, I might as well swap it for a better one like a Nitron.

Looking online, seems that triumph recommend 2.5/2.9, which is 36/42. Will try and up the pressures to that and see what the effect is.

Sin_Chase · 15 Jun 2015 at 16:30

OEM rated tyre pressures can be....a little bit nutty a times.

S1000R rear spec is 42PSI....no thanks! I run closer to 36-37.

wazza300 · 15 Jun 2015 at 16:37

that's just to hard/harsh

30psi does me both front and rear,shocks last a long time it depends on the use/age I guess,mine did 60k miles 17 years and its still working fine,i only changed it because the bearings were seized in the linkage

ttaskmaster · 15 Jun 2015 at 16:43

Whereas I and most owners I know run the 36-42 F/R set up the tyre manufacturers design for because otherwise performance does suffer.
Plenty you can do outside of that, from altering forks and shocks to things like different pegs and custom seat alterations - Corbin seats are meant to be really good.