Average weight and stock suspension setup.

[Sochi]

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I was reading lately how stock suspension setup should match certain default rider weight ratios for mass produced bikes.

So the only bikes I ride or planning to have are Japanese.
Quick google search shows that average American men's weight is 200lb;
on the other hand - average Japanese man's weight is 150lb, give or take depends where you look but I think it's in the ball park..

So, I am curious - are bikes produced for domestic Japanese market have the same suspension or they produce different versions for different markets?
And does 35-50lb difference in riders weight affect stock suspension that much? Maybe I am reading too much into it?
Is it even the same affect for different bike groups - naked vs. sport vs. adv?

*From my recent experience - my 2021 MT-09 SP had a pretty stiff for the default softest settings in the front and a bit soft on the softest on the rear - go figure (I still struggle finding that "perfect setup", but it's a diff story..) And I am not the heaviest person at 165lb currently... I can only imagine how this suspension would feel for 200lb "average" male...

 

[bigpoppa]

I was reading lately how stock suspension setup should match certain default rider weight ratios for mass produced bikes.

So the only bikes I ride or planning to have are Japanese.
Quick google search shows that average American men's weight is 200lb;
on the other hand - average Japanese man's weight is 150lb, give or take depends where you look but I think it's in the ball park..

So, I am curious - are bikes produced for domestic Japanese market have the same suspension or they produce different versions for different markets?
And does 35-50lb difference in riders weight affect stock suspension that much? Maybe I am reading too much into it?
Is it even the same affect for different bike groups - naked vs. sport vs. adv?

*From my recent experience - my 2021 MT-09 SP had a pretty stiff for the default softest settings in the front and a bit soft on the softest on the rear - go figure (I still struggle finding that "perfect setup", but it's a diff story..) And I am not the heaviest person at 165lb currently... I can only imagine how this suspension would feel for 200lb "average" male...

the japanese are known for mass production and keeping costs down, they do this in many ways, sometimes the OEM tires are hard, sometimes the brakes are meh, sometimes the suspension is pogo, the fueling imperfect

The MT09 SP has ohlins in the rear right? Pretty sure everything is fully adjustable..
Suspension is a bit a of a black box for many people, imo, see someone who knows what they're doing and have them set it up for your weight and general riding style, its probably cheap and quick(accelerated technologies, Pro6, Ace mototech, a few off the top of my head)


I imagine 30-50lbs probably makes a big different in how suspension behaves

 

[TwistedKestrel]

All I can say is that the weight that they typically target usually works fantastic for me, but not so great for most people. Actually turns me off used bikes that have been "upgraded" with stiffer springs.

 

[bitzz]

Motorcycle manufacturers try to "spring" for an "average" rider.
There is no such thing as an "average" rider, so suspensions are made to be adjustable.
You say:

*From my recent experience - my 2021 MT-09 SP had a pretty stiff for the default softest settings in the front and a bit soft on the softest on the rear

Which tells me you are trying to affect the spring rate with the dampers... That's not how it works.
May i suggest you get a copy of RaceTech's Suspension Bible ( sold on their website, or you can find a PDF online) and read it cover to cover BEFORE you do anything else.

 

[Sochi]

May i suggest you get a copy of RaceTech's Suspension Bible ( sold on their website, or you can find a PDF online) and read it cover to cover BEFORE you do anything else.

Got it and working on it - a lot to read and digest.

And not to worry, I didn't do anything "myself" in the beginning lol - I love to rely on experienced and educated individuals ... so I actually visited not one, but two well known here suspension tuners and both (independently) suggested to change springs as default ones not the "right ones" for my weight and my riding style... we were having issues setup sag in the correct range with keeping geometry for steering I prefer (before even touching any dumping settings btw)...
I think I am close to dial it for the street the way I want it but for real track days I would probably have to re-valve front fork and/or get new springs as a minimum... (again, this is not what I planned but what "renowned" tuners think would satisfy my desires - we shall see what I can squeeze out of stock first though )
(BTW I used the same tuner to setup my CBR600 back in the days and that bike was totally and perfectly dialed in less than in 500km/3days!)

All the quirks of the MT-09SP suspension are not something special to me - htere are tons of threads on fz9 forum with many ppl in the same boat having "fun" adjusting this fully adjustable suspension.

Still I think fully adjustable suspension worth it just for the fact it has infinite ways to be tuned and being educational when you can do changes yourself (again based on tuner(s) recommendations) and get almost immediate feedback = fun - this is why I got back to the sport in the first place

 

[TK4]

Motorcycle manufacturers try to "spring" for an "average" rider.
There is no such thing as an "average" rider, so suspensions are made to be adjustable.
You say:

Which tells me you are trying to affect the spring rate with the dampers... That's not how it works.
May i suggest you get a copy of RaceTech's Suspension Bible ( sold on their website, or you can find a PDF online) and read it cover to cover BEFORE you do anything else.

Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension Bible.pdf [2nv82rdmdylk]

Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension Bible.pdf [2nv82rdmdylk]. ...

idoc.pub

 

[Sochi]

Anyway, my own bike setup is besides the point of this post...

I was just wondering what ppl think if there is an actual difference between Japanese and American/European market same model bikes...

 

[TwistedKestrel]

Anyway, my own bike setup is besides the point of this post...

I was just wondering what ppl think if there is an actual difference between Japanese and American/European market same model bikes...

AFAIK, nobody bothers with springing bikes differently for different markets. I do think that sometimes that they will target a different "average" rider for a given model (I have nothing to back that up at the moment) but it will still be the same for all markets it gets sold in.

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