suspension settings for jumps

[goolz]

So I have had my 2018 sx-f 350 for about a month and loving every minute of it. I am getting better and faster on the vet track here in Colorado. I have also been playing around with the suspension settings. I am at the point to where i am getting very close to clearing some of the bigger jumps. I have had a few scary endo landing but no crashes. Doesnt happen all the time and I have watched every youtube video I can on correcting my jump approaches. I am curious if there is a best or preferable settings for jumping. I havent gone too far off the standard settings. Is it better to be a bit softer for learning or visa-versa? Thanks folks. 

[willbilly]

I wouldn’t set the suspension up for jumps exclusively. First set you shock sag. Then fork air pressure so that you are using all but about 1.5 inches of travel. Use clickers to achieve bike balance i. e. fork doesn’t dive, shock doesn’t stink bug or low ride. Much more to it than this but make changes to one adjuster at a time and see how it feels. Lots of good suspension articles on this site. Good luck.

[goolz]

Thanks willbilly. I have been making adjustments. I think I am more interested in what would assist me in certain conditions. Jumps for example is it bad to have too soft? Would this make things get wierd when say leaving the lip of the jumps?

[BLSJDS]

If you think it was your body positioning and/or throttle control that caused the endo landings, and NOT the shock rebound setting being too soft, then I would go 3-5 clicks stiffer on both the fork and shock compression settings.

That will help if you happen to come up a little short, or flat land a table, etc.

[KRAYNIAL]

Set up the clickers for control, not comfort.

[Fatt_Tones]

 

When you’re learning the jumps you can expect to case/OJ, and hence take some hard hits.  It’s good to have some bottoming resistance so you’re not wrecking stuff, but otherwise you want to tune your bike’s suspension so it turns properly in corners and is stable/planted over braking/acceleration bumps, soaks up parallel ruts, etc...  It shouldn’t do anything weird and unpredictable, like head shake at speed (although that might be a tradeoff for better cornering) or kick you weird on jump faces.  This can be very dangerous, especially if you aren’t making the appropriate midair corrections yet when something unexpected happens.  It also helps to learn the proper way to case/OJ when it does happen to you.

 

If your track’s jumps/landings are designed well, and you’re consistently hitting the sweet spot of the landings then   the landing should be smooth as butter....no big hit.  The problem when you’re brand new is it’s very difficult to “feel” what the bike is or isn’t doing.  So my advice, unless you have someone very experienced to help you, is to get your suspension to a state where it performs safely, then forget about the bike and focus on technique because it’s WAY more about the rider than the bike.  Back in the day guys would rip up the tracks on pogo sticks with a light switch powerband.  Any modern bike, even one not perfectly set up, is going to be a major improvement.  Set your sag and if the spring is way off for your weight you could look at getting it valved/sprung for your weight.  

 

 

Edited October 5, 2019 by Fatt_Tones

[AEES]

What will calm down the rear on jump faces if you are heavier then 160 pounds is going in on HSC to 1.5-1.75. if rear becomes to stiff, go out 3-6 clicks on low speed comp instead.

If I run 2.5 out on HSC on my 190-200 pounds rear becomes really sketchy and bottoms out and just kicks you sideways in all kinds of situations.

 

[Creeature]

Firm comp loosen rebound if its acting sketchy on the face id say