I ride a 2009 R1 in fast intermediate groups and am 205lb and with the stock suspension setup well it has been fine.

I am only looking at upgrading now that I am getting to the top of my group and looking at moving in to the fast group.

Im gonna change my front suspension to 25mm ohlins carts setup for my weight (I am starting to find the bottom of the forks under hard braking) The rear shock is fine for my level of riding but I am gonna get a TTX ohlins shock too (got a good price one a second hand one)

Take your bike get it setup properly for you and ride the hell out of it at the track, then once you come across things that are holding you back look at changing things. There is no point throwing money at the bike before you know if there is an issue .. unless you have plenty of spare coin and love to look at shiny posh suspension :wink2:

 

I Also hit the bottomed on my stock. My zip-tie is at very bottom of folks. If I increase preload I could squeeze my front brake much harder, but the bike would not turn into corner (my bike refused to go into corner, lol). So, I had to compromise somewhere between.

 

KYB has been around for ages and they make good stuff for motorcycles on up to aircraft and special purpose vehicles. With that said through, stock suspensions are meant to work “good enough” for a wide range of people, shapes, sizes, weights, and body positions.

I raced with CCS for about eight years and after the first two years changed to an Elka 3 way rear shock and got a Traxxion fork kit. I’m 6’ 2” and was right at 200 lbs in full gear at the time. It took a while to get it set up just right, but I dropped 3-4 seconds a lap at Putnam Park and got my first podium at the first race of the year at Heartland Park.

That’s just what I saw, but I also had a friend that was about 5’ 5” and 165 lbs in full gear that could just flat smoke me with a stock suspension. My guess is that the stock suspension is set up for horse jockeys and the standard Japanese men’s sizes.

 

More adjustment more feel more travel.nut no you don't need it you can go plenty fast with the oem if your racing for money yeah those extra tenths a lap matter then

 

When you get to a level where you are good enough to outride the stock suspension you will know it.

 

It sounds like unanimous. Everyone thinks same, then I will stay with my stock ones. But I strongly feel that Dot tires would make huge differences everywhere. When I switched from dunlop Q2 to supercorsa SP, I trimmed 8 seconds. It sounds so dramatic, but this was how much confidence I could gain from sticker tires. On Dunlop, I had no idea where to start. I have feeling that I can trim at least another 2-3 seconds on supercorsa SC.
Please correct me, if I am wrong.

 

Shit go to the supercorsa sc or the Diablo slick you'll feel like a god you can trail brake so dam deep into the corner I can still be on the brake at 48 deg with no issues.

 

I never knew this one:surprise:. I have huge expectation. Let me try what you said, but I don't want to crash. I thought my braking skill was not as good as others. Probably, my skill still is not on the same page, but I guess I can try just little bit within my safety zone.

Thank you for letting me know. I learn something new everyday.

 

Don't do it on the sp's your taking a BIG!!! Chance if you do

 

Yes, on SC. Other people usually out-trail-braked me. I am already Ok with the slowly releasing part, but I was not any near to 48 degrees lean angle.

 

In general, aftermarket suspension is better for a few reasons:
-More consistent damping
-More damping range of adjustment
-Generally sprung and valved for your weight
-Valving can generally be made digressive. This means you are able to get the right amount of low speed damping to control the chassis while have reduced high speed damping to allow the suspension to absorb bumps better.
-Higher end shocks and cartridges will also have top out springs which allow the suspension to compress easier over small imperfections when there's a light load on that end of the bike. For example when you're braking hard, they will help keep the rear wheel in contact with the road.

What this generally means is a bike with more consistent handling, better tire wear and more traction.

That said, I don't think suspension setup is what holds most people back, especially at a track day pace. I raced all last year stock cartridges and shocks on my '15 R1 and even managed a couple podiums in the expert class. Halfway through the season I did put in stiffer springs to accommodate my weight (~205lb suited up). I also played with the fork valving on my own winding up with looser shim stacks, especially on the compression side. Now that I have the Ktech DDS carts and pro shock in, I can really see just how crappy the KYB stock parts are. Again though, stock suspension probably isn't doing too much to slow you down at this point. You'd probably benefit a lot from just getting springs for your weight and then adjusting damping to suit.

 

I see almost all advanced riders and even many intermediate riders upgraded their suspensions to high-end. However, just like you said, the stock suspension would not hold me back at my pace. I felt that could have gone faster with stock set up if my skill was better. I think it is all about trusting my bike and rubber. Thank you for enlightening me.

 

Don't get sucked into spending a ton of money on aftermarket replacement suspension. The stock components can be reworked to perform very well.