Your dirt bike suspension is one of the most important pieces of equipment on your motorcycle and is also one of the most commonly overlooked. Your suspension is one of the most important pieces of equipment that directly relates to your safety and overall performance. Whether you are just a weekend warrior and enjoy trail riding or you’re an amateur racer having a well-tuned suspension should be one of your first concerns. Below I have listed some common issues riders have related to their suspension and suggested solutions to them.
Problem: Headshaking on deceleration
Solution: This problem can be caused by a few different issues but you should always start with your tire pressure to make sure that it is around 15 psi before we can start trouble shooting to resolve the issue. The next thing I would suggest looking into is the stiffness of your front springs. If your front springs are too loose then when you apply the brakes your front end will want to dip down and cause that shaking.
Problem: Front end oversteering and washing out in turns
Solution: This problem can also be caused by a few different issues but we always what to start with inspecting the front tire to make sure that there is no damage to the sidewalls causing the bike to over steer. Next, this issue can be caused by and over stiff front suspension that is not allowing the suspension to work properly and absorb the compression before entering into a turn. You can easily fix this issue by adjusting your compression out a few clicks to your preferred setting.
Problem: Suspension bottoms out after jumps
Solution: This is a common issue with people riding on a stock suspension that is not properly tuned to their riding style or weight. This issue can be cause by a spring that is not stiff enough or your compression ratio is set to soft and can’t absorb the hard impact of a jump. If this is not the issue, the next step would be to check the oil level to ensure that there is enough to let the suspension perform properly.
