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Standard Suspension Setup

For those with a KTM the Standard Suspension Setup comes easy. At the factory front and rear end are adjusted aimed at a rider of 75 kilos. Eating more or less this weight can be reached by everyone ;-) Basically the 3S is very easy to set up on your offroader:

Rear shock

1. Measure the distance between rear axle and a fixed point somewhere at the rear fender while the bike is free of any load. Just put it on the centre stand or on a small crate;
2. Put the bike on the ground with both wheels and measure the same distance again. The weight of the bike itself should not use more than 3 centimetres of suspension travel (KTM gives 5 - 20 mm);
3. Sit down on the bike in attac position - best is with all gear on and boots on the pegs. Again measure the distance between axle and rear fender;
4. The difference between unloaded and loaded should be somewhere between 10 and 7.5 centimetres. By adjusting the rear spring preload the best measure can be obtained. BEWARE: if preload has to be adjusted more than 0.5 centimetres from the basic setup the spring coil chould be swapped for a stiffer or weaker one!

   Front fork

5. Measure the distance unloaded btween the front axle and eg. the lower forkbridge;
6. Put the bike on both wheels again - the fork legs should not use more than 4 cms of travel (KTM 20 - 35 mm).

   By carefully putting a tie wrap around the inner tube against the fork seals when unloaded the wrap shifts with the travel when the bike is put on both wheels again. This way suspension travel is measured more easy.

   The travel of the front fork with the rider on the bike is very hard to measure. The amount of travel used depends too much on terrain and riders position in the saddle.

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Precision Adjustments

With the 3S as a starting point suspension can be easily adjusted to the terrain you're riding. The table below gives some possibilities for different types of terrain. Compression(COM) influences the way suspension is deminished and rebound(REB) the way the fork or shock expands again.

With WP front forks (USD and RSD) compression and rebound are adjusted in just one of each fork tube.

Compression of the rear shock can be adjusted with a screw or knob on the expansion reservoir (3). Rebound is adjusted with the setting wheel or screw on the downside of the shock (4).

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Solving Problems

Sometimes the bike does not react the way it should be. In most cases adjusting the suspension setup more or less will improve riding conditions. Below some symphoms as well as solutions arde given (thanks to Thomas Zietz).

Symptom	Possible cause	Possible solution
The bike oversteers - the radius of the curve steered appeares smaller, the front wheel 'falls' into the curve	The bike's front lies too low compared to the rear	Let the fork stick out further out of the forkbridge Increase compression of the fork Use stiffer front fork spring coils
The bike understeers - the radius of the curve steered appeares bigger, the front wheel slips out of the curve	The bike's front lies too high compared to the rear	Let the fork stick in farther into the forkbridge Decrease fork compression Use softer front fork spring coils
Front wheel is unstable at high speed and when riding out of curves	The bike's front lies too low compared to the rear	Let the fork stick out further out of the forkbridge Increase compression of the fork Use stiffer front fork spring coils
Front wheel is unstable when braking	The bike is too low at the front or too high at the rear	Increase compression of the fork Use stiffer front fork spring coils More or thicker oil in the fork tubes
Front fork: Suspension travel is not fully used, bad grip on bumpy curves, suspension feels hard	Front fork: Suspension too hard or too much compression	Front fork: Relieve excess pressure from the inside of the fork Decrease compression Use softer front fork spring coils
Front fork: reaches the end of travel or is too soft	Front fork: Spring coils are too soft or compression is too low	Front fork: Increase compression Use stiffer front fork spring coils
Front fork: Too hard at large bumps	Front fork: Too progressive	Front fork: Less or thinner oil in the fork tubes
Front fork: After several bumps front suspension suddenly becomes harder, less grip in bumpy curves	Front fork: Too much rebound	Front fork:: Reduce rebound
Front fork: fork tubes expand too fast, less grip in bumpy curves	Front fork: Too less rebound	Front fork: Increase rebound
Rear shock: Monoshock achter: Suspension travel is not fully used, bad grip on bumpy curves, suspension feels hard	Rear shock: Too much compression or too much preload	Rear shock: Compression verminderen Veervoorspanning verlagen
Rear shock: Suspension reaches its end, feels weak, uses too much travel just because of the rider	Rear shock: Too less preload, too soft rear spring coil	Rear shock: Increase preload - determine right Standard Suspension Setup Use stiffer rear spring coil
Rear shock: Rear wheel jumps when braking on small bumps or downhill, bas traction in bumpy curves	Rear shock: Too much preload or too much compression	Rear shock: Decrease preload Decrease compression
Rear shock: Rear wheel jumps on edges, bike lands on the front wheel	Rear shock: Too less rebound	Rear shock: Increase rebound
Rear shock: Rear wheel uses an increasing amount of travel on successive bumps, bad traction on bumpy curves or when braking on a bumpy track	Rear shock: Too much rebound	Rear shock: Decrease rebound
Rear shock: Rear wheel is very unstable, suspension does not alter after made adjustments	Rear shock: Worn gaskets inside the shock or different problem	Rear shock: Repair or replace rear shock

Thanks to Thomas Zietz and KTM-SOMMER