Diavel Shock Setup - Not Öhlins Just Yet!

Hi, you will struggle to get your suspension right for every eventuality on UK roads as the surfaces are so poor and rutted and riddled with bomb craters. Take a look in your handbook for guidance but the way I do it is to wind everything off counting the clicks or turns as you go so that in worst case you can put it all back where it was. Pick a short varied stretch of road near to home and ride it each time you make a change to decide if it was an improvement. Aim to get the front and rear wheel following the contours of the road surface without undue force acting up through the forks to the bars or up through the seat to your backside. Set the rebound so that the bike is not pogoing up and down afterwards. Ignore other people’s settings as they may not work for you or how you want the bike to feel. If the bike has done significant mileage make sure that all is in good nick or you will be wasting your time. It’s your bike so play with it until it rides how you like it. It’s good craic and very satisfying to get it right for yourself.

 

You are not far from me and I'm happy to share my experiences setting up my girlfriend's Diavel over a coffee especially if cake makes an appearance Currently in a committee meeting so will PM you probably tomorrow. Andy

 

If you are getting some help then the first thing to do is set the static sag. This is not possible on your own but is easy enough with one or preferably two helpers.

 

There are some good masterclass video’s on u tube about suspension set up in general.

Worth a watch, as others have said, get some paper, wind the damping and rebound all the way in, counting the clicks as you go. Write down the current settings for front and back. Wind back to were they were. Then start to tweak from there. If it all feels wrong, go back to your base settings and try again.

 

Completely depends on your riding style and expectations , you might find settings you can live with if you’re looking for comfort , but it will be a compromise

You won’t find any settings that make the stock suspension work correctly for your weight if you’re coming from sports bikes and looking for handling
stock , the rear is too soft and you’ll need to up the preload to near max to set sag , which leads to a kick in the arse on anything but smooth surfaces
Equally , the front is too hard , hit a bump leant over and it stands up .. I though it dangerous, but I wasn’t riding it like a cruiser

swapped out the rear for a Nitron R1, put Andreani cartridges up front , and completely transformed the bike .. best grand or so you’ll spend - I’m sure Ohlins are better , and spendier ... for UK road use this setup was ‘kin excellent

sort the front first is my tip

 

On professional advice, I have just had the OE Marzocchi fork springs changed for Wilbur progressive fork springs (manufactured specific to rider weight) and used 5w fork oil instead of 7.5w on a 2012 base model. Springs including shipping (from Germany via Birmingham) worked out at £124 and oil (2x720cc) was about £15. I’ve never done a fork rebuild so had our workshop do it. Pretty straight forward when you know how but you do need a rigid mounted vice set up so the fork top is about chest height and a special little forked tool to keep the spring compressed whilst you undo the top gubbins with the preload and rebound mechanisms in it. I ended up paying about half the cost of fitting an Andreani cartridge kit and a shed load less than buying Ohlins. After a 70 mile ride with stops to fine tune the settings, the front end handling has been transformed beyond recognition. I can highly recommend this route. Andy

 

That’s great info .. and is aligned to my advice to sort the front end first , before swapping out the rear shock
I changed to Andreani as first step ... I think you already have changed to Ohlins rear ? Which adds height, (10mm?) and changes front end geometry .

 

Yes mate, you are correct. Mad romantic fool that I am, I did buy her an Ohlins rear shock for one Christmas (or it might have been a birthday, I can’t remember) as there is no alternative to improve the OE rear shock other than buying something (anything) else. I’m not sure but I don’t think the Nitron was available at the time I bought but I hear good things about it. The ride height post Ohlins fitting was unchanged (770mm seat height) and believe me, I would have heard if it had changed . Andy

 

Helluva pressie ... you sir, are a keeper

The 10mm extra length on the Ohlins (read about, not stating as fact ) (adjustabubble up to 10mm on the Nitron ) would possibly not be noticed if overall seat height remained the same (ish) as front end dropped some ?
Definitely made a difference when put Andreani up front . I had to complete readjust the OEM rear (which had been cranked up to get the OEM front working)

 

Interesting. I’m absolutely sure that the ride height post fitting the Ohlins is the same which is how I would have expected the workshop to install it without instructions to the contrary. Changing the springs in the forks definitely hasn’t altered the overall length as I watched the technician take measurements of the position of the setting nut on the central threaded rod. One noticeable change for me and Carole though is that the steering input required when wheeling the bike around the garage seems less. Hey ho, Carole is over the moon with how her Diavel rides now, however we arrived at a solution. Andy

 

The very first thing to do is set your sag 25mm ish or there about. Utube is your friend