NC30 middle of the road? track setup

[tigerclaw]

When I bought my bike the forks were dropped 6 mil's through the front yoke... while I am rebuilding it I am thinking about putting a rose joint link (links) in the rear suspension to make it adjustable for ride height. If I lift the tail I am guessing that the 6 mil's in the front may become unnecessary or to much. The bike is indended for track day use and then pottering around on the road (ie hard work is going to happen on the track and literally go to a friends house or pop to the shop for a loaf of bread type riding... no flat out breakfast runs etc)... What is the suggested / approximate setup re the front and rear? (I will be taking the bike to someone to check and help setup the shocks for my weight etc when I find such a someone, just want to start by hitting more or less in the right ball park) - thanks

[ChowderV4]

When I bought my bike the forks were dropped 6 mil's through the front yoke... while I am rebuilding it I am thinking about putting a rose joint link (links) in the rear suspension to make it adjustable for ride height. If I lift the tail I am guessing that the 6 mil's in the front may become unnecessary or to much. The bike is indended for track day use and then pottering around on the road (ie hard work is going to happen on the track and literally go to a friends house or pop to the shop for a loaf of bread type riding... no flat out breakfast runs etc)... What is the suggested / approximate setup re the front and rear? (I will be taking the bike to someone to check and help setup the shocks for my weight etc when I find such a someone, just want to start by hitting more or less in the right ball park) - thanks

I experimented with dropping the forks in my nc, and personally i dropped it 5mm and it was waaaayyy to skittish, would almost drop on its side as soon as you went to lean. I can imagine if you raised the rear too it would make it extremely sensitive and make it turn in far to quick, but then again its all on what your riding preferences are.

[tigerclaw]

My bike doesnt feel skittish at all but I actually think the rear shock needs to be sorted... probably is sagging to much (owner before me was probably 10 kgs lighter than I am) I have read as much as I can find and I see dropping the front forks is not the suggested route because it reduces ground clearance and clearance between the front wheel and radiator (although 6 mil is 6 mil... cant be to bad)... but from a logic point of view if I take the front forks to standard height and race the rear by 6 mil I should be in the same place / angle again?

[ChowderV4]

yeah it will give the same effect and angle as having standard rear ride height and dropped forks.

May also be wirth setting up the static sag so you know its all properly set up for your weight.

[quality]

I have put a rick oliver jack up kit on mine and left the front standard. Gives better ground clearance and quick steering but for me spot on. I use mine for track and road and it rides spot on.

[CMSMJ1]

from a logic point of view if I take the front forks to standard height and race the rear by 6 mil I should be in the same place / angle again?

Doesn't quite work like that as the whole bike is higher up and you have more ground clearance for starters - a good thing.

I've always ran my forks level with the slight chamfer in the yokes - that is on my road bikes and race bike. I also used RVF dogbones to raise the ride height on all bikes and it was never skittish - perhaps if you rode something else for a while and then got back on an NC you would be whipping into the corners far faster than you expect.

On the whole, a working shock, a touch more rear ride height and you are in the game. Dropping the forks (or raising them really..) in the yokes is not the best due to the lack of clearance between front wheel and rad and mudguard and V piece.

[tigerclaw]

With the RVF dogbone how much does the tail lift compared to the VFR dogbone?

[bikemonkey]

35mm I think? Doesn't sound much but it's very noticeable

[kostritzer]

I run my NC30 track bike with 7mm sticking up past the top yoke and a modified dogbone that I believe is a bit shorter than the stock RVF link. Rear shock is a few mm longer than the stock shock as well. Doesn't feel twitchy to me. A little wiggle from the bars every now and then from the bumpier sections of the track I usually ride, but I don't run a damper either.

What size and type of tires do you use on track?

[tigerclaw]

I havent even taken it to the track yet , I am rebuilding it at the moment (was mechanically sound but I am making everything new and pretty ). It has battlax tyres on it, standard size, front is a 120/70/17 rear is a 150/60/18 but they are a bit shagged (previous owner did a fair amount of trackwork) so they are due for a replacement (any suggestions about tyres are also welcome) - I was thinking about getting full race tyres (hardish compound) because the bike is going to do limited road work (longest rides will be to the track and hopefully back ) and mostly the cops dont pay attention to the kind of tyres so it may be worth risking