Suspension setup & Brakes

Having just taken delivery of my newe F4 i have riden just over 300 miles (non Motorway) in the last couple of days.

I Am over the moon with it, as didn't test ride before and took a chance. I really hoped it would be a great replacement to my 996.

Love the front end, on standard settings its perfect for the riding i've done on the roads so far, although haven't really pushed it because i'm supposed to be running in!!

My two small concerns so far were the rear suspension and brakes.

To me the rear suspension seems very firm on bumpy roads (UK). Have any of you made any suspension adjustments for fast road that have work or not worked? Do any of you think the same asme? should i just leave it and have more faith in it and get used to it?

Let me Know what you think please.

Mainly intersested in rear setup, but any help on front would also be great.

And the brakes are poor. I think 300 miles has given them enough chance to bed in. i mean they work but not great. Any feed back on this would be appreciated too, ie mods, and whether you all think the same. ( I'm comparing them to to my 996 and sp1 and they don't come close, especially to the sp1-sorry for swearing again!!)

Thanks for reading, sorry if i've bored you but your time for a reply would be well appreciated. Bye for now

Paul

-- paul h (paulonly@ntlworld.com), March 03, 2002

Answers

On my MV I have about 20mm sag at the rear.I am not a great believer of compression damping on our bumpy roads,(front or rear).The ride is definately on the firm side,but just about perfect when having fun.

-- Jonathan (gabzf4@yahoo.co.uk), March 05, 2002.

hallo paul rear end is hard on my senna but I want to give it some more road use before touching it. The MV owners club of GB have some information on F4 set ups. Front brakes are poor. If they dont bed in I will be looking for alternative pads and have my lines bled just to be sure. Tony B

-- Tony Beckwith (tbeckwith@leevalleypark.org.uk), March 11, 2002.

I have now 22 000 km on my MV F4. The bike is in the shop for the replacement of the whole front brake system. The calipers have to be replaced because air comes into the system very slowly so that after 500 km, the brakes becomes too spungy. This is a known problem on certain MV's. Replacement happens under warrantee. Both front disks are bent and will be replaced. It seems that I am the first rider with that problem. Again they will be replaced under warrantee. I come from a Ducati 916, and I agree that the brakes are different but they are not poor as many riders think. I agree, they are not very suitable for normal road riding, but they are great when they are used in a sportive way like for instance on a track.

best regards

Patrick

-- Patrick Maes (patrick.maes@electrabel.com), March 14, 2002.

Know exactly what you mean. My other bike is a Fireblade which has been professional set-up and feels much softer and sure footed even on top group track days. I have recently set front and rear suspension to the soft settings suggested in the manual and although too early to say with confidence I find the feel much better. I suspect I will settle for settings in between standard and soft. If u need to know the details please email, but I think you will like the softer settings especially for bumpy UK roads.

-- Chris Green (chris@www.chrisvgreen.co.uk), April 28, 2002.