Yamaha R6 Graves suspension link, who uses it

Just curious to see as there are so many R6 Racers out there who uses the suspension link by Graves. Its pretty pricey, but is it worth it? I have a 2017 R6 that I am building for next season and have been contemplating finally pulling the trigger on this. Any experience?

 

for most of us the shock linkage is not allowed in superstock. @ekraft84 mentioned once that its not a "miracle drug" as far as bike setup goes. he might be able to explain a bit better or discuss if he's used one on his R6 ever. @stangmx13 is also an R6 guru who might know about the link. melk is out so we can't ask him lol

 

Thanks Joe, I didnt even think of the SS limitation as that is where I will be racing next season. This is the first R6 build for me, stepping down from the R1 so I dont have the experience with it.

 

the stock linkage works pretty well. i believe in 2017 graves ran their link on their bikes in MA but in 2018+ the link was not allowed. I tried researching the linkage before i got into racing and couldn't find much, once i got involved in racing i realized why people don't use it.. they can't lol.

 

Ya the link isn’t MA legal so I’ve never even considered using it.

I have seen one bike rip at a trackday with it and was offered a ride on it. But turns out I had pneumonia that day so I’m glad I didn’t. Plus it had a triple on it too, old school AMA SS spec.

 

I never used it. Wanted to, but it wasn't SSTK legal. I had been told it offered ways to provide better grip, but never had the chance to try it out.

 

That's a really good way to describe plenty of aftermarket suspension parts, esp links and triples. You don't "automatically" get more performance like you would from going from a Hard tire to a Soft one. You just get the options that could result in more performance for some setups with some riders and certain tracks.

 

have you ridden the bike without the link? I could see it being an issue if the stock version was meant to give passenger geometry.

 

I did a trackday on the bike the day after I bought it. 100% stock with slicks. First time on a bike (coming off my R1) in 16 months so I was rusty all morning and the stock R6 is the slowest F-ing thing in the world without gearing! lol. Plus I was overweight by 30lbs which has been corrected now. The R6 is such a great handling bike though. I just wanted soem feedback to see if this link was worth it. But now Joe pointed out its not legal in SS so there is zero chance I will be buying it now.

 

Sorry thought that was pointed to me.

 

gearing on the R6 stock isn't bad, i have a buddy who is super fast and he decimated me with stock gearing at a shorter track. Typically the faster guys benefit from closer to stock gearing with higher corner speeds.

 

Well its gone now anyways but some corners where you cant keep the corner speed its a dog to get back into the high RPMs.

 

what kind of final ratio did you settle on? over a 3.0?
I rode a friends this weekend with a 3.05 rowing the hell out of the shifter

 

I ended up doing what I do with all the Yamahas. 520 conversion -1/+2. Im always looking for 7th gear at Fontana, but the smaller tracks seem to work well with it.

 

Everyone told me 15/42-43 when I got mine. I thought no way I could use that with a stock engine. So I put on 15/47 (-1/+2). As I got used to the bike and changed setups and added corner speed, I bought a 45, 44, and now a 43. Everybody is different, but just be prepared to change.

 

Which one are you talking about? There are two of them

 

Either one. Looks like there is an A and a B. The A is an all around link. I think the B is for nasty weather if I remember correctly.

 

As I recall (memory fuzzy), we ran "A" at Daytona and "B" everywhere else.All were tested several times by very fast professional riders, over several seasons.
Looking back now, years later, Beach couldn't tell the difference between any of them, they all felt similar and laptimes were inconclusive. A comment of "that feels better" would be followed by "not sure why,it just feels better." Go figure.. Never worked on Gerloff's bike but he liked one better than the other and it wasn't the one they figured it would be.! Again, laptimes basically same same.
Beaubier was very fast on whatever they had in his bike. Probably could have taken the shock OUT and substituted a strut and he still would have won. He always could go faster when needed.

It's very possible you could buy the link and not be able to make it an advantage for you.

 

interesting... I could see that as the preferred setup at daytona seems to favor "softer" springs for the rear.

 

Wow! From the best source. Appreciate the feedback and yes for someone of my caliber would probably not know how to get the most out of it. Good feedback Dave thanks.