MotoTunerBlog · 21 Aug 2026 · 8 min
Motorcycle clickers explained
Clickers are a needle on a shim stack. They change how much oil can pass. They are not a new spring. If sag is out of the window, do not chase clickers.
Compression controls how the stroke takes a hit. Rebound controls how fast it comes back. Low-speed (LS) is body motion — brake dive, squat, chassis pitch. High-speed (HS) is the sharp-edge hit — curbs, ripple, square bumps.
Write the convention first
Wrong convention makes every number on the setup sheet garbage.
- From fully closed: screw in until it stops (gently), then count clicks out. Öhlins-style default on many forks and shocks.
- From fully open: back it all the way out, then count clicks in.
Pick one. Write it on the pit board. Count every clicker: front compression, front rebound, rear compression, rear rebound. If you have HS/LS, count both.
A starting map — not a finished setup
There is no magic hydraulic model that knows your track. A safe start is mid-range of the clicker, then a few clicks for style and bumps:
- Start at round(max / 2)
- Smooth rider: a click less compression
- Aggressive / point-and-shoot: a couple more compression, one more rebound
- Bumpy track: more compliance (fewer clicks from closed)
Then ride. Change one clicker per run. Bumps want more oil to pass. A smooth track can take a firmer mid. Do not “remember” clicks after a red flag. Write them before the dummy grid.
What clickers cannot do
They cannot fix a spring two rates off. They cannot fix a front that is 2 psi low. They cannot fix geometry you just moved 8 mm and forgot to re-measure sag. Use them after the motorcycle is sitting in the window.
MotoTuner is a pit-board app, not a race engineer. Calculators are handbook rules of thumb. You own how the motorcycle is set.