suspension

[dano]

Probably a really easy question:
I've now got about 5K on the bike and am getting more familiar with it's ride/feel, etc. I'm unclear as to how the suspension/preload, etc. should be (i'm 5'10, 170lbs). i ride one-up exclusively. where should i 'set the screws'? some twisty riding, but mainly commute in city/highway.
again, good luck to our southern/texan/La contingent.

[1stBeemer]

Dano,

I followed the advice of many here and started with front and rear shocks set at 2 full turns out from FULL HARD. After that you can see if you, personally, want to go a little softer or harder.

After riding for a while I decided that those are the settings I will keep.

The rear spring preload, however, gets adjusted quite a lot due to having or not having a passenger and/or luggage, road conditions and city riding/commuting vs hitting some higher speed twisties.

Riding 1-up I keep the rear preload above STD. by about 1-1.5 notches. Its a little too hard for city (NYC) bumps but I want to keep the bike flickable to avoid nasty yellow cabs and some pretty big pot holes we have here.

[boxermania]

dano..........Preload is the most influential adjustment to the bike's ride. The general method of adjustment for a street bike is:

With the bike on the center stand measure the vertical distance from the rear of the single arm to a place on the rear plastic. The measurement points must remain the same for the exercise to insure accuracy. Say that you measured 17 inches, record. Let's call this measurement the unloaded one.

Then take the bike off the stand, sit on the bike and bounce up and down a couple of times to settle the suspension. With the help of an assistant and the bike balanced measure the distance to the same two vertical points. Let's call this measurement the loaded one.....say the measurement is 15 inches.

You want to keep the difference between the two measurements in the 1" to 1.25", so in this case, the measurement difference is 17"- 15" = 2", you need to add preload by turning the knob in the clockwiise position. I would go 4 clicks at a time and remeasure the loaded dimension until it gets to the desired value. In the opposite case you would remove preload.

The reason for this measurement is that street bikes have approximately between 4 to 4.5 inches of rear suspension travel and you don't want that shock compressed near the bottom of the travel, otherwise when you hit bad pavement or a bump the suspension will bottom out and make the wheel behave like a pogo stick, affecting the control. Also the ride would be extremely soft, uncomfortable and would not inspire rider confidence.

By testing, I have determined that the stock shock preload range is ~ 125 pounds to 325 pounds........anything over the top would require a stronger spring. Based on your weight, I would say that your starting position would be 10 to 12 clicks from the unloaded position. Start counting once the knob feels hard to turn.

Good luck, let me know how you make out

[dano]

Thanks alot; both of ya helped a lot. i'll give it a whirl.
next, i'll be asking questions about putting the bike up. but not yet!!!

[darthrider]

Al (or whatever the hell your name really is!?) -
That's really good. Good research, good explanation.
Come over Sat and set up my Speed Triple for me, lots more adjustments to play with...I'll buy the beer!
Well, maybe. How much can you drink?