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The spring does the work. Pre-load is the tension in the spring that allows the spring to follow the road when you ride over a dip for example. The damping controls the behaviour of the spring in both in compression and rebound. The best advice with non-adjustable suspension (like the Bonnie) is to see what works best for you. But generally: First you need to determine your correct spring rate - generally your weight determines this. (Most modem bikes seem to use a 75-80kg as the mean rider weight) If you buy custom springs from a reputable supplier you can be pretty sure they'll get this right. Then you need to set the sag by adjusting the pre-load. There are base lines for this and it's pretty simple to do. Then you need the correct damping fluid and correctly set compression and rebound damping. This depends largely on what feels right to you. Fully adjustable suspension will allow you to tune your suspension. It takes time, but if you do some reading it's not too difficult. The key is to own fully adjustable suspension. Unfortunately neither the Bonnie nor the Thrux really have this. Adjustable pre-load has limited functionality but its better than nothing. If you really want a safe handling bike you need to bin the stock suspension, both front and rear and replace it with custom spring suspension that is adjustable for pre-load and compression and rebound damping. Sorry but that's the truth!
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