suspension settings

[ricster]

ok...i screwed my rear shock adjuster all the way in...it clicked 18 times...think it was on a soft setting or what? Now i screwed it out to 12 clicks, but the suspension in the rear really feels firm...im 200 lbs 6feet tall...is this setting too stiff for normal northeast roads? Do go 3 more clicks soft? the front forks are set on the 3rd mark...im thinking if i go to the 2nd mark it might be way to too stiff....let me know you suspension experts.

[abird4]

I weigh in the 190-195 range (not incl clothes and gear). I ended up using the Triumph recommended settings for 2-up riding and then adding even a little more preload to the forks, along with 15-weight fork oil. This has worked out well enough, to the point where I no longer find myself wanting to spend $1500 to make it "perfect."

[DaveM]

abird4,
+1 my friend. Good solid advice.

Before I had my rear Showa rebuilt to suit my 220+lbs (nekkid) and the front tweaked I did exactly what you just said. (except I kept the stad weight fork oil).

It was fine until the Showa "went to lunch" at about 30,000kms, but then I hammer it!

DaveM

[steventhechef]

Suspenders are a really personal thing and quite often a compromise between what you can stand in firmness and how hard you want to ride for handling "squishiness" (I think that that is a tech phrase)

I have my set 3 clicks out on the RS but the rear shock is a bit firmer than on the ST (of the corresponding model)

I ride hard and more often than not, two up. FWIW 90 kg and 6'2". my wife is 47kg and 5'1".

I like the firmness and response/feel that it gives you without jarring everytime you go over a bump. Sometimes it can be a bit firm if the road is corrugated but I can live with that.

My suggestion is to have a play and feel the difference - mark the settings in a book and rate it (1->10) - then try again on the same (varied) piece of road.

My front end has started to dive a bit more after my last fork oil change and I am going to put the extra 15 mls in that DaveM suggests.

Good luck

[airrider03]

On 2007-06-29 21:26, abird4 wrote:
I weigh in the 190-195 range (not incl clothes and gear). I ended up using the Triumph recommended settings for 2-up riding and then adding even a little more preload to the forks, along with 15-weight fork oil. This has worked out well enough, to the point where I no longer find myself wanting to spend $1500 to make it "perfect."

I couldn't have said it better myself.
It's nice to have the shocks firm to keep the bike from bottoming out over the gentle dips while accelerating (when all the weight sits on the rear wheel, and the front is just skipping along).
The ST shock offers a certain amount of travel, why bottle up half of it with a low pre-load setting? The public roads aren't smooth enough to run a short travel shock. But a smooth racetrack...yes.
As far as balancing F&R preload, I sit on the bike with the kickstand up, bounce in the seat and ensure the bike remains level as the F&R shocks compress.
Ricster, if you find the high preload setting too firm, check the rebound adjustment (if you can find it, I think it's opposite of where the manual says it is). You can soften that up and maybe get a nice plush ride that way, even with high preload.

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[ This message was edited by: airrider03 on 2007-07-01 06:15 ]