Ok,
Jinkster and I are about the same size so I used his exact settings with the following exceptions:
I only adjusted the rear pre-load 2mm not 4mm. The front compression Jinkster has set at 4 clicks, the manual says the stiffer setting (from stock) is 9 clicks. I set mine at 6 clicks.
I rode the same 47-mile stretch of road yesterday morning with Moondog as I rode this morning with Shibumi. The weather was exactly the same as yesterday.
Yesterday I dropped into a banked left hand tight 25mph corner and at the bottom of the corner felt the bike "sink" into the suspension and not in a good controlled way. That happened in a couple of corners right and left. By the end of the ride, I knew something had to change.
I reset the suspension last night.
This morning, Shibumi and I took off. No pics, not the intent of the ride. I dropped into the same corners as close as I could get to the same as yesterday. Guinevere was solid; she handled the corners as if she was on rails. We completed the ride down and had to soften the front of Shibumi's just a bit, he is not as a big a guy as I am. With my new found confidence in this big bikes suspension, we started the return trip.
Came thru the same corners, half off the seat and on the edge of the tires, awesome awesome awesome. We did about 7 miles on the interstate on the way back to determine how rough the ride was for "touring". Not too bad.
I did not do all the measurements that Jinkster did. With he and I being with 10-15 lbs of each other I decided that his numbers were good.
Under hard acceleration the nose does not come up as far or as fast allowing for even quicker controlled acceleration, while keeping both wheels on the ground. Under hard braking the nose still dives (I am 245 + the bike, does not matter what you do the nose is going to dive) but the dive is more precise, consistent and predictable.
I am running Avon AV46/45 tires. They are "sport touring". Even with my fat butt on the bike, they were steady and predictable. No slipping at all. The bike turns in nice and smooth and comes out the same way. Oh yeah, I have about 1400 miles on them and they look almost brand new.
The only negative aspect of the adjustments is that with it being stiffer all the way around, you feel every single little bump in the road in your butt and your shoulders.
Over all opinion:
I commute 150 miles a day when I ride, usually the "slab" interstate on the way down and this mornings ride on the way back. Even with the stiffer settings, the bike is still comfortable to ride.
If you have considered doing this and thought, "How much difference could those little adjs make? Get away from the computer and go tweak your suspension".
Thanks Bill, for the research and info.
See you all soon (meet-n-greet), in a corner near you on a bike that will not carve corners.
Don
<!--EDIT|usn04limited
Reason for Edit: None given...|1155486294 -->
Jinkster and I are about the same size so I used his exact settings with the following exceptions:
I only adjusted the rear pre-load 2mm not 4mm. The front compression Jinkster has set at 4 clicks, the manual says the stiffer setting (from stock) is 9 clicks. I set mine at 6 clicks.
I rode the same 47-mile stretch of road yesterday morning with Moondog as I rode this morning with Shibumi. The weather was exactly the same as yesterday.
Yesterday I dropped into a banked left hand tight 25mph corner and at the bottom of the corner felt the bike "sink" into the suspension and not in a good controlled way. That happened in a couple of corners right and left. By the end of the ride, I knew something had to change.
I reset the suspension last night.
This morning, Shibumi and I took off. No pics, not the intent of the ride. I dropped into the same corners as close as I could get to the same as yesterday. Guinevere was solid; she handled the corners as if she was on rails. We completed the ride down and had to soften the front of Shibumi's just a bit, he is not as a big a guy as I am. With my new found confidence in this big bikes suspension, we started the return trip.
Came thru the same corners, half off the seat and on the edge of the tires, awesome awesome awesome. We did about 7 miles on the interstate on the way back to determine how rough the ride was for "touring". Not too bad.
I did not do all the measurements that Jinkster did. With he and I being with 10-15 lbs of each other I decided that his numbers were good.
Under hard acceleration the nose does not come up as far or as fast allowing for even quicker controlled acceleration, while keeping both wheels on the ground. Under hard braking the nose still dives (I am 245 + the bike, does not matter what you do the nose is going to dive) but the dive is more precise, consistent and predictable.
I am running Avon AV46/45 tires. They are "sport touring". Even with my fat butt on the bike, they were steady and predictable. No slipping at all. The bike turns in nice and smooth and comes out the same way. Oh yeah, I have about 1400 miles on them and they look almost brand new.
The only negative aspect of the adjustments is that with it being stiffer all the way around, you feel every single little bump in the road in your butt and your shoulders.
Over all opinion:
I commute 150 miles a day when I ride, usually the "slab" interstate on the way down and this mornings ride on the way back. Even with the stiffer settings, the bike is still comfortable to ride.
If you have considered doing this and thought, "How much difference could those little adjs make? Get away from the computer and go tweak your suspension".
Thanks Bill, for the research and info.
See you all soon (meet-n-greet), in a corner near you on a bike that will not carve corners.
Don
<!--EDIT|usn04limited
Reason for Edit: None given...|1155486294 -->
