I just revisited adjusting the shocks for rebound but (without my rider's manual,
it's at home 300 miles away) I don't remember how, if it's even possible, to
adjust the suspension to carry the additional weight of an occasional passenger.
I've got my suspension adjusted OK for my 265 lbs but the other day my wife
went with me for a short jaunt and the bike settled noticeably at the rear.
Also scraped the pegs much sooner, indicating the whole rig was sitting lower
because of the added weight of the passenger.
I didn't have my reading glasses with, and didn't want to dig for the screwdriver
under the saddlebag straps and all that just for a short ride, so didn't mess with
the suspension. Didn't remember how, if possible, to compensate for the added
weight anyway.
Can some kind soul shed some light on that?
Or, is the only adjustment available the shock damping? If so, I think I'd need some
additional weight capacity in the spring itself.
I'm going to be retiring in a little while so my wife will likely be riding with me
more frequently. About an extra 150 lbs, plus we'd likely be carrying maybe
20 + lbs of extra "stuff".
I haven't had time to adequately research suspension upgrades - feel free to
offer suggestions. I'm not a boy-racer any more, so just interested in a decent
ride and having the suspension capable of handling our combined weight safely.
Thanks much!
Adjusting suspension to compensate for added load
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riceburner
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Re: Adjusting suspension to compensate for added load
Don't adjust the damping - adjust the Pre-Load. That will stop the bike settling so much.
(I'm sure you know this - but for anyone who doesn't : put basically - the pre-load adjustment is there so that you can set up your bike in such a manner that the suspension is "centred" in it's overall range of movement when your weight is on the bike. Adding weight will move the "at rest" position of the suspension away from the middle of it's movement range, so you need to re-adjust the preload.
The damping adjustments control the speed at which the oil in the suspension unit moves around within the unit as it is compressed and extended)
On our bikes that's the screw fitting down by your left boot - screw it down tight.
(I'm sure you know this - but for anyone who doesn't : put basically - the pre-load adjustment is there so that you can set up your bike in such a manner that the suspension is "centred" in it's overall range of movement when your weight is on the bike. Adding weight will move the "at rest" position of the suspension away from the middle of it's movement range, so you need to re-adjust the preload.
The damping adjustments control the speed at which the oil in the suspension unit moves around within the unit as it is compressed and extended)
On our bikes that's the screw fitting down by your left boot - screw it down tight.
Re: Adjusting suspension to compensate for added load
What riceburner said, with some minor additions.
The R has pretty basic suspension that works surprisingly well.
The front is adjustable for DAMPING ONLY. Thats the screwdriver thing.
The rear is adjustable for DAMPING, using the screwdriver, and for PRELOAD, using the big knob by your left foot.
An old 'rule-of-thumb' passed to me by a few people who had played a lot with R suspension settings was that if you were a heavy rider, or always carried a load in the panniers, you simply crank everything up to MAX and then back it all off (both damping screws and the preload knob) by ONE or TWO TURNS.
What that means is that you are running the stock suspension at fairly hard settings. A lighter rider and load could go back to half way on everything (count the rotations) and end up with a good setting.
It will handle it. The suspension is good at the hard end of the scale. The bike will also be less reactive to hard bumps like potholes and ridges. The R suspension system is far more forgiving of 'bad' settings than most normally suspended bikes.
That's the way I've ridden mine for many years and many tens of thousands of kilometres on all sorts of roads. Suspension is still original and still very functional at 145,000 kms.
The R has pretty basic suspension that works surprisingly well.
The front is adjustable for DAMPING ONLY. Thats the screwdriver thing.
The rear is adjustable for DAMPING, using the screwdriver, and for PRELOAD, using the big knob by your left foot.
An old 'rule-of-thumb' passed to me by a few people who had played a lot with R suspension settings was that if you were a heavy rider, or always carried a load in the panniers, you simply crank everything up to MAX and then back it all off (both damping screws and the preload knob) by ONE or TWO TURNS.
What that means is that you are running the stock suspension at fairly hard settings. A lighter rider and load could go back to half way on everything (count the rotations) and end up with a good setting.
It will handle it. The suspension is good at the hard end of the scale. The bike will also be less reactive to hard bumps like potholes and ridges. The R suspension system is far more forgiving of 'bad' settings than most normally suspended bikes.
That's the way I've ridden mine for many years and many tens of thousands of kilometres on all sorts of roads. Suspension is still original and still very functional at 145,000 kms.
I ride an R1150GS Adventure with sidecar. IBA #39193
Re: Adjusting suspension to compensate for added load
Thanks to you both!
I'm more of a motorvation type person and more or less lacking in
suspension sophistication, so good clear descriptions like that are
just what I needed.
I'm not very demanding of my suspension as far as riding style,
only with the load it has to carry :-/ , so - as I continue to "hear"
that the stock suspension is quite acceptable - I strongly suspect
if I get the settings even in the right ballpark I'll be perfectly happy.
I'm more of a motorvation type person and more or less lacking in
suspension sophistication, so good clear descriptions like that are
just what I needed.
I'm not very demanding of my suspension as far as riding style,
only with the load it has to carry :-/ , so - as I continue to "hear"
that the stock suspension is quite acceptable - I strongly suspect
if I get the settings even in the right ballpark I'll be perfectly happy.
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riceburner
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Re: Adjusting suspension to compensate for added load
Worth also pointing out that where MIXR has said "DAMPING" - that's referring to the damping in BOTH directions (compression & rebound).
on more expensive units/forks you can adjust the damping (the speed at which the oil moves in the unit as the unit compresses and extends) for EITHER direction seperately. Ohlins/Wilsons etc will probably allow this, but the standard Showa's on our bikes won't.
Also worth pointing out that BMW's standard settings were pretty "soft".
on more expensive units/forks you can adjust the damping (the speed at which the oil moves in the unit as the unit compresses and extends) for EITHER direction seperately. Ohlins/Wilsons etc will probably allow this, but the standard Showa's on our bikes won't.
Also worth pointing out that BMW's standard settings were pretty "soft".