soften the rear suspension

[Dean]

Hey guys, just a quick question.
I'm trying to soften the suspension in the rear for a bit of a smoother ride, I'm only 75kgs so what do you recommend? now the manual says turn the spring 3 clicks for comfort does it make that much difference?. Is that 3 clicks clock wise or anti? and do you need a hook wrench? because if there is a screw driver or something else i can use instead of buying a hook wrench for 1 use that would be great. cheers guys.

 

[Formula390]

Hey guys, just a quick question.
I'm trying to soften the suspension in the rear for a bit of a smoother ride, I'm only 75kgs so what do you recommend? now the manual says turn the spring 3 clicks for comfort does it make that much difference?. Is that 3 clicks clock wise or anti? and do you need a hook wrench? because if there is a screw driver or something else i can use instead of buying a hook wrench for 1 use that would be great. cheers guys.

There is an adjuster in your toolkit under the seat, in the blue pouch. To "soften" you will "unload" the spring by turning it a the "lower" point on preload adjuster:

Here you see the shock set at it's MAXIMUM position, compressing the spring with as much preload as possible. Turn it CLOCKWISE (when viewed from above) to decrease the preload / soften the spring. If you keep going counter clockwise eventually it will "flip" to the lowest position. If you won't want to screw with trying to use the adjuster wrench, you can also just do what most of us do... get a BIG and LONG flathead screwdriver and a heavy hammer and wack the fingers to move the adjuster around. Just be careful to try and not hit the spring or you can chip the paint off it which will EVENTUALLY cause rust.

 

[Dean]

Thanks a lot Matt, thats so helpful. I will go have a go at it now. thanks again

 

[mr-fabricator]

The stock shock isnt exactly plush and offers very little damping , its also progressive meaning as the suspension compresses it gets stiffer .

Your around my weight so for street and comfort in mind try 3 or 4 position from fully soft and leave it at that . Drop your front forks down in the triple clamps 3mm also and this will make a difference for the better . Hope this helps .

 

[rick]

Old thread but, has anyone got any tricks for getting the spanner in there in there to adjust the preload?
The one that came with the bike just fits through the subframe with enough room to move it but, I'm risking alot of paint scratching. I had a collection of spanners but, none of them fit any better.

 

[big_sur]

I was able to adjust mine with the stock tool, albeit one step at a time.

 

[rick]

I was able to do it with the stock tool - I think some paint was scratched though. I found a pic online suggesting there's more room if you drop the fender (or have a fender eliminator) and go straight through the back instead of through the side. I'll give it a try tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[Willasan]

I put my stock tool through the frame and just wrapped the frame bars with rags to avoid scratching. Worked well.

 

[rick]

Yeah, I couldn't get any better access from the back last night. Oh well.

 

[sturge]

I was able to adjust using spanner in tool kit too. Noticed quite a bit of sag when we checked it (it's my kids bike...he's about 170lbs). Went from show room setting of 3 to 5 to stiffen it up a bit. He says it feels better to him (street riding only).

For 'rick'...as posted above on post #2 here is another way to adjust:

"If you won't want to screw with trying to use the adjuster wrench, you can also just do what most of us do... get a BIG and LONG flathead screwdriver and a heavy hammer and wack the fingers to move the adjuster around. Just be careful to try and not hit the spring or you can chip the paint off it which will EVENTUALLY cause rust."

 

[rick]

Heh, the hammer and punch is the classic way with the threaded pre-load adjusters.
I haven't actually measured my sag yet (it's only day 2) but, at 195# I set it on one notch below maximum preload. My poorly calibrated behind says that feels about right. I'll grab the missus and a tape measure this weekend and see how bad it is.

On that note, anyone tried the Slacker Digital Sag Scale (~$130)? Digital single person sag measuring with a remote display. You've always got the ziptye for the forks but, the rear is such a PITA by your lonesome.

 

[sturge]

yeah...would be tough to measure alone. I was gonna do the ty-wrap thing but it is a pain with a coil-over. Ended up using a small sharpie and marked the sag position with my kid on the bike to get sag measurement.