Yesterday I broke my endurance record for a long distance ride........84kilometers.
Now, the roads here in Poland are sometimes not the best in the world and I have a strong suspicion that my front suspension settings are a little bit hard. The bike feels great on the smooth stuff but a lot of our roads are a bit bumpy, repairs to the repairs to the repairs etc and the front seems a bit 'crashy' on these surfaces rather than soaking up the undulations.
Myself, I'm about 75 kgs with all my kit on so I'm no heavyweight and I suspect the previous owner was heavier than me.
So, I'm thinking of reducing the amount of preload on the fork springs.
At the moment there are 8 notches showing above the top yoke.
I'm looking for advice from you more experienced guys before I touch anything and cock it up.
There is no magic answer here as everyone is different! First thing is to make a note of alll your suspension settings and then try changing one thing at a time to see if it makes it better or worse. Eventually you will find the best settings for you, but it is a bit of trial and error.
You might also want to review this topic
http://gsx1400owners.org/forum_test/index.php?topic=213.0
I'm about 140ish with all my gear on & I only have 5 showing, so reckon yours are a bit on the hard side. How far you take them in & have a crack is up to you, but if I were 75Kg wringing wet, I'd be going for 3.
Ok, I'm ready for the turkey shoot!
Quote from: KiwiCol on Thursday, 17 August 2017, 06:03 PM
I'm about 140ish with all my gear on & I only have 5 showing, so reckon yours are a bit on the hard side. How far you take them in & have a crack is up to you, but if I were 75Kg wringing wet, I'd be going for 3.
Ok, I'm ready for the turkey shoot!
Thanks for that.
Next question is how do I adjust the number of notches, is just a matter of turning that big nut on top of the top yoke?
77kg in my undies !
Solo rider, no issue with 6, 7 or 800K days.
I run the front with 3 rings showing but I've lifted the rear 35mm
and had to play with both ends until I was happy.
Gee, I wish I was 77kg 'JUST' in the undies!
The rest of me might add up to a bit more. :grin:
Quote from: IanH on Thursday, 17 August 2017, 06:06 PM
Quote from: KiwiCol on Thursday, 17 August 2017, 06:03 PM
I'm about 140ish with all my gear on & I only have 5 showing, so reckon yours are a bit on the hard side. How far you take them in & have a crack is up to you, but if I were 75Kg wringing wet, I'd be going for 3.
Ok, I'm ready for the turkey shoot!
Thanks for that.
Next question is how do I adjust the number of notches, is just a matter of turning that big nut on top of the top yoke?
There are a couple of items you can change on the top yoke so be careful - would suggest refer to your owners handbook where it advises. If you don't have one you can download a handbook from the Downloads section on the forum
Counting the rings doesn't tell you everything (unless its a brand new stock bike).
Some of my bikes have different oil / springs / spacers etc, one had a re-drilled damper rod (done by Maxton).
Looks can be deceiving, but I was assuming it was a stock setup.
Thanks for the replies.
I've downloaded a manual and made the adjustment back to 4 notches so I will give it a try after lunch.
The bike will be going in for a service in a few weeks and I intend to ask them to change the fork oil as part of the service as I don't know how long its been in there so I suspect I may have to play with it a bit more after the service.
You can do the fork oil yourself Ian, there's a write up about that too. Fork oil change isn't hard, just takes a wee bit of time - few hours, but once you get used to doing it (so I've read anyway) it can be done in about an hour.
got mine set up by pro, never touch it now days. one less thing to think about. suits me.
I don't object to paying for a good set up service Grog but 'specialists' seem to be few and far between here.
We got nowt in Christchurch at all. I'd have to ride for 2 days & cross the sea to get to one.
The settings on Barry's link are a good start
Quote from: Buddynq on Thursday, 17 August 2017, 07:55 PM
The settings on Barry's link are a good start
*barmy
Damn auto correct thing :P
Quote from: KiwiCol on Thursday, 17 August 2017, 06:47 PM
You can do the fork oil yourself Ian, there's a write up about that too. Fork oil change isn't hard, just takes a wee bit of time - few hours, but once you get used to doing it (so I've read anyway) it can be done in about an hour.
And here's the link. http://gsx1400owners.org/forum_test/index.php?topic=188.0
And yes you can do it in about an hour, even with a tea break :onya:
My front suspension is now very comfortable.....absorbs the bumpy stuff very nicely and still feels good on the smooth stuff.
I ended up taking the pre set to 4 notches exposed and left everything else as it was.
Thank you for the useful tips and info.