Front suspension

[IanH]

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.

[gsxbarmy]

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

[KiwiCol]

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!

[IanH]

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?

[Tony Nitrous]

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.

[SheepDog]

Gee, I wish I was 77kg 'JUST' in the undies!

The rest of me might add up to a bit more. 

[gsxbarmy]

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

[Tony Nitrous]

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). 

[KiwiCol]

Looks can be deceiving, but I was assuming it was a stock setup.

[IanH]

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.

[KiwiCol]

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.

[grog]

got mine set up by pro, never touch it now days. one less thing to think about. suits me.

[IanH]

I don't object to paying for a good set up service Grog but 'specialists' seem to be few and far between here.

[KiwiCol]

We got nowt in Christchurch at all.  I'd have to ride for 2 days & cross the sea to get to one.

[Buddynq]

The settings on Barry's link are a good start