New Owner of 2010 - Suspension Feels Harsh

[ULEWZ]

150, that is light for the stock Springs. If the previous owner made the springs heavier, you are going to be jolted. Where do you live? I have factory Springs laying around here somewhere you can try.

 

[FJRBound]

150, that is light for the stock Springs. If the previous owner made the springs heavier, you are going to be jolted. Where do you live? I have factory Springs laying around here somewhere you can try.

I'm in the Denver suburb of Morrison.

Going to see if I can track down the original owner...

 

[Sharif]

Have you tried the suspension settings from Sport Rider? Made all the difference for me, that's where I baselined. Totally transformed on harsh roads.

 

[FJRBound]

Have you tried the suspension settings from Sport Rider? Made all the difference for me, that's where I baselined. Totally transformed on harsh roads.

Great link. Thanks!

 

[FJRBound]

A little lunchtime experimentation...

Upon getting the bike home the first day, I reset the various suspension adjustments to the "standard" factory defaults ...but without first determining what the full range of each adjustment was. Ooops. Discovered I don't have a range of 17 clicks for front rebound damping ...I have 33. Compression damping: also 33 clicks, not 21. Rear rebound damping: 49 clicks, not 20.

Maybe this is why the suspension feels harsh. Going to re-read Ashe's posts, but for now, have gone to 16/16 in the front and 25 in the back.

Also measured static sag. Results (with "soft" setting at rear):

Front

Rear

On centerstand

770

483

On wheels/no rider

724

471

On wheels with rider

722

445

Works out to 48mm in front and 38mm in the rear.

No luck so far tracking down the original owner... may invest additional effort there. In the mean time, do these numbers suggest to anyone that aftermarket springs or other modifications may have been made?

Thanks again...

 

[Fred W]

Also measured static sag. Results (with "soft" setting at rear):

Front Rear

On centerstand

770 483

On wheels/no rider

724 471

On wheels with rider

722 445

Reformatted the above... now here are your loaded sags (only ones that really matter):

Front Rear

48 38

If these were correctly obtained then you are a bit soft in the front and a bit harder in the back. You ideally want to be sitting at 1/3rd of the suspension's stroke with loaded sag for street riding. Sport riders typically go a bit stiffer, more like 1/4 of total travel

Front sag is easy to measure along the fork. How did you measure the rear? At the axle to some body part above it?

Front wheel travel is 135mm and rear is 125mm. Optimum loaded sag for the street would be 45 Front and 41 rear. Not all that far off from what you are at. Maybe it's just because you are so light.

As an idea, you may want to leave the rear on soft and increase the front preload top try and get the two ends in sync more...

 

[FJRBound]

Reformatted the above... now here are your loaded sags (only ones that really matter):

Front Rear

48 38

If these were correctly obtained then you are quite soft in the front and quite a bit harder in the back. You ideally want to be sitting at 1/3rd of the suspension's stroke with a loaded sag.

Front sag is easy to measure along the fork. How did you measure the rear? At the axle to some body part above it?

Yes: center of rear axle to mount point for Givi rack directly above.