[ICEBRU]

I need a little help with adjusting my pre-load on my wing. I have read alot of your forums and am a little confused. I almost allways ride alone, yet i weigh the same as 2 of you normal people. I'm 6'5" and about 300 lbs. one guy says run it at 25 all the time, and someone else says run it about 10. I ride about half and half when it comes to freeways and back twisties. I really dont know if its ok to run real hard all the time or is their maybe a different shock that would work for my size better? thanks. kev

 

[Blind Yak]

This post by Fred H. had all the answers for me.
The punch line is that you want to settile into the total range of the suspension by about 25% to 30%.

http://www.gl1800riders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47998&highlight=rear+suspension+sag

 

[bangladave]

This post by Fred H. had all the answers for me.
The punch line is that you want to settile into the total range of the suspension by about 25% to 30%.

http://www.gl1800riders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=47998&highlight=rear+suspension+sag

Freds demo and tool are GREAT! However, I have heard rumors that some think his $499 price to custom make you your own tool is highway robbery. Some have offered to make and sell the same tool for about half of Fred's $499. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Fred H.]

I am having a sale on the tool this week, I have it marked down to $250.

For your weight, riding solo on a good shock that works properly, I would probably reccomend setting the suspension on 20 and then fine tuning up or down as needed. That should at least give you a good starting point.

Normally, I don't like to tell folks to put it at 25 cause that gives you no headroom to increase the pre-load when you have a passengar or gear, though the stock spring on this bike is pretty weak. When I had the OEM shock on my bike I never ran it less than 22, and I am about 170, but I ride more on the aggressive side.

My guess is you will probably find a sweet spot around 20-23.

10 would be way too low for you.

The technically correct way to set it is to measure the rear sag and set it according to a percentage of total shock travel, which I believe is 4.1 inches if I remember right.

Or you could just get a Traxxion Shock and be done with it. It is a huge improvement over stock.

 

[Fred H.]

Here is what I wrote in a previous post (I'm quoting myself)

Race suspensions will get set up with around 1 to 1 1/4 inch of sag. Heavy Touring bikes should be closer to 2 inches.

The general rule of thumb is that sag should be no more than 25-30% of total wheel travel, though this number varies by application. Touring and street bikes have more than race bikes, and dirt and off-road use different numbers as well.

There are whole books written on this topic and tons of info on the internet about it.

http://www.racetech.com/articles/Suspen ... prings.htm

http://faq.f650.com/FAQs/SuspensionTuningFAQ.htm

http://home.earthlink.net/~alexcuster/m ... set-up.htm

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0006_susp_dialin/

Just remember the whole purpose of setting the sag is to keep the rear shock operating within it's limits. You don't want to bottom out, or top out the shock, and ideally you would like to keep it in the middle of its travel range with headroom in both directions, though it needs more room to compress than it does to expand. So the 25-30% of total travel rule usually works well.

 

[Attack Pug]

I ran mine at 25 all the time, At your weight it will handle better all the way up. when I was able to flat foot it I knew I had the preload problem.

I'm now waiting on my bike to have a new shock put on under warranty.

 

[Arn Butt Bill]

I'm the same size as you.
I ran my stock set-up at 25 solo and it still bottomed-out.
With a Traxxion Dynamics set-up I can run it at 12-14 solo (depending on road twistieness) and 14-17 2-up.
Works very well now.

 

[LarryM]

OEM springs are generally all weak when new, and they just get weaker from the moment you drive off the lot. Even the standar dProgressive springs are stronger than OEM, but they make a heavy duty version which is what I am putting on this winter, even though I am only 230 lbs. (ONLY?)

 

[sdlyon5]

I am having a sale on the tool this week, I have it marked down to $250.

Fred, is the deluxe model on sale too? If so I'll take three of them. :lol:

 

[Teaser 1]

I need a little help with adjusting my pre-load on my wing. I have read alot of your forums and am a little confused. I almost allways ride alone, yet i weigh the same as 2 of you normal people. I'm 6'5" and about 300 lbs. one guy says run it at 25 all the time, and someone else says run it about 10. I ride about half and half when it comes to freeways and back twisties. I really dont know if its ok to run real hard all the time or is their maybe a different shock that would work for my size better? thanks. kev

Kevbru,
You will get many varied and some complex computations on how to get the proper preload setting. To put it simply preload adjusts your loaded bikes ride height and it's suspension rigidity. Said another way the lower the setting the softer the ride will be the higher the setting the stiffer the ride will be. Also at the upper end of adjustment it will enhance the bikes handling characteristics. T. 8)