For those that followed my suspension work on my Vee2 — especially Grimmer and Berksglh — here are some updates.
To recap, I installed a Traxxion Dynamics cartridge and a Touratech rear shock on my 2018 DL1000 XT. The specifics were
1) I weigh 180 pounds without gear. My significant other 140 pounds without geAR.
2) Traxxion Dynamic supplied .90 front springs and called for a 105-mm air gap.
3) Touratech supplied an Explore rear shock — high and low speed compression damping, rebound damoing and hydraulic preload — with 95N/mm (542 pounds per inch rear shock)
While a good starting point, adjustment was needed to perfect.
Up front, the 0.90 spring we're about right form 180 pound rider (one could get away with one .90 and a 0.85 in each leg to create an average of .875 but that's being really picky). The air gap — 105-mm however was far too small. It caused the effective spring rate to be overly harsh in the last third of fork travel. I suspect that TD has had lots of adventure riders complain of fork bottoming so is especially cautious. I am now running 120-mm of air gap and the ride is much less harsh. Firmish to be sure, but well balanced between presenting brake dive and compliance. An argument could be made for 125-mm gap but that's about it. So, for 180 pound riders looking for a starting point, 0.90 springs and a 120 or 125 mm air gap isn't bad.
In the rear, the Toiuratech is a great shock. tremendously well built, but the engineers are the opposite of TD, running softish spring. In fact that 95 N/mm spring is exactly the same as stock. Son while I could make it ride OK with me on board, I needed much initial preload and then when my wife jumped on not was impossible to get the sag numbers we wanted with the peel,oad adjustment offered on the shock. C classic issues with too soft rear spring.
I am now running a 110 N/mm (625 pound per inch) rear spring and the arrangement is darn near perfect. For one thing my installed preload is 9 mm (ideal is 8 to 10 mm while the original spring needed a whopping 15 mm) to get to my desired 52-mm rear sag. Not only that when my wife and our luggage gets on board, jacking the hydraulic adjuster to max gets us to 54-mm sag. That's man almost perfectly balanced spring. Light enough for me alone. Heavy enough for a passenger.
to recap if you weigh 180 lb and your wife is 140, front springs at .90 and a 120/125 mm air gap while at the rear a 625 pound per inch spring combo will get you wishing minor adjustments of where you want to be.
Note SPECIFICALLY to Grimmer. We talked about your (I think) 800 and 900 pound springs and you mentioned how your sag worked out for zero hydraulic preload. That is only part of the equation. You never mentioned what the installed preload was. If the 800 pound spring were fitted without only 6 mm initial preload, that might have got you your sag numbers but still would have been too stiff.
The ideal rear spring arrangement arrangement on our bikes seems to beto hit 50-mm rear sag with zero hydraulic preload but the initial preload (or as some people call it fitted preload) set between 8 and 10-mm. In other words, with the hydraulic preload at zero, the spring's installed length is 8 to 10 mm shorter than its free length (ie just sitting on the bench)
If you indeed have installed 8 to 10 mm installed preload and the right numbers off sag, then I goes 800 pounds is what you need.
Sorry it took me so long to follow up on this.
To recap, I installed a Traxxion Dynamics cartridge and a Touratech rear shock on my 2018 DL1000 XT. The specifics were
1) I weigh 180 pounds without gear. My significant other 140 pounds without geAR.
2) Traxxion Dynamic supplied .90 front springs and called for a 105-mm air gap.
3) Touratech supplied an Explore rear shock — high and low speed compression damping, rebound damoing and hydraulic preload — with 95N/mm (542 pounds per inch rear shock)
While a good starting point, adjustment was needed to perfect.
Up front, the 0.90 spring we're about right form 180 pound rider (one could get away with one .90 and a 0.85 in each leg to create an average of .875 but that's being really picky). The air gap — 105-mm however was far too small. It caused the effective spring rate to be overly harsh in the last third of fork travel. I suspect that TD has had lots of adventure riders complain of fork bottoming so is especially cautious. I am now running 120-mm of air gap and the ride is much less harsh. Firmish to be sure, but well balanced between presenting brake dive and compliance. An argument could be made for 125-mm gap but that's about it. So, for 180 pound riders looking for a starting point, 0.90 springs and a 120 or 125 mm air gap isn't bad.
In the rear, the Toiuratech is a great shock. tremendously well built, but the engineers are the opposite of TD, running softish spring. In fact that 95 N/mm spring is exactly the same as stock. Son while I could make it ride OK with me on board, I needed much initial preload and then when my wife jumped on not was impossible to get the sag numbers we wanted with the peel,oad adjustment offered on the shock. C classic issues with too soft rear spring.
I am now running a 110 N/mm (625 pound per inch) rear spring and the arrangement is darn near perfect. For one thing my installed preload is 9 mm (ideal is 8 to 10 mm while the original spring needed a whopping 15 mm) to get to my desired 52-mm rear sag. Not only that when my wife and our luggage gets on board, jacking the hydraulic adjuster to max gets us to 54-mm sag. That's man almost perfectly balanced spring. Light enough for me alone. Heavy enough for a passenger.
to recap if you weigh 180 lb and your wife is 140, front springs at .90 and a 120/125 mm air gap while at the rear a 625 pound per inch spring combo will get you wishing minor adjustments of where you want to be.
Note SPECIFICALLY to Grimmer. We talked about your (I think) 800 and 900 pound springs and you mentioned how your sag worked out for zero hydraulic preload. That is only part of the equation. You never mentioned what the installed preload was. If the 800 pound spring were fitted without only 6 mm initial preload, that might have got you your sag numbers but still would have been too stiff.
The ideal rear spring arrangement arrangement on our bikes seems to beto hit 50-mm rear sag with zero hydraulic preload but the initial preload (or as some people call it fitted preload) set between 8 and 10-mm. In other words, with the hydraulic preload at zero, the spring's installed length is 8 to 10 mm shorter than its free length (ie just sitting on the bench)
If you indeed have installed 8 to 10 mm installed preload and the right numbers off sag, then I goes 800 pounds is what you need.
Sorry it took me so long to follow up on this.