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suspension update for 2018 DL1000 XT, notes to grimmer

12K views 46 replies 11 participants last post by  1000XT 
#1 · (Edited)
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.
 
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#2 ·
Great info.

Get a chance to do any offroad with it? Im not able to go offroad yet dur to my left ACL recovery (9 weeks post op)

As for Grimmer, I sold him my 700Lb spring and I went down to a 650 which I love at 190Lbs no gear, wifes around 160? (Thats a guess, I dont dare ask).

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 
#3 ·
those numbers all make sense

if you're 190, then 650 would be ideal. 700 might be a tad soft for grimmer if He's really 270 (and grimmer, if you're not my apologies). 725 probably in the right neighbourhood.

Like I said, if the there 650 gets you top 48 to 52 mm sag with 8 to 10 mm of initial (hydraulic preload set to zero) then you are indeed close to ideal
 
#4 ·
another update

another thing that should be pointed out is that all the damping adjustments in the world won't save your bacon if you're more than 1 spring rate out — I mean +/- 25 pounds per inch because that is the normal increments they are sold in

Point of reference. Before the spring change in the rear, my wife complained about the rear suspension despite my upgrade to a touratech and much fiddling with compression and rebound damping. Once the new spring was installed, she was happier but not effusive.

Tonight I upped both HS compression and rebound by just one setting each and she without prompting asked me what I had done to the suspension as it was, to quote, "a magic carpet ride." When your wife asks you to memorize a specific suspension setting, you know you've hit the nail on the head.

Not possible if you aren't at least in the ballpark with spring settings.

For what it's worth
 
#23 ·
and she without prompting asked me what I had done to the suspension as it was, to quote, "a magic carpet ride." When your wife asks you to memorize a specific suspension setting....
Re-reading some of the posts and have been playing with my clickers. Keep in mind we are all after different goals.

On Race Tech internals, 95 springs, and a Sasquatch rear shock with a 650 spring, I feel that my front forks are a bit soft yet, but thats bassed on landing from being airborne off a small jump.

While riding the other day with my wife, I realized sharp bumps on the road were extreemly harsh. As a single rider, this never bothered me that much. But with the wife on and rear preload turned up a bit, I decided to make some adjustments.

I ended up with comp and rebound turned out all the way on the front. This was a much better ride. The rear preload is at zero alone, and about half with the wife.

I did find a local gravel road that had several pothole like dips in a row I ran over, with the wife. While she wasnt impressed with my choosen riding line, I was impressed at how well the suspension ate up the bumps and didnt pack up and bottom out.

My ACL repair is only 3 months post opp yet, so I still haven't gotten up north for a true off road test ride yet. Starting to think I may just need to raise the oil level in the front on my setup to be at a happy medium between plush and the ability to be airborne about a half foot and not have bottoming issues.

If not, thinking going softer on high speed, and stiffer on low a bit may get me there.

Guess its all up in the air till next year anyway.

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 
#5 · (Edited)
MotoCanada,

Thanks for the update.

I've been working on my '18 V Strom suspension, but on a plan of stiffer springs and revalving the OEM stock components. I've done a lot of dirtbikes over the years with generally very good results, so I figured I could do this bike too.

Weight-wise, I'm right in the herd here at 185 lb with 160ish passenger (agreed, best to don't ask).

So on to the V Strom...

For the shock, I currently have the OEM shock with no internal changes (yet), with a 650 lb Eibach spring. Installed preload is at 12mm at minimum remote preload adjuster setting and 22mm at max preload. At minimum preload, the ride & ride height are about right for me at solo. With the knob turned to full preload, it's good with the passenger. I haven't taken sag numbers, but my estimate is that the numbers are in the ballpark. The shock with OEM internals is obviously not the hot ticket shock setup, but not hideous either.
The extra spring force makes the rear substantially better than stock, but the shock's internals will absolutely require attention. As expected, the shock is a little short on compression dampening and much short on rebound control. A good G-out bump will make the bike ride like a Buick with bad shocks. Very soon, I will be digging into the shock to make some changes.

For the fork, I have .95 Kg/mm Race Tech springs and 125mm fluid height, 5wt Maxima fork fluid. Interesting that Traxxion Dynamics had you set fluid level to 105mm, but maybe there is meaning to the madness. The lighter springs + small air volume might yield a softer ride, but yet provide the good support for aggressive braking.

So, I've been restacking the fork's OEM shim stacks. The stock parts are a little funky in places, but if you study the numbers, some things can be done. I've been in the forks a handful of times and now, with experience, I can do the job in about two hours from start to finish with the bike ready to ride. The rebound control needed some extra shims (not a surprise), but also the compression stacks needed quite a bit of reduction and I also went to a two stage stack. It works pretty good now.

Also of note, the 2018 DL1000 has a different OEM rear shock part number than the 14-16 DL1000. Not sure what's the diff.

Again, thanks for the report.

BZ Joe
 
#6 ·
Joe

very thoughtful reply

1) As i said in the note previous to your own, as long as you are in the +/- 1 spring rate range for a specific weight you are golden. Whether the range for 180 is 600 to 650 lb/in I feel it is or — assuming 650 lb/in is you ideal — the 625 to 675 you've found we're all golden.

2) Theoretically, with a stiffer spring you should actually get by with less compression damping at the spring itself will provide more of the resistance you were compensating with compression damping.

3) Yes, you will need more rebound. You went from 544 lb/in to 650 lb/in, not an insignificant amount. Also the original shock is no ball of fire and you may have some miles on it. I suspect that with minimal tuning though it should be doable. Just ask your suspension guy if he really thinks you need more compression.

4) As i said in my report, I started with the recommended 105-mm in the Traxxions but now am at 120--mm. I also suspect that another five mils — your 125-mm — would be ideal. On the other hand, my forks are fairly firm still so I would not go to .95 kg/mm myself but if it works for you.

The good part about this is that for anyone working on their suspension on a Vee 2, we have a fairly close consensus of where they should start if they weigh 180 pounds

rear: 625 or 650 pounds per inch
front: ,90 or .95 kg./mm springs and a 125-,mm air gap.

I believe that's a more concise starting point guide than has been available before.

Thanks
 
#7 ·
MotoCanada,

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Thinking on my shock's compression dampening.... Agreed, I really should not need any additional compression dampening, and actually, probably less. There is probably an explanation to my bike's behavior.
My shock only has 4600 miles on it, and even when brand new on the first day I rode it, was a little short on compression and very short on rebound dampening. Stock rebound screw setting yielded a rapid rebound with the stock shock spring preload setting. With the stock shock spring at full preload, I needed to turn the rebound adjuster screw all the way in and then it was acceptable for that full spring preload.
I gave a thought about asking for a warranty claim on my shock, but a "weak" shock isn't very easy to quantify unless it's "schaa-boing!! & clack-clack" type of thing. That and the nearest dealer is 100 miles away, so it'd be 3-4 hours on the road to probably be told "Sorry, but your bike works if you turn the rebound screw all the way in, so nope we're sorry you drove all this way, but just keep on riding until it pukes and then we can do something..." I'm thinking I'll find something amiss in the shock, such as the nut is not fully torqued or a warped shim or debris in the stack or a warped piston surface.
If I were riding solo, I'd probably switch to a 600 lb shock spring or maybe just stay with the stock spring.

Fork springs... If I were strictly solo rider, I'd drop down to .90 springs or maybe even down to .85 springs if I wanted a plush street ride. The .95 springs are a tighter sportbike feel. But, since I ride two up ~80% of the time, my bike needs to be tuned mostly towards two up. I really like those .95 springs for those times when I need to get into the brakes for the deer, turkeys, bonehead drivers, etc.

"My suspension guy"- That's me. I usually do my own stuff unless I get really stumped, or too busy with my day job.

Thanks again for leading the conversation. I don't know how many people are diving into their suspensions, but if anyone is, I hope our postings are useful.

Bz Joe
 
#15 ·
MotoCanada,
Thanks again for leading the conversation. I don't know how many people are diving into their suspensions, but if anyone is, I hope our postings are useful.
Bz Joe, Motocanada and Berksglh,

I'm finding this discussion very useful. Thank you all. I haven't gotten into the suspension yet and am a newbie in suspension adjustments. I'll likely purchase the major components (cartridges/forks, shock) but am learning what aspects to start looking at when fine-tuning. Also helping guide me on spring rates to communicate to the manufacturers of the components. I like the different approaches of rebuilding vice buying ready-built from an educational perspective.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Agreed

One thing — and this is for outsider, not =you Joe since you're already on it — Joe's comment for .85 springs should only bet for light solo riders. I have .85s in my 2003 DL1000 and not only don't they handle as well as my .90s, they don't ride as well either.

Indeed — and within reason — every ride improvement I have made to a Suzuki V-strom — both 2003 and 2018 — has been the result of STIFFER springs. That's both front and rear. Soft springs just end up bottoming out and other terrible things.

Thanks
 
#9 · (Edited)
Motocanada-

Great thread, I hope people find this stuff useful.

Thanks for the clarification on the .85 springs. I have not used those rate springs in my forks myself. I was going with a gut reaction to the ride firmness of my .95 springs and thinking that something less would likely yield a softer ride.

On the topic of bottoming, here is a point for the 2014+ V Strom 1000 owners. The forks on the 2014+ DL1000 are "bottoming cone" forks, meaning, they have a hydraulic damper system which comes into play in the very last ~.50" of travel. This "cone" system prevents/reduces the very harsh G-force and/or noise of your bottoming forks. What this means, is that while you may not feel or hear the harsh "clack", you are essentially bottomed. If in doubt, put a zip tie around the fork tube to monitor suspension travel used, but be sure to be moderate with the brakes so as to confuse the exact time your suspension travel was used. Rigging up a GoPro would be a good method to observe when the zip tie moves. A GoPro probably isn't fast enough to clearly and closely follow the suspension over bumps.
 
#10 ·
good point Bazooka about the tie wrap. I have a piece of tape wrapped around my fork stanchions that represents 160 mm of travel, in other words, just bottoming. The reason I knew that 105 mm of air gap wasn't enough was that even riding over a speed bump while braking at full ABS intervention failed to get me within 10-mm of full travel. Never getting near bottom is almost as bad as always bottoming and as you know Joe, the last, say 30-mm of travel is all about the air gap and not about the size of springs you're using,
 
#11 ·
Motocanada,

You may have been closer to bottoming than your measurements indicated- you were definitely getting into the influence of the bottoming cones. Remember that travel stated by Suzuki was likely the total travel- measuring both the compressing travel plus adding the "top out" travel. The "top out" travel is a moving target, depending on main spring rate + total preload of the main springs. (total preload = installed plus the top adjuster setting.)

The smaller air gap doesn't sound like it's for me, but some people might prefer that setup. A smaller air gap could give a plusher ride, but yet prevent the front suspension from a total collapse during hard braking.

Btw, hitting a braking bump with the ABS chattering.... Can you say, "Kids, don't try this at home!" LOL
 
#13 ·
Oh yes, that's right- you have the Traxxion Dynamics cartridges. But they have to have something for top out- springs are most simple so most likely that? Are those cartridges cone bottoming or bumper stop? Gotta have something for bottoming control?

Wouldn't it be cool to have a suspension dyno to test our own setups?
 
#14 ·
O am lucky > I have a guy named John Sharrad that I use. He's a human dyno. He's the one that labelled where my max extension should be so I will go with his advice.

PS. In changing from 105-mm ro 120-mm I more than halved the travel that was not being used in the same test (closed course, professional driver of course). Like I said, I could go to 125 mm but the wife likes it where it is and she won't let me test my theory by hitting a speed bump on full front ABS.

A good sport otherwise
 
#16 ·
Daugherty installed a 750lb/in spring for me but I have no idea of what type of valving or pre-load he uses. For the front, 95kg/mm fork springs w/emulators. I'm 230+ with gear on and on a trip I carry almost 100lbs of gear. So far I am happy with my set up.

So MotoCanada, what is the tab so far for what you have done?
 
#17 ·
@Motor7... You went to DMR and had jamie consult and set your suspension up? was it full springs + valving for both front and rear? can you give us more details on process, cost, hios recommendations and whether he's done other vstrom1000's, etc?

transparency: 5 years ago I had jamie build me a DMR valve/spring front end and a revalve/spring on my rear ohlins for my 1998 VFR with just an over-the-phone consultancy, and the results were fantastic. great road manners with better smoothness and bump control, and with just a few clicks and changing preload, i dropped 8 seconds a lap off my best times at thunderhill on a track day. he's known for doing the honda suspensions but wasn't aware that he had branched out to a lot more
 
#21 · (Edited)
Yes, I didn't do a ride in, but we talked quite a but via email. In Moab the year before with stock suspension the washboards were shockingly(pun intended) abusive to my speen and fillings. I returned there and rode the same roads post DMR with much more pleasurable results and at higher speeds. On the pavement the biggest thing that stood out was the sharp curve direction changeovers.....snappy, quick, solid with zero wallowing as before. I have over 20K on the DMR stuff and still enjoy it.

I didn't have the nads like Motocanada to dive into my own suspension, so I am always fascinated when some of y'all tackle it especially those doing it for the first time. I have only the squashed whale humping a Dolphin oem suspension to compare. Those with much higher end components might not be as happy as me, but what I don't know I don't know...right?

Here is the 'build sheet' which has very basic info on the valving:



-Are you referencing a DL650? (Looking at your signature, I assume so.) In this thread, we've been talking about the 14+ DL1000 which have different suspension components than the 650.

But- I have previous experience with DL650s with my last bike, an 05 DL650. The rates of the springs which are installed on your bike are IMO a good choice.


Yes, it is a DL650 and I realize you guys are talking DL1000, and correct, I don't know how much different the components differ but spring rates should be very similar... no? I thought for those like me that might be reading might interested in a package deal from DMR or Sasquatch...I found it quite painless.

Carry-on...sorry for the sidetrack ;)
 
#18 ·
Motor7-

Are you referencing a DL650? (Looking at your signature, I assume so.) In this thread, we've been talking about the 14+ DL1000 which have different suspension components than the 650.

But- I have previous experience with DL650s with my last bike, an 05 DL650. The rates of the springs which are installed on your bike are IMO a good choice.
 
#19 ·
Apologies for the absence gents...

For review:
I'm 6'6 @ about 270 pounds geared up.
I have a Sasquatch modified stock shock
I have installed Race Tech Gold Valves in my forks.

As mentioned in previous posts, I have swapped out my 800lb/in shock spring for a 700lb/in shock spring. I like it much better and have not yet experienced any major issues with bottoming out, even riding 2-Up. I consider a "major issue" to be bottoming out hard enough to result in a bounce back situation as previously happened all the time riding 2-up with the factory setup. I have to run 10 of the 22 clicks on the shock to get the right sags with the 700lb spring. However, since I'll likely stick with the 700lb spring it will be worth the effort to fabricate a spacer equivalent to the 10 clicks (~5mm) and install it in the shock assembly so that I can zero out the hydraulic preload and ultimately gain more clicks toward getting the correct 2-up sags.

I also went back to the 1.1kg/mm fork springs. The 1.0kg/mm just felt too soft. They dived like crazy when braking and generally felt like the front end wasn't getting supported adequately. It is entirely possible that the 1.1's are still too stiff, but they are exactly what the Gold Valve sheet specified. If anything I might try some 1.05mm/kg. But all in all it seems to be a pretty good setup. I have also tried the 7.5wt fork oil rather than the recommended 5wt. I'm not sure I can tell that much difference. Also, The Suzuki manual calls for 120mm of headspace in the forks and the Gold Valve instructions call for 130mm. I've tried both and I'm currently running 125mm. My next move would probably be to go back to the 5wt for comparison... but I'll have to get on it quick before the average temperature drops and gives me a less comparable experience.

For general riding, the suspension setup I'm at now is pretty good. Light to medium bumps and road surface issues are handled quite well at all speeds and weight configurations. I have also run it on the dirt quite a bit. Seemed pretty good, at least I don't recall needing to focus on ride quality. There is also washboard dirt road within striking distance for testing. The setup worked pretty well there too, so long as I could go at least 40mph. Below that it becomes quite shakey. The one thing that still bugs me and I would like to work out of the system if possible is the reaction to large bumps and dips. These still produce a very jarring thump at surface road speeds. Enough to twinge that lower back pain... Most likely the shock's compression needs to be opened up a bit more.

I first noticed the wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am when cruising along on a surface road (~35mph) and I rode over a tar filled (repaired?) sink hole. It was at least 3/4 the diameter of my tire (likely more, maybe 1.5 diameter?) and probably 4" deep. Oh man that woke me up. I started noticing that sudden drops or sudden rises of more than about 3" both produced the unsettling wham! I started testing by driving off a curb or hitting an aggressive speed bump at 15-20 mph. No available adjustments made any perceivable difference. I did notice that at least for the drop off scenarios, the bike's seat would fall away from my behind and when I caught up to it... boom. Perhaps the high speed rebound is also too slow. However, I don't want to let it get more bouncy. It is barely not bouncy enough at times. Perhaps if the high speed rebound is quicker and the low speed is the same or maybe a little slower...??? Likely this is beyond the capabilities of my modified stock shock...

At any rate, I almost never drive off a curb and rarely encounter large enough road defects without noticing them... So maybe it would be better to leave it alone, lest I screw up the current ride quality that I have for all the normal stuff.
 
#20 ·
grimmer

A few points. I think it's possible you might have gone too far the other way ie all the way from 800 to 700 pounds. Maybe you're still bottoming out. Easiest way is to measure your spring length installed when the hydraulic adjuster is at zero. Then when you remove it to put in the five mm spacer, measure the the free length. If it's over 10 mm or if the 5 mm spacer will take it substantially ov er 10 mm then the spring is probably too soft.

with a 180 pound rider needing 625 or 650, I suspect a 725 or 750 will prove ideal for your 270 pounds, I could be wrong but you free length compared with your installed length (giving you your installed preload will be the best indicator.

let us know how it goes
 
#22 ·
Motor7,

Thanks for the copy of the invoice- it gives the troops an idea of what the shopping trip will cost.

The spring rates on the 1000 will be a little different than a 650, both front and rear. The fork will be a little stiffer because the 1000 is heavier, the 1000 has better front brakes, and the 1000 has more compression braking. The 1000's shock spring will actually need to be just a little lighter than a 650. This is because even though the 1000 is heavier, the 1000's shock has a longer stroke than the 650, hence a different linkage ratio between rear wheel travel and shock travel.

The 1000's fork internals are all different compared to a 650.
 
#24 ·
I've gotten a bunch of ride time since the last time in the forks. The action wasn't too bad, but still had some issues. The compression was still too firm and the rebound still too fast. I had the compression clickers all the way out and the rebound all the way in. Btw, I'm going to have say that the compression clickers do have a semi-progressive affect all the way thru their entire adjustment range. Keep in mind that I have the 2018, which may be different than the 14-16, and also I'm working with different internal fluid flow dynamics than a stock fork.

I made a plan for some changes and went back inside the forks a week ago. Compression stacks changed slightly lighter and rebound changed much stiffer- I changed almost every .10 thk shim to .15 (that's about 3X of OEM). I also removed the goofy slotted washer on the rebound stack because I believe the slots provide too much bleed. Also, between the rebound piston and the damper rod, is a 2.5mm thick washer with holes. This thick washer is spaced from the damper rod with a 10.5 dia x .30 thk shim. I believe this construction acts as a mid-valve, except that unlike a dirt bike, there is no float. I added a 12x.15 additional shim to allow more mid-valve action.

So, drum roll... I believe I've found something really good for my use of mostly street with a modest amount of rough gravel roads. Hacked up pavement is gobbled up, the bike is not affected by exposed or loose rocks on gravel roads, doesn't bottom on rain washes, rebound control is very good. Low speeds around town are good, high speed hacked out corners are well controlled. Expansion road cracks are gobbled up with almost no feedback to the bars. The bike rides "in" the travel and feels "planted". (dirt bike guys will know what I'm talking about). The fork worked just as well riding solo and two up. Overall, for my use, this is a huge-huge upgrade from the stock calibrations.
The only negative is that I think it dives a bit more on braking but- I haven't played the comp clickers very much yet, and now with the well controlled rebound control, I am now much more confident to really grab the front brake.

Now after this upgrade to the forks, the rear suspension feels really lame and I've got to dig into that soon.

Hope this report is useful.
 
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#25 ·
Doesn't sound like a setup that is going to be easily copied by anyone else...glad you got what you were after. Ever thought about opening up a suspension shop? LOL

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
 
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#34 ·
Doesn't sound like a setup that is going to be easily copied by anyone else...
I disagree. (No disrespect to you) My origonal thought was to modify the stock setup, but from what I had read, it was unusable garbage. So I went Race Tech.

Having done the race tech conversion myself, I can say that changing a few shims in the stock setup would be much easier, assuming you knew what to change and had the parts. I read above, if you ask Joe nicely, he is willing to share what worked for him as a good starting point for someone else.

The race tech gold valve setup isn't all that different in function or appearance then the stock parts, and you will likely have to adjust the stacks on the gold valves a few times anyway.

I have pics of the stock setup dissasembled in an exploded view on my suspension post. Would be real easy to measure and list what the stock settings are for anyone that may be interested in revalving the stock parts.

In hindsight, and having someone share a good starting point like Joe mentioned above, its what I would have tried first.

Heres that pic of the stock parts for clarification of whats all mentioned by Joe above.


Sent from my LGUS997 using Tapatalk
 
#26 · (Edited)
Yes Joe I am in my happy spot as well. 625 pound — 550 was what it came with — on a Touratech extreme shock. gives me 9 mils of installed preload and just enough hydraulic to have me empty and also with wife and gear on the same rear sag

front is .90 N/mm with 120-mm of air gap.

Haven;t changed a damn thing in a while except when the wife gets on. And boys when your wife asks you to remember a specific high speed compressions damping because she likes the ride so much you know there's a lesson to be learned. true story!
 
#32 ·
Yes Joe I am in my happy spot as well. 625 pound — 550 was what it came with — on a Touratech extreme shock
Question... When I emailed touratech a while back their salesman recommended a 100 N/mm spring rate, which is a step up from their standard (95 N/mm). So it appears that they go in steps of 5 N/mm... However, 100 N/mm is only around 575 lbs/in. Negligable increase from the stock at 550 lbs/in. @Motocanada, did you get the 625 lb/in spring from Touratech on your shock? Or did your suspension guy put a bigger one on? For some reason, I'm remembering that the 100 N/mm spring was the stiffest offered by Touratech but I can't find that in my emails... Maybe it was from a phone conversation, or maybe I'm just remembering incorrectly.

Anyway, to achieve around 715 lbs/in (where I'm at now), I would need a 125 N/mm, or for around 750 lbs/in it would be 130 N/mm. Just wondering if those are available from Touratech.

Do you feel a significant difference when adjusting the flow controls on your shock for the high and low speed compression? I understood the clickers to be just the bypass orifice and only affect the little stuff but can quickly be overwhelmed so the shim stack "takes over". Wondering if the high and low speed compression adjustments have a significant impact on the behavior of shock (beyond just bypass orifices) in order to determine the value of the increased cost of the expedition shock VS the explorer shock (which only has the rebound adjuster).
 
#27 ·
2thDR,

Suspension shop... I do my own stuff and buddies sometimes, but I'd be hesitant to do very much more than that. It's probably because *I* am such a picky suspension person that I would dread getting a customer who is just as picky. But if they rode my bike and said they wanted it exactly the same, or maybe just a little tweak this way or that, then sure, I'd do it for them. The complications start when the customer is a different weight and/or rides somewhere else than I do, or for dirt bikes, is faster or diff riding style etc. I don't know how the suspension guys ever get enough data points to set up shop. And by the sounds of it, often times, they do not have good data points and miss the target by quite a distance.
My fork settings aren't anything that which I hold too tightly. If somebody is interested, I can share. I learn a lot of stuff from other people on this forum so it's only fair if I swap some knowledge back to troops.

MotoCanada,

Yes, 2X agreed, when your wife says she likes the bike's ride, absolutely save the settings. When you have the preload set for two up, what is your bike's unloaded sag?
 
#28 ·
@Bazooka Joe

You mentioned that switching out the three 0.10 shims for 0.15 shims was about 3x the previous (or was it 3x original?)... Is there a decent way to estimate shim changes based on a desired percentage increase/decrease? Are they linear?

Also, where do you get your extra shim supply? I have some left overs from the gold valve kit, but those are not likely to be adequate. The shock uses different size shims of course and I don't have any of those.

Did you ever find info about the rebuild parameters for the shock? It seems to me that with a nitrogen charger and the right oil volumes / piston positions that rebuilding the modified shock shouldn't be too difficult.
 
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